A Billionaire's Redemption - By Cindy Dees Page 0,68

She guided her car up the winding tar and gravel road. Trees closed in around her car and then started to give way to limestone outcroppings jutting up out of the rolling hills.

Of course, she’d never been up here in a car with a boy in high school. She hadn’t ever been one of the cool girls who got invited to have awkward sex in the backs of cars. And fear of her father had kept the mean boys from trying to get into her pants for the sake of winning some stupid bet.

In retrospect, she probably hadn’t been missing out on nearly as much as she’d thought she had in high school. Gabe had been well worth the wait.... Gabe. She desperately needed to hear his voice all of a sudden. To be reassured that her mother loved her and wasn’t in her right mind at the moment. She just needed to know that someone, anyone, gave a damn about her.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number. It rang a half-dozen times and then kicked over to his voice mail.

A pair of headlights came up behind her on the twisty road, moving fast. That had better not be her bodyguards. She really wanted to be alone. Gabe’s recorded voice urged her to leave a message, and the ubiquitous beep sounded.

“Hey, Gabe. It’s me. Thanks for last night. It turned out to be a good thing that you left the apartment when you did. Our favorite reporter was waiting in the lobby for me this morning. I swear, that woman has it in for me.”

The headlights pulled closer and Willa noticed in relief that the vehicle was not a big, black, sleek SUV, but rather a white van. Probably some kids heading up to the point to have sex in their shaggin’ wagon.

“At any rate,” she continued, “my mom was on a tear tonight and threw me out of her house. I think Roseanne Ward is the one putting ideas in Mom’s head that I’m trying to steal her money and ruin her. Call me. I miss you.”

She put the phone down on the seat beside her and concentrated on the progressively narrower and more treacherous road. Near the summit now, it switched back hard next to a massive drop-off. A wide valley stretched away into the distance hundreds of feet below her. It was Willa’s least favorite part of the drive. She clutched the wheel tightly and slowed cautiously as she approached the turn.

A tremendous impact made her scream aloud as the van behind her slammed into her. Willa fought her fishtailing car back under control, tires squealing as she hit the brakes. Another bone-jarring impact shoved her car partially off the pavement. She stood on her brake pedal for all she was worth, locking up the tires completely. But the van revved behind her, using its superior weight and horsepower to shove her closer to that ominous expanse of blackness.

What the heck was wrong with that driver? Willa shouted at him to stop regardless of the fact that the driver couldn’t hear her.

Her remaining tires hit the gravel shoulder and she abruptly lost all traction. Her little car lurched forward and the hood pitched down and out of sight. Her seat tilted forward violently as the car went over the edge.

Willa only had time to scream, “Nooooooo!”

Chapter 15

Gabe got out of a mind-numbingly long staff meeting that had turned into a dinner meeting, it had run so long. He’d been neglecting his company badly the past few days, and several major decisions had stacked up waiting for him.

He listened in shock to his voice mail as Willa praised him for abandoning her last night. How in the hell had she turned the most despicable thing he’d ever done into some sort of favor to her? Guilt tangled in his gut as she called him smart and thoughtful, when, in fact, he’d been a selfish jackass. He never should have made love to her last night. And once he had, he shouldn’t have left her like some coward. He should have faced the music this morning and broken things off with her face-to-face. Like a man.

He headed wearily back toward Vengeance. Normally, he’d spend the night in Dallas close to his corporate offices, but the memory of Willa in his bed and in his arms was too fresh. Too painful. He’d never wanted a woman so bad in his life. The hell of it