The Stranger Read online

  “Fucking unbelievable.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I don’t even know where to start unraveling this mess.”

  “There’s nothing to unravel,” I said. “I’m sorry and I’m leaving. That’s the end of it.”

  He considered me for a long moment, then grabbed a flannel robe hanging from the back of the door and handed it to me.

  “I need to think about this,” he said. “Take a shower, get dressed. We’ll regroup when you’re done.” He gave me a last probing look and left the closet, closing the door behind him with a quiet click.

  I buried my face in my hand and let out a torrent of tears. I’d done this to myself. I knew better than to push my limits. But Louise had been so upset, and I’d had to find Tammy...

  Get up, Silva. Get going. I uncoiled from my place in the corner and got to my feet. My joints screeched like rusty hinges. Ooof. I felt like an old woman. It was going to be a long day. I hung up the jacket, wedged my arms into the robe’s sleeves and knotted the belt at the waist. The robe trailed on the floor behind me as I shuffled to the mirror.

  The mirror confirmed that I looked exactly as I felt. My nose glowed like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer’s. My eyes were bloodshot and my hair stuck up every which way. A bruise blotched my thigh. What a mess. I was ashamed of myself. I didn’t know what bothered me the most, that I’d offered my body to a perfect stranger, that he’d taken me up on the offer, or that I didn’t remember a thing. All three, I supposed.

  I dried my face on the robe’s sleeve. It would’ve been easy to blame Seth for my troubles. Of course, he could’ve refused me. But I knew better. Louise and Tammy said I looked completely awake when I sleepwalked and he’d had no way of knowing that. Rationally speaking, he was only one of the many elements that came together to precipitate last night’s episode. The stress of Tammy’s disappearance and the Darius project presentation hadn’t helped. Sleep deprivation, jet lag, and the wreck had pushed me over the top. I’d put myself on a deserted Alaska road in those conditions. I’d done this to myself.

  I gathered my courage and padded out of the closet into a massive, spa-like bathroom. A pile of fine towels was set out on the counter, along with a brand-new toothbrush, a bottle of over-the-counter painkillers, and a box of Kleenex. Seth was thoughtful, or perhaps he meant to be practical in order to rush me out of his life. Yeah, that had to be it. Get the psycho out of here. I couldn’t blame him.

  I stepped into the huge shower and turned on the levers. Several different types of showerheads produced luxuriant flows of water. I settled beneath the enormous faucet jutting out from the wall and allowed my tears to flow. Wasting all that water went against my grain, but I was having trouble sorting out my feelings.

  I didn’t feel violated, exploited, or abused. Except for my dignity, I wasn’t harmed, and thank God—and my dermatologist, who’d prescribed birth control to keep my skin clear—I’d been protected. I did feel helpless and vulnerable, humiliated and defeated. I was a failure, an out-of-control freak. I was destined to spend the rest of my life sleeping alone in my locked bedroom, unable to trust anyone or venture beyond my little condo, for fear of being taken advantage of. I was doomed like my mother.

  Snap out of it, girl. I couldn’t afford to wallow in self-pity. I didn’t want to add pathetic to the long list of insults I’d crafted for myself. Forward, I had to move forward. I had to find Tammy, get back to Miami and reclaim my life.

  The long shower revived me. The painkillers helped. I wrapped myself in the big, soft towel. I combed my hair, brushed my teeth, and made my way out to the bedroom. The door was closed. The blinds were drawn. The bed was neatly made. My skirt, blouse, and underwear were laid out on the bed. Next to them, I spotted my overnight bag and my laptop.

  I almost squealed with relief. The bag meant that my car must be nearby and drivable. I could make a quick escape and never have to meet Seth Erickson’s toxic glare again. I looked through my bag. In the absence of time, Louise had packed it for me. My toiletries would come in handy, but the rest? It was all cute and Florida fashionable, but not exactly suitable for Alaska.

