The remembered sensation of Carlos’ mouth against my ear made me shiver.

“We need to get you a better jacket,” Ethan said.

His hunched shoulders were near his ears as he struggled to stay warm, too.

“We’ll be warm enough once we’re eating or back in the car,” I said quietly.  The cold didn’t bother me as much as the idea of sitting in the car with Carlos.

The quaint restaurant had the typical breakfast offerings.  Jim made me smile when he hopefully asked if they had a buffet.  The small dining room obviously didn’t have one.  I didn’t know why he bothered asking.

I ordered an omelet then played tic-tac-toe with Ethan on the back of my placemat.  He won most of the games.

“You cheat,” I said, setting down my blue crayon.

He grinned and shook his head at me.

“It’s tic-tac-toe.  Cheating’s impossible.  Don’t be a sore loser.”

Playing the game and the banter never fully distracted me from Carlos’ steady gaze from across the table.  What would he do if I kicked him in the shin?  I was so tempted to find out.  Only the possibility that he might turn into the mad dog I’d seen in the alley stopped me.  I didn’t want Ethan to get hurt because I was annoyed.

When the food arrived, Emmitt immediately asked for the bill.  I glanced at Gabby.  She was in her sonar world again, and I wondered if she’d seen something to cause the need for speed.  I ate quickly as did everyone else.

“Ethan,” Winifred said as we walked out the door.  “Could I speak with you for a moment?”

I slowed down with him, but she waved me ahead.

“It’s all right, Isabelle.  You go walk with Gabby.”

I was obviously not wanted.  Ethan nodded that he was okay, so I turned and caught up with Gabby and Clay.

“I’ll be your third wheel for this walk,” I said.

Gabby didn’t answer, just stared straight ahead.  I leaned around her to look at Clay.

“She been doing this a lot?”

He nodded and cast her a worried glance.

I nudged Gabby with my elbow, and she blinked and turned to look at me.

“What are you seeing?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Meaning...”

Her brow wrinkled.

“They’ve been sweeping for us since we ran into them at your hotel.  It’s like they’re doing a grid search.  I’ve been slipping us through the holes in the lines.  Sometimes, it seemed as if they caught a scent trail and repositioned to net us.  When that happened, I would confuse our trail with a highway or high population area.

“They’re still sweeping for us, but there are larger gaps in some of their lines.  Not many.  A few.  I’ve been trying to see where the men might have gone, but I don’t see any large groupings other than the one in northern New York.  The holes are random so far.  It’s making it easier for us to slip by them.”

She paused for too long.

“But...” I prompted her.

“It feels too easy,” she said, fully looking at me.

I knew what she meant.  When the river of life gave you a floatie, there were definitely rapids ahead.

“Ignore the big gaps then and go for the smaller ones.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too,” she said with a nod.

“Did you talk to grandma and grandpa about it yet?”  Grey felt more like an Uncle than Winifred and Sam.

“I haven’t mentioned it yet because I was trying to figure it out.  But I’ll talk to Sam when we’re on the road again.”

I nodded as if I cared whether or not she shared the information, then looked over my shoulder.  Ethan kept pace beside Winifred.  His gaze swept the sidewalk before him as he listened to her.  He looked sad.  What was she saying to him?

At the hotel, the groups separated into their designated cars.  Except Winifred and Ethan.

“Z, I’m going to ride in the party bus and give you a break for a bit.  Have the big guy pull over if you need something.”

My mouth dropped open as he pivoted and climbed into the SUV with Winifred.  There were three vehicles.  Winifred’s car, the SUV that Sam drove, and the car that Thomas drove.  Thomas, Charlene, Jim, Emmitt, and Michelle had climbed into one car.  Sam, Gabby, Clay, Bethi, Luke, and Grey had already disappeared into the eight-passenger SUV.

Slowly, I turned my head and found Carlos watching me.  My eyes narrowed.  I rolled my shoulders and went to the car.  It didn’t pay to sit in back in protest.  I went to the front passenger seat and made myself comfortable.

Carlos immediately joined me.  He didn’t even seem to notice I was there as he adjusted his seat, mirror, and steering wheel.  He buckled then glanced at my seatbelt.  I buckled in, glaring at him the entire time.

I waited until we cleared the city limits before I spoke to him.

“So, this is how we’re playing it?  I ask for a room that doesn’t include you, and you finagle a car ride alone with me?  What are you hoping to prove?  How fast you can piss me off?”

His fingers twitched on the steering wheel.

“I thought we could talk,” he said evenly.

“About what?”  If he mentioned the field, I’d punch him in the head.

“Michelle said she spoke to you.”

Oh, hell no.  That subject was just as bad.  I debated telling him to shut up then decided to play dumb.  Maybe he’d give up.

“About what exactly?”

When he spoke, his voice was soft like the lull in the eye of a hurricane.

“I know you feel the pull.  I see it every time you look at me.  Why are you fighting it?”

Because fighting is what I do, I thought.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.  What pull?”  I kept my voice curious and confused.  Stupid man.  Did he think I was about to talk about him with him?

His hands tightened on the wheel again.

“Do you know why we’re alone in this car?”

Well, that was an abrupt change in topic.

“No clue.  Fill me in.”

“I’m barely in control, Isabelle.  Grey thought you’d be safer if I was busy driving.”  He completely looked away from the road to stare at me.  “But you’re not.”

The car stayed perfectly in the lane.  Not even a tiny bit of veering.  That was scarier than his words.

“Okay.  Okay.  Just look at the road already.”  He was freaking me out.

He didn’t listen.

“Tonight, when we stop, we’ll go back to four rooms.  Not five.  Do you understand?”

Did he just try to tell me what I was going to do?  Yes.  He did.

“If you value Ethan’s safety—”

I reached out, grabbed the steering wheel, and yanked it to the right.  The car swerved with a screech as he immediately counter-steered.  He braked hard and pulled over to the shoulder.  We were still on back roads.  As soon as the car stopped, he turned to look at me, thunder in his eyes.

“Don’t ever try to threaten me,” I said in a low voice.

“Don’t ever risk your safety again.”

I shivered at the menace in his words.  His intense gaze made my stomach dip and my middle heat.  He inhaled slowly, deeply.  Both his hands still gripped the steering wheel.  Yet, they shook.

Emotion flooded the air.  This time there was no question regarding its origin.  Helplessly, I breathed in his absolute, desperate need.  His steady gaze never left my face as he lifted one hand from the steering wheel and reached out toward me.  His need to touch me became my need to be touched.  I could barely breathe because of it.  I closed my eyes, trying to deny the feelings that I knew weren’t my own.  But I was helpless against his need.  It was too all consuming.

I leaned forward.

When a fingertip brushed my cheek, I exhaled shakily and my eyes flew open.  I wanted more, but he was still in the same spot, only allowing himself a small touch.  The pads on his fingers feathered over my skin from cheek to jaw, a light, gentle stroke that left a burning trail.  The need for more consumed me.

No, this wasn’t me.  It was him.

I was drowning in what he felt and couldn’t save myself.