“Shut up.” His hands were on her breasts, kneading, pulling, stroking.
Heat.
Tingling electricity.
Fullness.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t move.
His mouth was on her throat, his tongue moved down to the hollow of her breasts. Her shirt was suddenly open, and his mouth was on her nipple.
She arched up to him with a low cry.
“Yes.” His teeth were pulling, his mouth …
She instinctively moved closer, offering more.
He froze.
“Nalchek…”
He took a deep breath, then he pushed her away. “Keep away from me.”
“I don’t want to keep—”
“I don’t care what you want.” He leaned over the steering wheel. “I care what I want. And it’s not to screw some kid who wants a quick thrill and a little experimentation. For God’s sake, the first time I saw you, I thought you were a teenager.”
“I’m … twenty-one.” She was trying to get her breath. “And I’m sure that you’ve done your share of experimentation. Though that wasn’t what I meant—” She stopped. “And you were right, I only intended to take you off guard. I could see that you only thought of me as a kid, and I believed it was a safe way to distract you.” She steadied her voice. “It kind of … blew up.”
“You bet it did,” he said grimly. “You had me so hot that I wasn’t going to stop.”
“But you did.” Her fingers were shaking as she buttoned her shirt. “And now the best thing is clearly to forget it happened.”
“Is it?” He was watching her fingers on the buttons. “Why? Didn’t you say I excited you?” He made a violent dismissive gesture. “Forget I said that. But it’s not that easy. I came close to raping you.”
“No, you didn’t.” She looked away from him. “You wouldn’t have done that. I know about rape.”
He went still. “Do you?”
“See? You’re getting all protective. You wouldn’t have used force.”
“When did it happen?”
“When I was twelve. It was when I was hiding in the woods from my father. Two hunters found me and decided to have a little fun.”
Nalchek cursed.
She shook her head. “It’s over. It took a long time to get over it, but I was lucky that I was in the best place in the world to learn that rape sometimes happens, but so does survival. It was all around me. It’s all part of nature. You just have to turn your back on the pain and accept the joy.” She tucked her shirt in her jeans. “Now I think you should take me to Eve.”
He sat looking at her. “Yeah.”
Then he turned on the ignition. “Did you know their names?”
“The men who raped me? Yes, it seemed important at the time.”
“Who were they?”
She shook her head. “It’s not important now.”
“I want their names.”
“What are you going to do? Arrest them?”
“Maybe.”
She shook her head. “After all this time? More pain than gain.”
“I don’t agree.” His foot pressed the accelerator as he reached the highway. “Let me put it in a way you’ll understand. In nature, there’s rape, there’s survival, but you left out one other important element.”
“What’s that?”
“Revenge.”
* * *
“Here she is,” Nalchek said when Eve opened the door to her hotel room. He nudged Margaret into the room. “Though what you want with her, I don’t know. She’s big-time trouble.”
“Problems?” Eve asked as her gaze shifted between the two of them. Nalchek was obviously tense and … something more explosive. Margaret was more subdued than usual. “You were longer than I thought you’d be.”
“My fault.” Margaret smiled. “I wanted to spend a little more time in the woods before he picked me up. I didn’t tell his officer, and it led to … disturbance.”
“Yes, it did.” He met her gaze. “And it could have been worse … or better. Don’t play games with me again, Margaret.”
“I won’t.” She smiled as she lifted her chin. “I learn from my mistakes. Do you, Nalchek?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t repeat them. It depends if it’s worth it. I asked you a question, then allowed you to sidle out of answering. Next time, you will answer, Margaret.”
“What’s going on, Nalchek?” Eve asked.
His gaze shifted back to her. “I’m not sure, but I’d bet that you’ll know before I do.” He turned to leave. “I’ll call you after the story comes out tomorrow. If you need me, you have my number.”
Eve nodded and watched the door close behind him.
She turned to Margaret. “Did I detect friction?”
“Among other things.” She handed Eve her carry-on bag. “I know you wanted to change before you went to the hospital.”
Eve nodded. “I only had one change of clothes, and I ruined those when Joe was wounded.”
“How is Joe?”
“He’ll be back in action within a few days.” She headed for the bathroom. “And that might be too soon. I’ll be right out. There’s one of those beverage servers on the dresser. Help yourself.”
“I will. Maybe some tea. I could use a little caffeine.”
“You don’t look it. You look … charged.”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” Margaret said.
But she didn’t think that was true in this case, Eve thought. Margaret’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkling. Whatever had gone on between her and Nalchek, it didn’t require the aid of stimulants.
Eve quickly changed clothes and washed her face and hands before she went back into her room. Margaret was sitting curled up on the couch, cradling a cup of tea in two hands.
She looked up and smiled. “I love the scent of Earl Grey. I got used to drinking it while I was on the island.”
“It does smell wonderful.” She folded her arms across her chest. “But I don’t have time to discuss tea, Margaret. I have to get back to the hospital. I’ve been gone most of the day.”
“Go on. You’re in a hurry. I’ll curl up here and see you in the morning.”
“No, I’ve arranged a room for you. Your key is on the coffee table.” She took her handbag from the coffee table. “But I do have time to have you tell me if there’s something I should know about why Nalchek is so pissed off at you. Does it concern Walsh?”
“Sort of … in a roundabout way.”
“I’ve discovered that’s not unusual with you.”
“Yes.” She took a sip of her tea. “But then what can you expect?” Her expression was suddenly sober. “Well, it’s not really about Walsh. At least, only on the outer edges.”
“Margaret.”
“Nalchek is hiding something.” She shook her head. “I think it’s bad. Though I can’t be sure. Sajan was pretty confused. He kept comparing Nalchek to the other one.”
“What other one?”
“The one at the little girl’s grave,” she said simply. “Sajan thought that he was like him. Angry. Violent.”
“Walsh.”
“Yes, it must have been him. But I don’t know how true it was. As I said, Sajan was confused, and he’s not a reliable witness.” She grimaced. “And that damn coyote was pretty angry, too. He didn’t know why he was supposed to be there, but he didn’t like it.”
“You said that before.”
“He kept repeating it. Sajan is definitely not a stoic.”
“Are coyotes supposed to be?”
“No, but I got tired of the whining.”
Eve’s gaze narrowed on Margaret’s face. “You’re talking a lot about this coyote and waltzing around Nalchek. Is it because you think that your furry friend may be all bullshit?”
“It could be.” She was silent a moment. “I hope it is. But Nalchek can be angry. And I think he can be dangerous. He showed that side to me tonight.”
Eve stiffened. “He hurt you?”
“No.” She was suddenly grinning. “He called my bluff. But it was still a revelation.” She waved a hand to shoo Eve out of the room. “Go see your Joe. Nothing happened to me tonight. I wish I could say I learned something more to tell you, but that wouldn’t be true. I only found out more questions to ask.”