  My eyes shifted to the small pile of neatly folded garments next to the bag. Socks, silk thermals, a pair of black leggings, and a plaid flannel shirt. They looked a lot better suited to the weather, and warm and comfortable to boot. There was even a pair of hiking shoes on the floor next to the shriveled husks that had once been my high heels. I didn’t know where he’d gotten all this from, but he’d thought of everything.

  I got dressed. The leggings were a little loose on me but, much to my amazement, everything else fit, including the shoes. I found my cell on top of my purse and scrolled through the texts and emails on my screen. Crap, between my boss and Louise, there must have been two hundred messages waiting for me.

  Time to get out of this mess. I gathered my stuff, padded out of the bedroom and turned right at the foyer. Judging from the bedroom suite, I already knew this place was no primitive hut, but my expectations were blown out of the water as the hallway opened into a grand room, an astonishing space that the architect in me relished on the spot.

  High beams supported the tall ceiling that gave the room extensive proportions. To my left was a fully stocked, top-of-the-line, modern kitchen designed with a keen eye for beauty and functionality. To my right was a sitting room centered on a sleek, granite fireplace. Ahead of me was a grand living room, flanked on all sides by banks of windows ascending to the ceiling, revealing the huge deck beyond and the most stunning view I’d ever seen.

  I stood before the windows, gaping. The storm had passed. The sun illuminated a shimmering landscape of pristine snow and crystalline ice melting into puddles and rivulets. The house perched on a cliff overlooking a pebbled beach, a deep sound, and a massive mountain range. On the south side, the mouth of a river opened up to the bay.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice said from behind me.

  I turned around and faced a hunk of a man, a Nordic god, all flaxen and gold, the definition of beauty in the flesh. He was the most handsome male specimen I’d ever seen and when he shined his smile on me, it warmed me like the Florida sun.

  “Seth always knows how to pick them,” he said. “He chose the right spot for this place.”

  My tongue weighed a ton. Those blue eyes. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his face or muster a single intelligent word out of my mouth.

  A door slammed, breaking the trance. Seth turned the corner and stopped to stare at me. His face dropped to the severe scowl he seemed to favor, at least when I was around. He clutched his cell in one hand and seemed to be in a worse mood than before.

  “I see you’ve met my little brother, Jeremy,” he said in his acerbic tone. “Go ahead, take your time, gawk some more if you’d like. The entire female race fawns when Jer is near.”

  I made a point to close my mouth. Nothing much I could do about the blush on my face.

  “Kindly ignore my brother, the caveman.” Jeremy offered his hand. “He has a tendency to devolve when he’s annoyed. You didn’t tell me your hitchhiker was a looker, bro.”

  “Hi.” I shook his hand, trying to jump-start my thought process. “I’m Summer.”

  “Summer in Alaska?” Jeremy’s laughter reminded me of Seth’s. “You’re late!”

  “Lay off.” Seth busied himself in the kitchen. “She’s heard that one before.”

  He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black, long-sleeve shirt that showcased his broad shoulders and his tapered waist. Beneath the jersey, the muscles in his arms flexed nicely as he operated a fancy espresso machine. He moved about the kitchen with purpose, but he glanced at me every so often, aiming his reproving glare in my direction. Crap. When he looked at me like that, I wanted out of here.

  Both brothers were tall, a few inches above six feet, with long legs and strong builds, mountain m
en, but of the clean-cut kind. Their coloring and shapes were almost identical, but Jeremy’s hair fell in curlier waves and his features were softer and refined. In contrast, Seth’s hair was straight, his nose was a tad too long, and his features were blunt and defined—kind of like his personality.

  Seth slammed a mug on the kitchen counter.

  I looked at Jeremy. “Was your brother born a grouch or did a bug crawl up his ass recently?”

  Jeremy burst into laughter. “I like her, Seth. You won’t be able to bulldoze over her.”

  “She’s no pushover, that’s for sure.” Seth offered me a steaming mug. “Peace offering?”

