Rhys Read Free Page B

she couldn’t seem to convince herself that it was true.
    The stranger’s whole body stiffened at her question. His gaze slid her way for a fraction of a second, just long enough for Tessa to see that his eyes had hardened, becoming as brilliant as faceted sapphires.
    “No,” he said.
    Tessa let out a breath she hadn’t realized that she was holding. Something close to relief washed over her. It was still too soon to relax, but at least there was some comfort in knowing she hadn’t thrown her lot in with a killer.
    Maybe he’d told her the truth. Maybe he wasn’t a monster.
    Of course, history had shown what a fabulous judge of character she was. She’d trusted Boyd when he’d sworn that her work would never be corrupted for evil purposes. She’d believed him when he’d told her that the extra security in her lab was only to keep her safe. She’d even been fooled into believing that Dylan Murtry was her friend. Right up to the point that he’d strapped her to a chair in a concrete basement and…
    Tessa forced the images out of her head. She couldn’t think about it. Not now.
    Maybe sometime she would deal with the trauma of what had happened to her back in that house. Once she was far away from here. Once she’d survived to do what she had to.
    Tessa sighed as the Mercedes slowly pulled up to the closed gate at the end of the drive. They were trapped. The thing was twelve feet high and made of solid metal. There was no way they could crash through it. Not unless there were rockets hidden under the car.
    The stranger un-clicked his seat belt as he threw the car into park.
    “I’ll be right back,” he said, before leaving her alone.
    Tessa watched as he walked over to the gate’s control box and pried off the cover. He pulled a pocket knife from his pants and cut some wires, twisting them together.
    Tessa checked the rearview mirror as he worked, certain that at any moment she was going to see a dozen of Boyd’s guards come storming down the hill. But everything was quiet. Obviously, Anders didn’t believe that she could make it out this far.
    And he was right. She couldn’t. Not on her own.
    Of course, everything would all change the second someone found the guards on the doorstep. They were running out of time.
    A moment later, the gate swung open.
    It looked like she was being rescued by MacGyver. If she’d had two functioning arms she would have clapped. Was there anything this guy couldn’t do?
    But her mystery man didn’t seem all that impressed with his own work. His face remained a frozen mask as he walked back to the car. He didn’t say a word as he put it in gear and pulled out onto the public road.
    Tessa kept her eyes on him for a minute as he drove. She figured there couldn’t be any harm in watching him so openly. It wasn’t as if the man was paying any attention to her. His hands curled tight around the steering wheel. His eyes were focused straight ahead, his jaw tight.
    There was something about his coloring, the dark blond hair and sharp blue eyes, that was simultaneously attractive and frightening. Add that to the sharp line of his cheekbones, and Tessa was having a hell of a time figuring out if this guy was fighting on the side of good or evil.
    His flat expression wasn’t helping anything either. He appeared to be so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he had forgotten about her entirely. Tessa could only pray that was a good sign. Hopefully, it meant that he was as desperate to get rid of her as she was to get away.
    Because now that the adrenaline was starting to fade, Tessa wasn’t sure she could win another battle.
    Who was she trying to kid? She wasn’t even sure how she was going to manage to haul her ass the nearly thirty miles to downtown San Jose. She only knew that she didn’t have a choice.
    Fear wasn’t important. Pain wasn’t important. Not even her life was important anymore. The only thing that mattered was getting to that damned storage facility.
    Tessa