When she finally managed to close her eyes for a few seconds, they popped right back open as the shaking began again. Instead of waiting for the trembling to stop this time, she focused on her surroundings, and the reality of the room hit her with a sickening rush. It stopped the shakes but gave her a headache instead. What a truly awful place to pick to hide.
Using her vivid imagination, she could tell that forty or fifty years ago these furnishings might’ve been someone’s idea of fashionable. The avocado walls, gold carpeting and dreadful flower-print bedspread looked as if they’d seen much better days.
A cheap chair, a metal rack with two wire hangers and a TV set with an old-fashioned rabbit-ears antenna were the only items besides the bed in this cramped room. The place smelled of stale cigarettes. And the heavy rubber-backed drapes over the one lone window contributed to a depressing atmosphere.
Lainie checked the bathroom and found two plastic cups wrapped in little paper jackets, a green-glass ashtray and the smallest bar of soap she’d ever seen. All of it had been crammed onto the edge of a single cracked sink.
Two yellowed towels sat folded on the back of the toilet, while the plastic shower curtain hung crookedly off its metal rings. Boy oh boy. The lap of luxury.
As much as she hated the thought of stripping down in this joint, she hated the idea of having glass slivers embedded in her skin even more. With a careful sigh, Lainie grabbed a towel and fitted it over her hair. The tiny thing wasn’t big enough to cover her head, but it would have to do while she took off her clothes and stepped into the shower.
Sloan balanced the two soda cans in one hand while he pulled the motel room key from his pocket with the other. He carefully inserted the key in the lock and waited for either the chain to stop him or for a heavy object to come flying at his head. Neither thing happened, so he pushed the door open and walked into the room.
He’d given her a full half hour, hoping that she’d use the time to calm down and take a shower. Actually, the idea of a cold shower had sounded pretty good to him when he’d last walked out of here.
The bathroom door stood ajar and he could hear the water running. Guess she’d decided a long, cold shower was just what she’d needed, too.
“Lainie! It’s me,” he called out, hoping not to frighten her.
“Wait. Hold on.”
After a few seconds the water stopped. She appeared in the bathroom doorway. And suddenly he couldn’t have moved if his life depended upon it.
Her hair had darkened with wetness and hung down to her shoulders, dripping water over her bare skin—all of that totally naked, glistening skin.
She’d apparently just stepped out of the shower, because she stood there looking up at him with an exasperated look on her face. And nothing to cover her nakedness except a postage-stamp-size towel that she was trying to spread out over her important parts.
He let his gaze shoot down her body to the long, slender legs and nearly bit his tongue. Dang, but he’d surely love to be able to touch all that soft skin. It was everything he could do just to drag his eyes back up to meet hers.
“Uh…” he stuttered. “Sorry. I thought you’d be out of the shower long ago. I can go away and come back in later.” That was…if he could force his legs to propel him out the door.
Lainie shook her head. “It won’t help. My clothes had so many specks of glass that I decided to rinse them out in the tub.” The edge of the towel slipped as she talked and she was forced to hang on with both hands. “But I’ve just realized that it’ll be tomorrow before they’re dry enough to put back on. What am I going to do?”
He could think of about a half-dozen things that she could do while she waited. And every single one of them involved him—and most of them involved the bed.
But she looked so forlorn, so annoyed with herself, that he felt a grin coming on. Sloan opened his mouth to make a smart remark but the irritated look in her eyes pulled him up short. She was the subject of his mission, not the object of his desire. And he’d better start treating her that way.
“Did you try wrapping up in the bedspread?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s too heavy. I couldn’t walk with it around me. Think of something else.”
“I have a raincoat out in the truck that’ll cover you up. It won’t be high fashion, but I suppose it’ll do.”
For a second he got lost in those startling green eyes again. He wondered if he could make them turn as dark as they’d been when she’d been so angry before. Would passion turn them that same depthless color?
“Yes, a raincoat would be great. Thanks.” Her glittering eyes scrunched up in thought. “What did you find out about my sister?” she demanded, dragging him back to earth with a thunk.
“Captain Johnson says she’s been taken to the hospital. He knows she’s going to be all right, but he isn’t sure how badly she’s been hurt. He’ll check it out and get back to us later.”
“Okay.” Lainie’s breath hitched as though she’d cut off a little sob. “She’s really going to be okay? Thank God.”
Lainie looked so forlorn and anguished standing there with nothing on and water dripping off her hair. The sight of her like that did things to him that he didn’t understand. It wasn’t pure lust, but what it really was eluded him at the moment.
He turned to leave, then looked down at the cans in his hands. “Are you thirsty? I brought you a soda,” he told her as he turned back.
“Oh, yes, please.” Her voice was tentative and her eyes still held that haunted look.
For one brief second he considered taking her in his arms and giving her all the protection and comfort she so obviously needed. But that wouldn’t be professional. And right now he desperately needed to maintain an air of professionalism.
Dignity. That’s what the situation called for. Remember the Rangers. Remember duty.
Sloan set both cans on the bed and was back out the door before she could move her first muscle. He retrieved his old black raincoat from the pickup and then counted to one hundred. Not that he needed the time to gather his wits. No indeed. He’d simply wanted to give her back a little of her own dignity for a few minutes.
When he finally reentered the room, he found that she’d left the bathroom door cracked open a few inches and was nowhere to be seen. Smart lady.
“Here’s the coat,” he mumbled. He shoved the raincoat through the opening while he turned his head away.
He felt her grab for it and then heard the door slam shut. One minute later Lainie sauntered out.
The beat-up old duster had never looked so good. It usually hit him at about knee length, but on her it dangled just above the ankles. She’d buttoned it up all the way and had the belt snugly tied around her middle.
“Thanks again. That’s better,” she said as she rolled up the sleeves. “And thanks for the soda, too. I didn’t realize how dry my throat was.”
“You’re welcome. Are you hungry? There’s a café a half mile down the road that we can take a chance on if you’d like.” He hadn’t given any consideration to her comfort since this whole thing began.
Some bodyguard he made. Her physical needs were every bit as important to her survival as was keeping her safe from outside threats. Starving both of them wouldn’t exactly get him a commendation from the captain.
Instead of answering him, Lainie covered her face with her hand. “I can’t think of food,” she moaned, and plopped down on the bed. “I can’t think of anything but Suzy. What have I done to my sister?”
He couldn’t bear to see such a strong, competent woman dissolve like this. Sitting down beside her,