She was coming even with the truck. So far nobody had come back outside. She was going to make it. She was going to be all right.
Just then two shaggy heads popped up from the bed of the truck, followed at once by a chorus of baying, barking howls.
Boone’s dogs. They must’ve recognized her scent. Or maybe they just didn’t like cyclists.
Panic driven, she pumped harder. She could still hear the dogs. Even without looking back, she could tell that they’d jumped out of the truck and were coming after her. If they caught her, she wouldn’t have a chance against the big wolf hybrids. They would bring her down like a deer.
Faster ...
Her legs were getting rubbery, and her side had developed a painful stitch, and the dogs were gaining. The bike wobbled as powerful jaws caught the rear tire. If she threw down her backpack, would they attack it and let her get away? But why even wonder? Before she could get the pack off her shoulders the dogs would be all over her.
She pushed ahead, but the small bike wasn’t built for speed. Sharp teeth caught her pants leg—and then, like a miracle, came a sharp whistle and a string of curses from the direction of the truck. Abruptly, the dogs wheeled and trotted back the way they’d come.
/> Emma rode on, forcing her tired legs to push the pedals. She’d been well past the truck when the dogs caught up with her. With luck, the Swensons wouldn’t have seen her face. They wouldn’t have realized who she was.
Relief and exhaustion hit her like an earthquake. Too shaky to ride on, she pulled off the shoulder of the road to catch her breath. When she dared to glance behind her, she saw that the camouflaged truck was nowhere in sight.
And coming toward her, at breakneck speed, was a familiar tan Jeep.
CHAPTER 9
Emma waited in the passenger seat while John lifted the bike into the rear of the Jeep. When he climbed back in beside her, his mouth was a grim line.
“John—”
“Don’t say a word.” He started the engine, turned the vehicle around, and drove back toward town. Emma had seen him angry before, but not like this.
For a few minutes he drove in silence. Then he began to speak, the words coming sharp and hard. “I got a call from Boone this morning. He said his friends and family would be looking for you. I tried to call and warn you. When you didn’t answer your damn phone, I called the hotel. They said you’d taken the bike out.” He shot her a stormy glance. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“It was buried in the pack. I couldn’t get to it. I meant to call you when I got back to the hotel, but then—”
“Never mind. I saw enough to figure out what happened. You’re damned lucky to be alive.”
Tires squealing, he swung the Jeep onto a narrow, little-used side road that cut through thickets of willow and salmonberry and ended at a dilapidated boat ramp on a narrow stretch of beach. Braking, he switched off the engine, then sat gazing out at the water.
Emma waited in the tension-filled silence until she could stand it no longer. “I’m sorry, John,” she said. “I never meant to worry you.”
An eternity of seconds seemed to pass before he turned in the seat to face her, another eternity before he spoke. “Damn it, Emma, I never thought I’d say this. But right now I’m almost wishing I’d just flown home and left you to fend for yourself in that muskeg.”
Emma gasped as the cold words penetrated. “You can’t mean that,” she said. “You saved my life.”
“And what about my life? I was doing fine until you showed up. Now, half the time, it’s like I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. I can’t even sleep for fear that something will happen and I’ll lose you.”
She stared at him, her heart pounding. “What are you saying?”
“What the hell do you think I’m saying?”
He reached across the seat, caught her in his arms, and jerked her against him. His mouth crushed hers in a forceful kiss that blended fury, desire, and exquisite tenderness.
Emma’s pulse rocketed. A throbbing heat surged from the depths of her body. The response to John’s kiss was like nothing she’d ever known. She went molten against him, her lips softening, her hands tangling in his hair, her mouth open, tasting him, feeling him. She wanted his hands on her, and more. Heaven help her, she wanted all the things she’d denied herself as a woman.
But it wasn’t going to happen here. Their awkward position in the seats, with the gearbox jutting between them, ended their embrace too soon. They broke apart, both of them breathing hard. Emma pulled down her shirt and smoothed back her hair. John was looking at her in a way that—perhaps for the first time in her life—made her feel beautiful.
It was a look that said to be continued.
“I think you’d better get me back to the hotel.” Her voice had taken on a husky, sensual tone that she barely recognized.
“I think you’re right.” He started the Jeep and pulled back onto the main road. “Just promise me you won’t take any more crazy chances, Emma. And that you’ll keep in touch with me. I need to know you’re all right.”