The Stranger and I. Carol Ericson

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СКАЧАТЬ it slow and easy, she got back on the main road toward Tijuana and the border. She joined the line of cars crawling through the border stop. She licked her dry lips and called over one of the many vendors threading their way through the cars. After a few minutes of haggling, she bought a large, gaudy sombrero and a donkey puppet on strings in an attempt to appear like a normal tourist, even though she felt far from normal. Tyler would like the puppet anyway.

      As she inched the dirty little car forward, her mouth got drier and drier. Her hands gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles bleached white. She drew a ragged breath and grabbed the water bottle lying on the seat next to her. She grimaced at the film of sediment at the bottom of the bottle and wet her lips with the warm, stale water.

      Releasing the steering wheel, she flexed her fingers and coached herself. “You can do this, Lila.”

      The Border Patrol agent approached her car, and she turned down the radio and rolled down the window. His dark sunglasses hid his eyes, reflecting her face. Her lips peeled back in a smile.

      He ducked his head. “Good morning, ma’am. What was the reason for your visit to Mexico?”

      “Just came over as a tourist.” She didn’t want to get into any long explanations with him about her research as a marine biologist.

      Gesturing to the car, he said, “Looks like you’ve been driving quite a bit.”

      She shrugged. “Just down the coast and back.” Sucking in a breath, she held her smile and waited.

      He shook his head. “It’s not a great idea for a woman to drive alone in Mexico.”

      Stepping back, he waved her through. “Have a nice day.”

      She expelled her breath, and breezed across the border into the United States of America.

      Once she reached the border town of Nestor, she pulled off the road into the parking lot of a shopping center. She grabbed the grubby street map shoved in the door’s side pocket. After jotting down the directions to the address in Chad’s note, she took off to deliver the bad news and the dead body to Justin Vidal.

      Cruising into San Diego, she searched for the address among streets that twisted and turned through hills and canyons. She found it tucked away on a quiet block dense with trees. A high fence and lush vegetation obscured the house from the road.

      She pulled up across the street and, still favoring her sore ankle, walked through the gate up to a large wooden deck.

      She rang the doorbell and knotted her hands in front of her. What was she doing? She had a dead guy in her trunk. She should just call the police right now. She spun on her heel, when a gruff voice from behind the door stopped her.

      “Who is it?”

      She gulped. “Ah, you don’t know me, but I met Chad Delaney in Mexico, and he gave me a lift, and—”

      The thick wooden door jerked open. A strong arm shot out and dragged her across the threshold. That same arm encircled her neck, pinning her back against a body as hard as granite.

      She clawed at his arm and stomped down on his foot in a futile struggle. A click close to her ear made her freeze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the barrel of a very big gun.

      The low voice, as smooth as silky, dark chocolate but not as sweet, purred in her ear. “That’s better. Now, who the hell are you, and where’s Chad?”

      A river of anger coursed through her veins, washing away the fear. She did everything Chad asked of her, and his so-called friend planned to repay her with a bullet in the head?

      She gasped out, “If you’d get your arm off my neck, I could tell you.”

      The man grunted and released her so quickly, she stumbled. She pivoted and looked up into a pair of tawny-colored eyes glinting with sparks of anger. The man’s intense stare plucked an answering chord in her chest, and she raised her hand to cover her heart. Then her gaze fell to the gun still aimed in her direction.

      “And stop pointing that thing at me. I’ve had just about enough of you and Chad, and, and…” She sagged against the door while hot tears scalded her cheeks. She sensed movement from the stranger, but he made no attempt to comfort her.

      Comfort? Yeah, like a rattlesnake.

      Damn, she hated crying. It never solved anything. Didn’t do much good when her father died, and wouldn’t do much good now in the face of this man’s smoldering fierceness.

      Dragging a hand across her face, she heaved herself off the door. She glanced up through wet lashes at the imposing figure still standing in front of her, sinewy arms crossed over an unyielding chest. He watched her through narrowed eyes.

      Tiger’s eyes.

      But at least the gun had disappeared.

      She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and croaked, “Can I sit down?”

      He stepped back and nodded toward a chair by the window, his dark, wet hair falling over one eye. She limped to the hard chair and perched on the edge.

      “Who are you, and where’s Chad?”

      Gripping her knees, she drew a shaky breath. “Chad’s dead.”

      The man in front of her swore softly but didn’t move, except for a twitching muscle in his jaw. Some emotion flickered in his eyes. Fear? Regret?

      He intoned, “Go on.”

      She dragged her hands through her tangled hair as she continued. “I met Chad three days ago just outside of Playa Roja. I’m a marine biologist, a graduate student at U.C. San Diego, and I went to Mexico to conduct a study of the marine life off the coast there.”

      His lean jaw relaxed a little, and encouraged, she plunged ahead. “My car broke down, and Chad came by and gave me a lift.”

      The man’s breath hissed out between his clenched teeth, but he said nothing. Every taut muscle in his body signaled danger.

      She faltered. “I—I…He said he was driving back up across the border and could take me all the way into San Diego. We planned to drive all night, crossing the border in the early morning, but last night Chad mentioned he had to make a quick stop to meet a friend.”

      Interrupting her for the first time since her monologue began, he asked, “Did he tell you why? Did he tell you his business in Mexico?”

      She shook her head. “He didn’t say why he was meeting the friend, but he told me he came to Mexico for the surfing.”

      Sinking into the chair across from her, he extended his long legs in front of him, crossing his ankles. “How’d he die?”

      Lila shot him a look from under her eyelashes. His expressiveness rivaled the Terminator’s. Looked about as hard, too. “I climbed into the back seat to get some sleep, and when I woke up Chad was gone. He’d parked down a gravel access road at the edge of a clump of trees. I had a strange feeling when I woke up, so I crept to the clearing and saw Chad with his hands behind

       him and two men questioning him. One had a gun and СКАЧАТЬ