Out Of Control Read Online Free PDF

teased
at the tendrils of curls escaping her pony tail.
    In
a moment it all changed, the breeze shifting to a freshening wind, heavy clouds
moving in. She was ten blocks from the house when fat drops of rain began
pelting her skin, and in seconds, she was soaked.
    She
sloshed through the rapidly accumulating puddles and was wishing she’d opted
for wine and a hot bath when a large, black pickup pulled to the curb and the
passenger side window slid down. Dana began running faster, her natural fear of
strangers, especially men, kicking in.
    “Hey!”
The voice was deep, heavy, masculine. “Need a ride?”
    She
glanced sideways. It was the same truck she’d seen earlier, she was sure. She
didn’t stop long enough to get more than a brief glimpse of the driver. Male,
wearing the traditional Stetson. Was it him ? Had he already discovered
her and identified the grown woman who was once the child?
    Just
like that, the familiar panic threatened to swallow her up. The pounding of her
heart and the sensation of air trapped in her lungs had little to do with her
physical exertion. This was the same kind of paralyzing feared that wrapped its
tentacles around her whenever she was confronted with an unknown, unexpected
male presence.
    Dana
pushed harder, strides eating up the distance back the way she’d come.
    Just
let me get to the house. Please. Just let me get away from him.
    “You’re
soaked,” the voice called to her as the truck slowed. “You’ll catch pneumonia.
Be sensible. I promise I’m harmless. Come on. Let me give you a ride.”
    Yeah,
right. God, make him get away from me.
    The
voice didn’t sound familiar, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t him . He’d
have changed, gotten older like she had. She increased her speed, hoping that
would be a signal to back off. Her heart was trip-hammering so hard she
expected it to leap through her chest at any moment. She’d stupidly left her
cell phone in her purse so she couldn’t even call the sheriff.
    At
the corner, the truck turned in front of her and she had a vague impression of
a man at the wheel, but the rain made it impossible to see him clearly. There
was a big dog, some kind of shepherd, sitting up in the back seat. When the
truck stopped at the curb, literally in her path, the fear was so intense it
choked her.
    Get
away! Get away!
    “Listen,
it’s all right,” the driver called. “I’m…”
    But
she didn’t wait to hear who or what he was or to get a better look. Fueled by a
surge of adrenaline, she cut to the right and ran around the end of his truck.
She headed through the yards of her unknown neighbors, knowing the truck couldn’t
follow her there and hoping no one would think she was up to no good and shoot
her.
    He
won’t get out of the truck and follow me on foot, will he? Faster, Dana. Run
Faster.
    Fear
made her stride lengthen and her arms pump harder.
    A
giant streak of lightning split the sky, and thunder rumbled as if it were
right beside her as she reached her back porch. Fishing the key from her
waterlogged shorts, she shoved her door open and fell into the utility room.
Slamming the door shut, she sagged against the wall, every muscle in her body
trembling. Her pulse was racing, and she thought her lungs would never get
enough air again.
    I
got away, I got away, I got away.
    Over
and over, like a litany, the words reverberated in her mind as they tried to
convince her that she was once again safe.
    Safe.
What a joke. No place is safe.
    Finally,
aware that she was standing in a widening puddle, she pulled off her soaked
clothing and tossed it into the laundry sink.
    She
hurried her bedroom and yanked her robe from the bed where she’d tossed it
earlier, pulling it on and yanking the belt tight. Still shaking, she moved
through the house, slamming shut the windows she’d opened, checking deadbolts
and window locks until she was satisfied she was as secure as she could make
herself. Safe enough at any rate to take a hot shower and chase