  I hadn’t realized we were at war until that moment. Hell, according to him, we’d gotten along fine last night. I suppressed the twinge of desire that stirred between my legs. My body must’ve remembered something, because I was suddenly flushing all over and my nipples were poking through my bra with a ferocity that left me breathless. I tried to hide my fluster by plucking the cup out of his hands and taking a long sip.

  The robust espresso hit my taste buds, along with the silky flow of scalded milk and lots of sugar, my definition of morning glory. Oh my God. Had I died and gone to heaven?

  “This is pure deliciousness.” I savored another gulp of liquid sweetness, relishing the heat. “How did you know that I was a café-con-leche kind of girl?”

  “Lucky guess?” he mumbled, but he looked totally guilty of something.

  He gestured to a padded chair.

  “Oh, no, can’t stay, no way,” I stuttered. “Sun’s out, storm’s done, got to find Tammy.”

  “Sit,” he commanded, all traces of courtesy gone.

  My temper flared. “I’m not a dog, you know.”

  “Summer?” Jeremy patted the couch next to him. “Why don’t you please sit down and finish your coffee? Seth’s manners leave a lot to be desired when he’s in a mood, but he wants to have a little chat with you.”

  My fingers tightened around the mug. God help me. Seth wouldn’t be so crude as to bring up last night in front of his brother, would he?

  “But...”

  “It’s about the car,” Seth said.

  A wave of relief washed over me. I settled down on the couch. “Okay, but let’s be quick.”

  Seth sat on a chair across from me. His long, strong legs folded at either side of him in a swift, efficient motion that stretched his jeans over a pair of impressively defined thighs. My gaze drifted to the space between his legs. I caught myself trying to remember what the bulk trapped there looked and felt like. Jesus, Silva, eyes up. Bad move. When I snapped my head up, his stare met mine with an almost magical intensity. An intimate, pervasive frisson swept up my spine, prickled the hairs on my limbs, and warmed my lower belly.

  Rats. What was happening here?

  Like the moisture dampening my panties, the words just trickled out of my lips. “I really do need to get going.” Fast. The fastest, the better.

  “And how exactly do you propose to get going without a car?” Seth said.

  I frowned. “I thought the car was here.”

  “Well, you were wrong. It isn’t.”

  “Jesus, Seth,” Jeremy said. “How come you sound like the big bad wolf all the time?”

  “The big bad wolf?” I started to laugh, because the mental image fit exactly, but my giggles wilted under the heat of Seth’s terrible glare. “You have to admit, your brother might be right, you do bark a lot, at least half of the time...”

  “Let’s get this over with.” Seth jerked his chin at his brother.

  “What Seth meant to say,” Jeremy clarified, “is that your car is too badly damaged for you to drive. That was quite a wreck you got into. It’s a wonder you didn’t break something.”

  “You went out there?” I said. “You found the car in the ravine?”

  “Seth called me last night and asked me to go first thing in the morning,” Jeremy explained. “So once the storm was over, I drove out there, got your stuff, called the rental company and had the car towed.”

  “Oh, wow.” I was used to fixing other people’s problems, not the other way around. “I really appreciate you doing all of that for me. I’ll need to rent another car. Is there any chance you could give me a ride to the nearest town?”

  Seth grumbled. “I don’t think anyone around here will want to rent you another car for a while.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’ve got no business driving on ice,” he said. “Plus, you’ve got another, more serious problem.”

  “Which is?”

  “You didn’t end up in a ravine by accident.”

  “What?” I looked from one man to the other. “I don’t understand.”

  “What Seth is trying to say,” Jeremy said, “is that mechanical reasons caused the wreck.”

  “Really?” I set my mug down on the coffee table. “What kind of mechanical reasons?”

  “Let’s see.” Jeremy tapped his fingers on his thigh. “What’s the best way to explain this to you?”

  “Oh, for Christ’s fucking sake,” Seth snapped. “Stop tiptoeing around her. She can take it.” He clobbered me with his eyes. “Somebody fucked with your brakes.”

  I stared at him, unable to understand. “What did you say?”

  “Somebody tried to make a colander out of your brake lines,” he said. “The same son of a bitch who tried to kill you.”

