heal fast.”
That cocky grin shot straight to her heart. “No kidding.”
“Come on.” He lifted Mia into his arms. “Grab my arm.”
Ryleigh used his arm to pull herself off the ground. Her feet were on fire. She took a few steps on her own then gave in and leaned on Jackson’s arm until she slid into the passenger seat.
Jackson placed Mia gently on the back seat. Before closing the door, he brushed the wild mass of hair out of her face.
Warmth spread through Ryleigh.
“Where to?” He climbed in beside her, threw the car into reverse, and hit the gas.
“They brought me here in the ambulance and left my car across town.” She started to give him the address, but a memory surfaced. A silhouette moving toward her. “You were there.”
“Yes.”
She waited.
He didn’t elaborate.
She stared out the window and watched the miles pass. Everything looked so ordinary, so normal. People moved on with their lives as if an earthquake hadn’t rocked the city only a few hours earlier. As if a very large, strange man hadn’t tried to kill her. As if he hadn’t shot a fireball from his fingers and disappeared into a world that couldn’t possibly exist.
She studied his profile.
His full mouth had thinned to a firm line, his forehead wrinkled in a frown of concentration.
The urge to reach out and smooth his brow overwhelmed her, and she quickly averted her gaze.
Strong hands gripped the steering wheel, hard. The same hands that had so gently—“Hey.” The ignition sat empty. “Where are the keys?”
His answering grin told her all she needed to know.
“Let us out. Now.”
“We’re almost there. As soon as I drop you off I’ll return the car to the hospital and leave it a few spots away from where I took it.”
She shouldn’t ask, shouldn’t get any more involved with this stranger who appealed to some deep part of her she didn’t understand, elicited feelings that scared her. “Why not leave it where you found it?”
“If the owner already looked for it and couldn’t find it, maybe he’ll think he just forgot where he parked.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have taken it if it wasn’t an emergency, but I had to get you and your sister out of there.” He met her stare, held it. “Would you consider following me and letting me take you somewhere safe so we could talk?”
“No.” She held his gaze.
He broke eye contact first, only for a second to glance out the windshield then returned his intense, hypnotic stare to her. “Your life is in danger, Ryleigh. Mia’s life is in danger. Please, you have to trust me.”
Indecision beat at her. She tore her gaze from his to check on Mia. So many things had happened in only one day. How could she possibly decide what to do? Every instinct screamed at her to trust him, and yet…“Are you human?”
She looked back in time to catch the indecision in his eyes before he turned them back to the road.
“How can you ask me to trust you, if you aren’t going to be honest with me?”
“You’re right, and I want to be completely honest with you, but I don’t want you to get scared and run before I’ve had a chance to explain everything.”
Perhaps she should listen to his explanation. If Mia was in danger, she needed to know about it. She could always tell him to get lost afterward. She’d give him one chance. If he answered her honestly, she’d hear him out. If not…
“I asked you a question. Are you human?”
He tugged at the neckline of the borrowed scrubs. “Not exactly.”
* * * *
He tried to gauge her reaction each time they passed beneath a streetlight, watching her face light in the glow of the streetlamps then slip back into shadow as they passed back into darkness. Light, dark, light, dark, the hypnotic effect captured him, held him.
“Look out.” She threw her hands up and braced them against the dashboard.
Jackson yanked his gaze from her and found headlights barreling toward him. He overcorrected as he pulled back into his own lane and swerved onto the shoulder, sliding in the sand as he hit the brakes.
When the car finally rocked to a stop, he shoved it into park and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Sorry.”
Mia clutched the door handle in a death grip, a look of terror frozen on her face. “Is it back?”
The tiny whisper knifed through his heart. “No, kiddo, everything’s fine. I just wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. I’m sorry. Are you all right?”
She nodded and wiped her tears with her sleeve.
“Are you all right?”
Ryleigh finally released her hold on the dashboard to face him.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Her hand shook as she brushed her hair behind her ear. “Watch where you’re going.”
The reprimand caught him off guard, and laughter escaped before he could suppress it. “Yes, dear.”
Her answering smile clenched his stomach. For a flicker of time he allowed himself the illusion that everything between them could be normal. Reality quickly intruded, though, and he shoved the car into gear and guided it back onto the road.
“So tell me, if you’re not human, what exactly are you?”
The sarcastic bite of humor in the question ignited a small flame of hope. How much should he tell her? He didn’t want her to run, but at the same time he couldn’t protect her if she didn’t understand the danger she was in. A quick check in the rearview mirror showed Mia listening intently. Oh well, best to get it all out in the open. At least then they could make some decisions about how to handle the whole bizarre situation.
“My name is Jackson Maynard. I’m from a land called Cymmera.”
“I’ve never heard of that. Where is it?” Mia grabbed the seat backs, slid forward to perch on the edge of her seat, and peeked around to study his face.
A quick check of Ryleigh’s features showed only interest, so he continued. “Cymmera is another realm. My people are able to transfer between our realm and yours.”
“Can humans go to Cymmera?” Ryleigh’s eyes held curiosity but a little fear as well.
“Not if they are alive.” Was that true? He had a sneaking suspicion it might be only partially true. “Actually, I’m not a hundred percent sure about that. Until now, no human has ever passed
