Page 32 of Sweet Revenge
Replacing it with the donut, she tightened the nuts back into place and lowered the car before stowing everything in the trunk. She’d have to inspect the tire when she got back to the house and see if it could be repaired or needed to be replaced. Traffic had been slow, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be exposed any longer than necessary.
She drove up the shoulder a bit to test the donut and, satisfied that it would at least get her back to Glenmore House, she eased back onto the road and drove the rest of the way in silence.
When she pulled into the driveway, Declan stalked out of the house, jaw clenched, and ate up the distance between them with long strides. She was too tired and too sweaty to listen to a lecture right now, but when she moved to push past him, his hands jerked her to a stop then wandered urgently over her arms, back, torso.
“What in the hell are you doing?” She swatted at his hands.
“Where have you been?” he demanded, ignoring her irritated slaps. “And why are you covered in dirt?”
“I don’t see why either of those things are any of your business.”
He slowly arched a single brow, and a shiver ran through her. Determined rage. Damn Cait for planting the seed in her head that that look was sexy. It definitely shouldn’t be.
“Don’t make me ask again.”
She held his gaze defiantly but ultimately caved and replied, “I had a flat tire.” She waved a hand at the spare.
His eyes followed her hand, then settled back on her face. He frowned. “Why didn’t you call me?”
Evie rolled her eyes. “Because I know how to change a damn tire. I’m not your prisoner, Declan. And I’m not some helpless damsel in distress. Our hopefully very short time together will be much more pleasant if you stop treating me as such.”
There was that muscle ticking in his jaw. When his eyes met hers again, she was suddenly acutely aware of how close he was standing, how his hands had settled at the small of her back, how the heat from those hands sent chills along her skin. If she pushed up onto her toes just the tiniest bit, their lips would be close enough that she could… Nope.
Tearing her eyes away from his mouth, she cleared her throat. “Can I go now, or are you going to strip search me for injuries?”
The gleam in his eye told her he was considering it, but he dropped his hands and stepped back. She took the opportunity to move to the trunk and lift out the damaged tire, setting it on the ground and running her fingers over it to look for a nail or a puncture.
When she crouched for a better look, Declan did the same, and their faces were inches apart again. She really needed to quit noticing shit like that.
“Where were you today?”
She bit back the irritation that rushed to the surface. “I went shopping and had some lunch.”
“Alone?”
“Well, I don’t exactly have many friends left in this city. Why does that matter?”
“Because this tire was sabotaged.” He reached out and pried out a nail that had been jabbed into the sidewall of the tire, then looked up to meet her eyes.
“I probably ran over that.”
“On the side of the tire?”
Evie pushed to her feet, pacing away from the car and back. “Okay, let’s say that someone did that on purpose, and let’s say that it wasn’t some stupid kids. Why not just slash it? Or slash them all? I’d still be stranded.”
Declan looked down at the nail in the palm of his hand and closed his fist around it. “Unless the goal was to get you alone by letting the tire slowly deflate instead.”
Her head jerked up, and the thought sent a sobering chill through her. “But no one attacked me. It took me over thirty minutes to change that because I was rusty, and nothing happened. There wasn’t even a lot of traffic.”
God, she hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings other than watching for the occasional car. Someone could have easily overpowered her while she was on the ground, attention diverted. It wouldn’t have taken more than thirty seconds. So why didn’t they?
“Where did you stop to change it?”
She hugged herself tightly. “I’ll show you.”
They drove out to the spot not ten minutes away and got out. She walked the length of her tire tracks on the shoulder, spotting the displaced dirt and gravel from the rectangular base of the jack. There were houses around, and they sat pretty close to the street, but the neighborhood was quiet.
It wouldn’t have been difficult for someone to make it look like they were offering help with no one the wiser. Declan walked the opposite shoulder until she saw him stop at a dirt patch under an overgrowth of trees and weeds. Checking for traffic, she jogged across the road to meet him.
