Hour Of Darkness

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

The wipers swished rapidly as the fierce downpour beat relentlessly at the windshield of the white Sedan. Emmy Harris turned the wipers up to the last notch but it still did very little to help clear her view of the road ahead. She wasn't exactly sure where she was now. Somewhere along the line she'd taken a wrong turn and now she was lost along a Michigan back road.

The Sedan's headlights stabbed into the darkness but all she could see in the beams was more rain. She slowed the car a bit more, barely able to make out the white line to her right. She was so intent on keeping it in sight, she almost rolled upon the man walking on the shoulder of the road.

“Shit!” She gasped and swerved out a hair away from the edge and towards the center of the road. She passed him by and glanced in her rear view mirror as she touched the brakes. The rain glimmered red and reminded Emmy of blood. The thought chilled her. She tried to get a closer look at the man. He walked with his head down against the driving rain and wore a heavy military jacket. She wondered what kinds of weapons he had concealed beneath that jacket, then instantly felt guilty. She was stereotyping, a result of watching too many movies.

She started to press on the gas and leave him behind when the storm outside surged more violently. It was like the ocean itself was being dumped down on them. She glanced in the rear view mirror again. She could barely even see the man. “Dammit.” She groaned and anxiously tapped the steering wheel with her fingertips. She pulled the Sedan to the shoulder and pressed on the brake, bringing it to a full stop.

The man approached the rear of the car, his head ducked low. He didn't seem to realize the car was even there till he was about to walk into the bumper. He stopped and stood motionless, his head still down. Clarice frowned. She knew the smart money was on getting the hell out of there, but for reasons she had yet to figure out, she popped open her door and stepped out. She was instantly drenched and didn't bother with grabbing her jacket as she moved to the rear of the car.

“Hey!” She yelled through the downpour. “Get in! I'll give you a ride!” She thought he hadn't heard her because he just stood there, unresponsive. When she started to holler again, he slowly looked up. She pointed towards the car. “Come on, man! You'll drown out here! Let me give you a lift!”

He just looked at her. She wondered what had made her get out of the car in the first place to offer a stranger on a dark highway a ride. But whatever it was, she couldn't force him to accept. She turned and hurried back to the driver door, slipping inside and out of the downpour. “You want to drown.” She whispered as she started the car. “Then drown. I was just trying to be nice.”

The passenger door opened suddenly, making her jump. The man got in and closed the door. He looked like a drowned rat. Probably much the way she herself looked, she mused. She held out her hand tentatively, “I'm Emmy.”

He didn't acknowledge, just stared out the front windshield.

She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head. “Okay then.” She murmured as she withdrew her hand and put the Sedan into gear.

“Stefan.” He said low, his voice deep and course, but not in an unattractive way. In fact, it raked her skin in that pleasing way a man's beard stubble feels when he's kissing all over a woman's body.

Emmy flinched inwardly. Where the hell had that come from? She looked at the man and her previous thoughts resurfaced as her eyes moved over his beard stubbled face. Despite his drowned rat persona, he was rather attractive. He stared at her with piercing eyes, much more intense and clear than she had expected.

“It's nice to meet you.” She offered her hand again. “Stefan.”

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Stefan looked at the woman's outstretched hand. He shouldn't touch her. Not at all. But the quiet invitation in her eyes, an invitation he was sure she wasn't even aware was there, pulled at him like a flint of steel to a magnet.

He reached out slowly and slid his strong masculine hand into her soft slender feminine grasp. His hand closed around hers as an instant wave of heat rushed through him. He held her eyes as the fire raged inside him. So much hotter than ever before. It startled him, even frightened him. He drew his hand back quickly.

“It's nice...to meet you, too.” He swallowed tightly. “Emmy.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He shouldn't have gotten in the car. He shouldn't be here with this woman now. She had a gentle innocence about her that he didn't want to damage...and yet was the very thing he craved.

He turned his face away from her as the Sedan pulled back onto the road and picked up speed. He stared at her reflection in the passenger window.

Do you know what you just let into your car?

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NOTE TO READERS:

This was my very first "complete" novel, so kind of like my "baby" :) Thank you so much taking the time to read. It means the world to me :)

This story is now available in eBook format on Amazon Kindle, and soon on Smashwords as well.

Again - thank you so much for reading! God bless :)