Page 3 of Losing Hope

ChapterTwo

Gage Flynn was not havinga good night. He was stuck in the middle of bum-fucking-nowhere, in a shitty rental car that died and wouldn’t restart. He tried for over an hour to get the thing running again, in the pouring rain, but no luck. And because he was in the middle of bum-fucking-nowhere, his cell phone had no reception. He was sitting in the car—wet, hungry, and pissed off—wishing someone would drive by and actually stop for him. He was losing hope. After sitting there for almost an hour, not a single car had gone by. He was sure the weather had everyone tucked in their houses for the night. So, now, he was trying to dry off in the car in hopes of getting warm, but his stomach wouldn’t stop grumbling. Lunch was the last meal he’d eaten, and it was almost nine o’clock now. It was going to be a long fucking night.

He may not have reception on his phone, but he could still listen to music. He scrolled down to one of his favorite playlists, the Counting Crows, and hit play. He was in the middle of belting out “Rain King”, ironically, when an SUV came around the corner and almost ran into the back of his car. The driver slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop, just inches from Gage’s stalled rental car. He peered back and could see her hands clutching the steering wheel as she stared straight ahead, eyes wide with shock. Gage threw his driver’s side door open, jumped out, and ran over, grabbing the handle of her door to open it. He pointed down to the lock and yelled, “Unlock thedoor!”

Frightened, the woman shook her head no at the same time as she yelled the word. Gage yelled at her through the window, “Are you all right?”

He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t open the damn door. It was pouring out, for God’s sake, and he just wanted to make sure she wasokay.

Pushing the electric window button, allowing it to open an inch, she yelled out, “I’m fine! What the hell are you doing in the middle of theroad?”

“Sorry! Damn rental broke down, and I have no cell reception. Do you have a phone?”

Looking down at her phone, she frowned and held up the dark phone to him. She yelled back through her window, “I’m sorry, it’s dead. I’ll call Triple A when I get to my house. It’s only a few miles down theroad.”

He shook his head, drops flying from his hair, as he tried to wipe away the water running down his face. “Seriously? It’s pouring rain out here. Can you just give me aride?”

He could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to decide whether or not to give this stranger a ride. “Listen, I’m a nice guy. I promise! Just a ride to a phone and you won’t ever have to see me again!”

“Isn’tthat what all serial murderers say?” she yelled back through the window. Even looking like a drowned rat, she couldn’t help but notice this guy was seriously good looking. Didn’t Ted Bundy lure woman this way, too?

“I’m freezing here, lady. I give you my word on the bible that I’m not a badguy.”

She looked down, gnawing on her lower lip, wondering if she’d end up another sad story on the news of a missing woman if she let him in. But the poor guy was soaked to the skin, shaking and shivering in the rain. Her compassion for his predicament overtook her common sense.

“Okay, but you better be telling me the truth!” She flipped the switch and unlocked the doors.

“Thank you! Let me just grab my bags from the car and lock it.” As the man moved back to the rental car, she watched as he grabbed a black duffel, what looked to be a camera bag, and the keys from the ignition, then lock the door and run back. He opened the rear door first, depositing his gear, and then opened the passenger side door, finally getting in and slamming thedoor.

“Thanks again. I’ve been here almost two hours.” She looked over to him with what must have been shock written on her face. He looked down, taking in the water dripping from him and onto her Italian leather seats. His gaze swung back to her, and he shrugged apologetically. “Sorry.”

“I know, I know.” He must have thought she was aghast at his impression of a drowned rat, but she was actually stupefied by the way his wet clothes clung to his skin, outlining his muscular frame. She shook her head to clear it. “I’m sorry, I know it’s just water. It willdry.”

“I’m Gage Flynn, by the way.” He held out his hand to her, but she just looked at its wet, dripping form and gave him a short wave instead, her eyes raking over his features, taking in the way his green eyes crinkled when he smiled.

“I’m Hope. Where should I bringyou?”

“You tell me. It’s not my town at all. I was just here for the day shooting a wedding and was trying to get to the airport to catch a flight out tomorrow morning.”

“Well, I just came from the airport, and I can tell you that not one place appeared to be open when I drove through. You don’t know anyone around here? I really don’t want to drive back to the airport.” She sighed tiredly.

“No one. I’m sorry. Listen, do you have a regular phone line at your place? Ican—”

She held her hand up to stop him from talking. “You want to come to my house now? Are you crazy? I don’t even know you. This is how every horror movie starts, and we both know how theyend.”

His brow furrowed, and he shook his head in frustration. “Listen, Hope, right?”

She nodded her head. “Yes.”

“First off, I’m fucking starving. I haven’t eaten in almost ten hours. I’m soaking wet, I’m freezing, and I’m tired. The last thing I want to do, or have the energy to do, is rape, hurt, or murder you. You’re a beautiful woman, but really, it’s the last thing on my mind. All I want to do is find a phone, call a tow, get some dry clothes, and eat something.” He took his hand and slicked his dripping, shoulder-length hair back away from his face and looked down in exasperation.

Moving her eyes over his frame, she took in his soaked condition, saw he was shivering from the cold and rain, and realized in that instant what a complete bitch she was being.

“Okay, let’s go then.” Reaching over, she turned the heat and blowers on his side of the vehicle to high. She then put the Rover in gear and pulled out around his car to start back down the road. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything dry to give you. I just got in from New York and keep clothes at the house, so no suitcase.”

He smiled. “No worries, really. I’m just happy you came along. I was afraid I was going to be spending the night there.”

Opening the center console, she pulled out a granola bar and handed it to him with a smile. “I do have this, though. It hasn’t been in there thatlong.”

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