Silent Run - Barbara Freethy [37]
As soon as he’d parked the car, Sarah got out and walked over to the edge of the road where a waist-high rail prohibited her from slipping down the hillside. As she gazed into the canyon, she couldn’t help wondering how on earth she’d survived the accident. She closed her eyes, trying to find some memory of the road, the canyon, the crash, of being trapped in the car.
“Sarah.” Jake’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“I’m trying to focus,” she complained, keeping her eyes closed.
He didn’t reply, but she could hear his breath coming in impatient bursts, disturbing her concentration. She opened her eyes. “You’re not helping. You’re too close to me.”
“Don’t you remember anything?” he asked, his gaze boring into hers.
“Just give me a minute.” She closed her eyes again, trying to at least relive the dream she’d had just before she’d woken up in the hospital. There had been a car in the rearview mirror, the lights drawing nearer. She’d pressed her foot down on the gas. She was running somewhere, looking for safety. But the rain was coming down harder; the windshield wipers could barely keep up. The turn in the road came quickly. The car began to slide. She hit the brakes, to no avail. Lights from the opposite direction blinded her. And then she was flying, terrified that when she landed it would all be over.
But where was Caitlyn in her dream? She never looked over her shoulder. Never heard the baby cry. Never once whispered a reassurance to her daughter that everything would be all right.
Caitlyn wasn’t in the car. Sarah suddenly knew that with shocking clarity. When she’d looked in the rearview mirror, she’d seen the trace of a car seat— an empty car seat.
Her eyes flew open, her gaze connecting immediately with Jake’s.
“She wasn’t in the car,” she said. “I saw the seat in the mirror. There was no one there. Caitlyn wasn’t there.”
He stared at her with grim eyes. “So where was she?”
“I don’t know, but doesn’t it make you feel better to be sure she’s not down there?” she asked, waving her hand toward the wild canyon below. “And that no one took her from the car?”
“I still don’t know if she’s safe. I won’t feel better until she’s in my arms.”
As Jake finished speaking, Sarah heard a car coming down the road. Her spine stiffened as she glanced over her shoulder and saw a dark sedan heading toward them. She suddenly realized how vulnerable they were standing alone on this desolate strip of highway. Not a car had passed since they’d arrived. She’d almost died here before. Was someone going to try again?
The sedan began to slow. She could see a man behind the wheel.
Jake grabbed her hand, yanking her toward his rental car. “Get in. Hurry.”
She slid into the seat and was barely inside before Jake slammed the door and jogged around to his side of the car. He had just flipped the locks when the sedan stopped next to them.
Her heart pounded against her chest. “Start the car. Go,” she urged.
“He’s blocking me in,” Jake muttered.
She stared past him at the man in the other car. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a red tie. He had light brown hair, and he was rolling down the window on the passenger side. He motioned for Jake to do the same.
After a moment’s hesitation, Jake lowered the window a few inches. “What?” he asked.
“Everything okay?” the man inquired. “Do you need me to call for help? Is your car all right?”
“We’re fine. Thanks anyway,” Jake replied, raising the window back up and starting the car.
The guy in the sedan stared at them for a moment, then shrugged and continued on down the highway.
Sarah put a hand to her heart. It was beating in triple time, her breath coming short and fast.
“Just a Good Samaritan,” Jake said.
“I hope so.”
He shot her a quick look. “Did you recognize him, Sarah?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know him, does it?”
* * *
Sarah’s question ran around and around in his head as Jake drove down the coast toward