Page 20 of Been There Dragon That
“Where did you come from?”
“I was patrolling.”
She waved her hand at the swirling snow. “In this?”
“Yes.”
That was it. Justyes.
“Where are you taking me?”
“My place isn’t far. It is built much better. You will be safe.”
Rylee’s chest constricted a little. He was taking her tohishome. Just like that. No choice in the matter. She didn’t know him from Adam.
Stop overthinking this Ry. He’s a deputy. Everyone loves him. It’s not like Jeff could’ve gotten to him. And if he’d wanted me dead, then why wouldn’t he have left me in the other house to freeze to death?
Rylee’s hand went into the pocket on the front of her hoodie, but the phone was gone.
“My phone. I need my phone. When you grabbed me, I dropped it.”
He kept driving. Kept staring into the swirling white.
“You can use mine.” He pulled a cell from his front jacket pocket and held it out to her. “But there’s likely no signal in this storm.”
She already knew that. Her phone had stopped working in the closet. Still, she took his phone and held it like a lifeline. She touched the screen. It opened. No password.
She didn’t think she’d met a man her whole life who was willing to hand her his phone. And this man was a stranger.
The vehicle bumped along on the road. The wind howled. The once clear blue sky was white and gray and darkly ominous. She’d never been in a snowstorm. Texas wasn’t really known for them. She’d traveled, but her parents weren’t fans of skiing, and they’d avoided winter for most of her life.
As cold as it was outside, the heater in his SUV was amazing. She was sitting in a hoodie and leggings and fuzzy slippers and not even shivering.
“What’s your name?”
“Wrath Di’Lasha.” He took a sharp turn and slammed on the breaks. “Dalmeck!”
“Dal-what?” Rylee peered ahead on the road but couldn’t see anything specific. The word he’d said hadn’t sounded English. Maybe it was something from Alaska?
“I have to move some debris off the road. I’ll be right back.” He opened his door. “Stay here.” The wind bit at her face, and she closed her eyes, the temperature shock rolled through her like an icy tidal wave.
He was gone and out of the vehicle before she recovered. The second he was gone, a bone-chilling cold settled around her like a damp blanket. The heater was still blowing into the car. She held her hands to the vent. Warm air was coming out, but it was about the equivalent of a hair dryer trying to melt a glacier.
Rylee stared out into the white swirling snow. Every so often she could catch a glimpse of his dark form moving around.
Seconds ticked by, turning into even longer minutes. Maybe it would go quicker if she offered to help? But he’d said to stay in the vehicle.
She wasn’t dressed to be in this weather. She wasn’t even wearing real shoes. And apparently, body heat was a real thing, because her toes were numb and her fingers were numb and her nose felt like a block of ice.
All she wanted was to be up against Wrath’s chest again. Bad choice or not. She hadn’t been cold when he’d been holding her.
The truck stalled, and the lights inside dimmed. She’d only imagined that the heater wasn’t doing anything. Now, without that steady stream of slightly warmed air, she might as well be sitting in a restaurant walk-in freezer. “Deputy Di’Lasha? Wrath?”
His first name was Wrath? Like wrath of the gods? Like anger and wrath? Who would name their kid with a synonym for anger?
Although she couldn’t help but wonder what those golden-brown eyes would look like filled with anger. Perhaps there was a tiny bit of a brat living inside her. Or she had a death wish. No, it was probably the brat.
Whatever it was, her insides did a tiny leap, and for a few seconds, she forgot that her teeth were knocking together like an old man’s knees.
