An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Hannah pressed her hands against the dashboard, bracing herself. James's driving was wild and erratic. "Slow down!"
"I'm putting distance between us and any potential pursuers."
James had always been so intelligent. How could he not see how futile his escape was. Although frightened, she tried to keep from panicking by thinking of how to reason with him. "You had that box cutter to the throat of the daughter of a sitting United States Senator and presidential hopeful."
He shrugged. "I didn't know that."
"By now, every law enforcement agency in the state is mobilizing to hunt you down."
He chuckled mirthlessly. "They've already been looking for me after discovering the funds I stole."
"That was just a white-collar crime. This is a whole 'nother level. In front of scores of witnesses, you assaulted a helpless girl, threatened to kill her, kidnapped me, and stole a car. They're going to come after you with everything they have."
"You got into this car willingly. I didn't kidnap you."
"If that's true, then stop the car and let me out."
He shouted, "Don't you understand? Everything I've done has been for you."
James's sudden anger made Hannah flinch. She kept her voice calm, hoping to deescalate his rage. "James, I know you. This isn't you. What is your endgame? What do you hope to accomplish?"
He went silent for a while before answering. "I paid one of the temporary valets for his uniform. I knew the type of car he drove, because I saw you with him at Hershey Park. I thought you would be with him again tonight. My original plan was to cut him with my blade and drive away with you. The other girl was unexpected, so I had to improvise. It all worked out though because here you are, with me."
"Here I am, with you," she repeated. "Now what?"
"We can start over. I have a new hideaway in the Caribbean. One of my clients is a pilot and has agreed to fly us there. I already paid him off. He's meeting us at the airport at midnight."
Hannah sighed and closed her eyes. He was unreachable. The man she had once loved was totally gone. "James, I don't want to go with you. I don't want to start over."
"You'll change your mind once we get there. You should see the little bungalow I bought. It's paradise, Hannah."
She opened her eyes and decided to try one last time to make him see reason. "I don't love you anymore. I don't want to be part of your plan. The moment you stop this car, I'm going to get out and run. When I do, are you going to run me down and hurt me? Will you force me to get on a plane against my will? Does that sound like the start of paradise to you?"
"I don't want to hurt you, so please don't make me."
As a woman, she often considered how she would fight and scream and kick if she ever found herself in a compromising situation with a man. Now, confronted with reality, her courage faded. Thinking about what she should do and actually doing it were two different things. If James were a stranger or if she were in the process of being raped, she could probably muster the courage. But this was James. She couldn't imagine this meek, passive man could ever do her harm. She also couldn't imagine him stealing from clients either, yet that's what he had done. What else was he capable of?
"James, what happened to you?"
He scoffed. "You did. If you would've forgiven me and taken me back, none of this would've happened."
"You're saying holding a razor blade to that girl's throat was my fault?"
"You drove me to it. You and that goon you've been seeing."
"His name is Cliff."
"I don't care."
"Would you have done it? Would you have killed her if I hadn't showed up?"
He remained silent a long time before answering. "I don't know."
His answer gave her hope. If he hadn't been sure about carrying out his threat, maybe a little of the old James she knew remained. "It's not too late to make things right. Give yourself up. I'm not saying they'll go easy on you, but you can come out on the other side of this. You'll get your life back."
"There is no life without you in it, so shut up. I need to concentrate to get us to the airport."
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Nice try, Hannah, but it appears she's in over her head. What else can she do?
