Page 4 of Kiss Me if You Can
At least I wore sneakers instead of heels like I usually do. Balancing on one heel is not for the faint of heart.
“Here,” my kidnapper says, holding out his arm. “If you want help.”
Most guys assume I’m incapable of getting myself around because I’m the poor girl who lost her leg as a kid, and they don’t offer me a choice when it comes to helping me. Granted, I usually gladly take the help because I don’t like hopping, especially when I’m wearing a more low-cut top like today and a bra that is not nearly supportive enough for that sort of thing. But I appreciate the choice.
I tuck my arm through his, getting another whiff of his clean scent. “Thanks.”
A shout overhead pulls our attention up the hill, and my kidnapper curses under his breath when a man in a suit runs past the edge of the ravine. But not like a full run. It was more of a searching run, like there’s a good chance he’ll come back this way in a second.
“Here are the options,” my dimpled criminal says, grimacing when he looks at me. “I can leave you here and let you get yourself out of the ravine and hopefully to your leg.”
I wrinkle my nose. That hill is looking rather daunting. “Or?”
He twists and crouches just a bit, offering his back to me. “Or I can take you with me on my back, hoping you have a car or something, and you can help me find a place to hide and figure out what went wrong up there.”
I know which option has the more likely outcome of me being murdered. I also know that I’ve already fallen down that ravine wall, and I don’t especially want to climb back up on my own. My keys are around my neck, so Icouldget us out of here. But can I trust him?
Groaning, I hop onto the guy’s back and pray Cam never hears about any of this. Or my sister, for that matter. Kailani would kill me for trusting a stranger who is clearly being chased by someone.
But dimple! My gut wants me to trust this guy, so I’m going to trust him. “My car is that way. I’m Isla, by the way.”
He hesitates, glancing back up the hill before tucking his hands under my thighs. “I’m Jake.”
Chapter Three
Jake
I guess I’m akidnapper now? That’s the only thing I can think as I drive Isla’s car all over Sun City, trying to figure out the best place for me to go. I don’t want to risk going home, even if my apartment is registered under a fake name, and I especially can’t go to the office because my company isnotlisted under a fake name. I probably need to find a way to alert my team that the FBI is going to be showing up at some point, if they haven’t already, but I’ve made it so no one can get through to my company unless they’ve been vetted and set up from the inside.
Why did I have to put up such strong security?
Regardless, I need to stop driving around willy-nilly before Isla thinks I’m completely out of my depth, even though I am. I already made a fool of myself by weaving in and out of the stream that ran through the ravine, at least until Isla said I was just wasting time and getting my socks wet.
She was weirdly helpful by keeping an eye out from my back while I crept to her car in an empty and obscure part of the park, but I’m not sure I can trust that she won’t cause problems. I need to make sure she only sees confidence instead of weaknesses she can exploit. I’m not off to a good start.
“Where are we going?” she asks before I can figure out a plan of action.
I glance at her. “It’s better if you don’t know.”
“That’s not sketchy at all.” She rolls her eyes and brushes a hand over her skirt, pulling my attention to her legs.
They’re all torn up, especially the one that ends mid-thigh, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to cause problems if she tries to wear her prosthesis. That’s my fault. Not only did I lose her leg, but even if we go back and get it, she’s not going to be able to wear it.
“Sorry,” I mutter, pulling my eyes away from her fair skin. Probably not a good idea to keep staring at her legs.
“Sorry for staring?” she replies, and there’s plenty of snark in her voice.
It almost brings a smile out of me. “I meant I’m sorry for hurting you, but I guess I should apologize for staring as well. I wasn’t looking at…” I swallow, knowing I’m likely to offend her if I put this the wrong way. “I was looking at your injuries. You need to get them clean.”
“So you weren’t looking at my stump like it’s a train wreck and you just can’t look away?”
No, but she’s not going to believe me. “Will you let me help you?” I pull into the parking lot of a drugstore anyway, even if it’s probably a bad idea to stop. I can’t be sure that no one saw me leaving the park with Isla, even if I haven’t seen any sign of a tail, but I’m not about to let Isla be at risk of infection when she let me use her car.
She sighs as if this is the most inconvenient thing to ever happen to her. It probably is. “Fine. But you’re going to walk in there looking like that?”
I glance down, noticing for the first time the rips and tears in my suit pants. Not to mention the dirt. My shirt is clean—the jacket took the brunt of the fall—but that doesn’t necessarily do me much good. “Do I have a choice?”
She shrugs. “I might have some sweatpants or something in the trunk.”
