Dead Ringer Read Online Free PDF Page B

her heart, and it galloped inside her like a runaway stallion. A screech of brakes, footsteps pounding over gravel, and the car door swung open.
    "Are you completely crazy? You could have killed yourself." Breathe, party girl Just breathe. "Angelina." Finn barked her name. "Are you all right?" His voice closed in and then he was gently prying her fingers away from the wheel. "Angel." Softer. Something touched the top of her head. His hand. It slid down to cup her chin. He turned her to face him. He was kneeling beside the car. "Are you all right?"
    His eyes were so blue for a moment she thought she was looking at pieces of sky. Don't be nice to me, Shark-man. I'm a sucker for nice. "I'm not that easy to hurt."
    His gaze lingered on her, as though he were seeing past all the masks she wore. She looked away, focused on the trees lining the road, and he rose. "That's good," he said, and frowned at the crumpled front end of the convertible. "But you're damned lucky you didn't break your neck."
    "Disappointed?"
    He turned to her, the ice back in his eyes. "Let's go. I'll call a tow truck from my car."
    She got out slowly, her legs still shaky, and leaned against the car hoping he wouldn't notice. But he put an arm around her shoulder to prop her up. She shrugged it off.
    "I'm fine."
    One step and a leg buckled. In an instant he caught her. Clasping her against him, he held her up so she could make the short journey to his car. His body was hard and strong beneath the dark gray suit, and she liked the feel of it. Too much. Way too much.
    "I don't need your help." She twisted away, but he held on.
    "Right." The edges of his mouth betrayed a hint of a smile. "How'd you get to be such a tough guy?"
    "Vitamins."
    He opened the passenger door on the Ford and helped her into the car, then got in himself. "We can stop at the hospital if you want."
    God, she felt a fool. "What for? You want to get your head examined, that's one thing, but there's nothing wrong with me. It was a little fender bender. No big deal."
    Once again, he observed her closely, then dismissed his concern with a little shrug and started the car. "Okay."
    She leaned against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. Why did she do these things?
    As if he'd read her mind, he said, "You like being reckless."
    Reckless, careless, thoughtless-any word with 'less' in it described her perfectly. "It's called fun."
    "You want to kill yourself, wait until after we get Bo-rian." His voice was as cold as his eyes. "No more impulsive little dramas. You keep a calm, cool head. And you do what you're told, when you're told."
    Not on your life, Sharkman. Not since I was eighteen. "You say jump, and I say how high?"
    His mouth twisted into a tight smile. "First you say yes, sir. Then you ask how high."
    Finn let her stew on that while he headed south. Crazy, stupid ... He wanted to shake her. No, he wanted to comfort her. Make sure she was okay.
    He clamped his jaw against the tender impulse. It had taken a bullet to get him to stop caring for self-destructive women, but he'd learned his lesson.
    For a minute his wife's face floated in front of him. He remembered the way her lipstick never quite stayed within the lines of her mouth because her hands shook from booze or drugs. He remembered her wild hair and the blowsy smile she bestowed on him and whatever other man happened to be near. And with Suzy there were always men. She'd been the life of the party. Or had the party been her life?
    He cut a glance at Angelina, who was glowering out the passenger window as a way to avoid connecting with him, and remembered his dead wife's eyes. Those sick, haunted eyes that couldn't quite hide her fear and self-loathing. It was her eyes that had gotten to him. They'd convinced him she could be saved, that his love could save her. But nothing could.
    Disgust washed over him, familiar, even after years of living-and nearly dying-with his greatest mistake. Disgust with himself. His weakness. His