He grunted, then closed the distance. “You look like hel .”
Gee, what a charmer. “Thanks, real y.” She tried to smile, but it hurt too much.
“The airbag,” he explained when she touched her cheek. “You have bruises al over your face from the impact. It looks like you went a few rounds with a heavyweight.”
“That’s about how I feel.” She looked over at the cast on her wrist and groaned. “What a mess. I real y didn’t need this right now.”
He pushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind one ear. His touch was so gentle; it surprised her that a man so large and intimidating could be so tender.
“What happened? Al I got was that it was a hit-and-run accident at a curve near your apartment. How’d you end up in some damn ravine?”
As she stared at him, a memory started to break through the fog blanketing her mind. “It wasn’t an accident.”
&nb
sp; Wade frowned down at her. “Tel me what you remember.”
Her heartbeat sped up as fragments of memories surfaced. “I just . . . I think someone forced me off the road on purpose.”
“What makes you think that, Gracie?” he asked, his gentle tone drifting over her body in a soothing caress.
“Someone hit me from behind.”
“We know that much, and it bites that he took off, but how was it a deliberate attempt to force you off the road?”
“Not once, Wade. He slammed into my car three times. I think he was trying to . . .” The e-mail from her stalker popped into her mind. His warning that she needed to learn obedience. It’s for your own good; remember that. No, she was reading too much into his words. It was an accident. A drunk driver maybe. That had to be it, right?
Wade stroked her hair. “Gracie, is there something going on that you’re not tel ing me? Talk to me, honey. Let me help you.”
“I don’t even know where to start.” Her voice broke when she admitted, “H-He’s . . . I’m just so tired, Wade.”
Wade’s hand stopped moving. “Wait, he? Is this about an ex-boyfriend or something?”
“I wish it were so simple. No, he’s not an ex-boyfriend. It’s about . . . I have a stalker.” It sounded so insane when she said it aloud.
Wade was quiet a moment, as if assessing whether she’d lost her mind when her car had gone into that spin. “Since when?” he final y asked, his voice matter-of-fact enough to calm her anxiety.
“He’s been e-mailing me for about two months.” She let out a breath and plucked at the bed sheet. She hadn’t realized how good it would feel to confide in someone. She’d kept it to herself for so long.
Wade moved his hand away and crossed his arms over his chest. “How often does he e-mail? And does he communicate any other way?
Has he approached you?”
She answered his questions in order. “He used to e-mail once a day. He’s graduated to nearly every three hours. And yes, he’s cal ed. I can’t swear it’s him, because he never says anything, just sits there, listening. The cal er ID always says ‘unknown.’ ”
“He hasn’t approached you? Have you gone to the police?”
She shook her head, regretting it when her brain seemed to rattle around inside her skul . “No, he hasn’t approached me. I did go to the police, but the e-mails haven’t been threatening so there wasn’t a lot they could do.”
Wade touched a fingertip to one of her bruises and growled low. “And you think this guy is the person who hit you?”
When he put it like that it sounded absurd. Like something out of a movie. “I don’t know what I think. I don’t even know why I brought it up.”
“You brought it up because you think he tried to drive you off the road. Don’t negate your gut instinct, Gracie. It’s trying to tel you something; listen to it.” She nodded, and he went on. “I’m going to be severely pissed at you later for not tel ing me about this guy before. For now, you’re going to do what the doctor says. After the tests, you’l rest. When you get out of here, you’re coming to stay with me.”
The authoritative attitude didn’t sit wel . She’d been taking charge of her own life since she was ten years old, after her grandmother had died, leaving her with her drunken father. Gracie wasn’t about to stop now. “Forget it, Wade. I’m fine at my own apartment.”
His dark espresso eyes locked onto her and held. “Yeah, I can see how fine you are. This asshole tried to kil you, damn it.”