  Chapter Four

  I couldn’t peel my eyes away from Seth. My taut nerves strained like rubber bands about to snap. He looked totally serious. Not a hint of humor in his gaze. Still, I had to ask.

  “Are you guys messing with me?”

  Jeremy shook his head.

  “It’s no joke,” Seth said, his face set on grim. “Somebody tried to kill you.”

  “No way,” I said. “That’s absurd. Maybe it was an accident. Brakes fail all the time. Maybe the lines were old?”

  “Nope.” Seth leaned over and showed me the screen on his cell. “Take a look. The rental company said the car was almost new and the lines show small, clear punctures evenly spaced, made with a sharp object.”

  I looked at the pictures of my rental’s brake lines. He was right. Those holes were man-made, even I could tell. My belly went cold.

  “I don’t get it,” I said. “Why would somebody want to kill me?”

  “You tell us,” Seth said. “Is there anyone in your life that would benefit from you dying in a car accident?”

  “No,” I said. “Nobody.”

  “Think about it,” Jeremy said. “Do you have a life insurance policy? Is there an inheritance? A large bank account? A property that someone else wants?”

  “That’s a ‘no’ four times in a row,” I said. “The only thing I own is a lot of student debt.”

  “How about a grudge?” Seth said. “Have you had problems with anyone? Has anyone threatened you or tried to harm you, maybe your ex?”

  I narrowed my eyes on him. “How do you know I have an ex?”

  “I made an assumption.”

  “I get along with people fine,” I said. “And if you absolutely have to know, I haven’t talked to my ex in a long time. He lives overseas and wouldn’t dare mess with me. I made sure of that.”

  “Okay,” Seth said skeptically. “What about your stepmother or your sister? Do they have any reason to want you dead?”

  “Of course not!” I dug my nails in my palms. “We’re family. Get it? FA-MI-LY. We love each other. We help each other. How could you even suggest such a horrible thing?”

  “Sometimes families don’t get along.”

  “Just because your family sucks doesn’t mean that mine does.”

  “She may have a point there,” Jeremy put in.

  �
�This is not about me or my family,” Seth said in a strained tone. “You need to set your emotions aside.”

  I shot him an icy glare. “Sure, I’ll do that, as soon as you stop being a condescending prick.”

  “Jesus, woman.” He swore under his breath. “I’m trying here.”

  “Then try harder,” I said. “I don’t do well with people who talk down to me.”

  Seth’s face flooded with crimson. “I wasn’t—”

  “Hey, kids?” Jeremy interrupted. “Let’s keep it cool. Okay? Summer, Seth just wants you to look at the situation objectively.”

  “I am looking at the situation objectively!” I said. “Louise and Tammy would never harm me. Never. Period. End of story.”

  “If you say so,” Seth muttered.

  “I do say so!”

  “Easy now,” Jeremy said. “No need to get upset.”

  I took in a calming breath. Seth had a nasty way of making my temper flare. Not that it was so difficult to make me mad. I blamed my Latin blood for my bluster. But that man...he was an agitator to my emotions. He brought out the worst in me. The most difficult part? I couldn’t really think straight around him.

  I was pretty sure he emitted some kind of electrical signal that disrupted my thoughts. I hated to admit it, but I liked the way he systematically looked at a problem, like an engineer. Or an architect. Unfortunately, the problem at hand was me.

  To top it all, the spectrum of what had happened between us last night taunted me in a very physical way. I couldn’t help but wonder: How had his nice, firm, sexy body felt between my arms? Had I liked him? Had he liked me?

  Get a hold of yourself. I pressed my legs together. I couldn’t believe it. Me, Summer Silva, daydreaming in the middle of a nightmare, salivating after a total stranger while sitting in his living room having a discussion about...what else? Murder, possibly mine.

  I pressed the delete button in my mind. I wasn’t going to let my thoughts wander again. Whatever happened last night, it was over, done, finito. And no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t going to convince me that my family was a danger to me. No freaking way.