Road to Danger Read online

  Road to Danger

  Danger Incorporated

  Book Eight

  by

  Olivia Jaymes

  www.OliviaJaymes.com

  ROAD TO DANGER

  Copyright © 2018 by Olivia Jaymes

  Kindle Edition

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Road to Danger

  The date from hell…

  Mallory Cook is on the worst blind date of her life. She and Carter Anderson have little in common and she can’t wait for the night to end. Sure, he’s gorgeous and sexy but clearly he knows it. A man with this much self-esteem isn’t someone she wants in her life. She might have been desperate enough to get fixed up with him once but she’s not desperate enough to do it twice. She’d rather spend the evening with Netflix.

  Can’t end soon enough…

  Carter has been out with many women in his lifetime but this one takes the cake. They have nothing to talk about and she hasn’t laughed at any of his jokes. It’s amazing how incredibly long one night can feel. He can’t wait to drop her off and then head straight to his favorite watering hole.

  But neither one of them is going to get their wish. When Carter pulls over at a rest stop to change a tire, Mallory heads to the ladies’ room to freshen up. That’s when the date really goes down hill.

  Because a mysterious bleeding man has just died in her arms…

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  About the Author

  Other Books by Olivia Jaymes

  Chapter One

  ‡

  This wasn’t the worst date Mallory Cook had ever been on. There had been that one where her date’s wife had shown up at the restaurant halfway through dinner. That had been awkward, especially as she hadn’t known her date was married. It appeared he didn’t know as well because Mallory had the distinct feeling that this wasn’t the first time the wife had busted up an illicit evening.

  There had also been the time she’d been asked to go to a baseball game and she’d assumed it was to watch but then when they arrived she’d found out it was to play. Mallory was not athletic. She’d tried to tough it out but eventually they’d pulled her from the game when they’d realized she had terrible eye-hand coordination. Apparently that was a skill that her date highly prized because he never called her again. She hadn’t been upset about it.

  And tonight? Tonight might not have been the worst date but it was in the top five of all time. New in the area, she’d been set up with Carter Anderson by a mutual acquaintance who kept saying that Mallory was the perfect match for him.

  I don’t know what she was smoking but I am not a perfect match.

  It had only been after she’d agreed to go out on the blind date that she’d heard about Carter’s reputation with females in the tri-county area. He was something of a legend, dating eligible women for miles around. He didn’t stay with one for long though, taking the honey bee and flower approach to relationships. He’d been described as sexy, handsome, and “over the top”, whatever that meant.

  In other words, while Mallory had been faithfully dating her boyfriend of six years, Carter had been sleeping around. He wasn’t exactly her Prince Charming but she’d been willing to keep an open mind.

  If he dates every woman I suppose it was only a matter of time before he got to me.

  Mallory and Carter had had dinner, seen a movie, and were now driving toward her home in Green Pine which was about forty-five minutes from Tremont. She had long given up trying to talk to him so the trip was quiet, only the sound of the satellite radio playing softly in the background and the hum of the tires on the road. The inside of the car was warm though, despite the dropping temperatures outside.

  The bad evening wasn’t all his fault. She had to take some of the blame, too. If she’d been a different sort of person she might have had more patience with all of the interruptions. She might have asked him more questions, although he’d done a pretty good job of talking about himself on the rare occasions he’d spoken to her. She was funny that way. At thirty-one years of age, she expected the man to be interested in her, wanting to know more about her life. Carter hadn’t acted that way at all. It was like he’d taken her out because he’d lost a bet.

  Which wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

  All Mallory wanted to do was end this evening with as much dignity as possible. Be friendly. Thank him for dinner and the movie. Smile and be genuine. He had insisted on picking up the check, although she had made more than one offer to do so. That alone deserved a thank you. She’d act as if she’d had a good time and then go inside her house, closing the door behind her. She wasn’t concerned about turning him down for a second date because she was sure he wouldn’t ask. In fact, she was positive he wasn’t even going to go in for a goodnight kiss. There simply hadn’t been any chemistry between them. Too bad, because Carter Anderson was a looker.

  Dark hair clipped short. Light blue eyes. Wide shoulders and a strong jaw. He was yummy and it was no surprise why he did so well with the ladies. He even had a dimple in his cheek when he smiled.

  They were still about twenty minutes from Green Pine and freedom when she heard him curse under his breath.

  “Shit, the tire pressure light just came on. I need to check the tires. One might be going flat.”

  Changing the tire on the side of a dimly lit highway didn’t sound all that safe. He had slowed down considerably but hadn’t pulled over yet.

  “I saw a sign for a rest stop up a few miles. It would be better lit than the side of the road.”

  To her surprise, he turned and smiled at her. “That’s a great idea. I’d forgotten all about it. Sorry about this but I really do need to check.”

  Safety first and all of that. It wouldn’t do to get stranded with him in the middle of the night. That would only prolong this torture.

  “It’s fine. Do whatever you need to do.”

  Carter kept the vehicle at a reasonable speed for the next mile and a half, exiting at the rest stop and pulling up near the door of the building. As she’d predicted, it was better lit, especially where they’d parked. There were other cars there
as well, including a family in a minivan which made Mallory feel much safer. The thought of a deserted rest stop in the middle of the night was kind of creepy. Clearly she’d watched too many horror movies. Luckily a man in a hockey mask wouldn’t be an issue. A car had even pulled in right after them, joining the vehicles already there.

  Since Carter got out of the car Mallory did too, wanting to help by checking the tires on her side of the vehicle. She wouldn’t mind stretching her legs either. It didn’t feel right to simply sit and wait when she could be of some help. She’d learned to change a tire when she was a teen. Her father had insisted on it. If for some reason Carter didn’t know how, she could be of some use.

  The cold wind hit her like a brick wall and she shivered in her too thin coat. She should have checked the weather before dressing this evening but she’d been more worried about looking nice than being warm. Even if she had known about the temperature, she wouldn’t have expected to be standing outside for any length of time this evening.

  “These look okay,” she said, peering around the back of the car to where Carter had disappeared. He was kneeling next to the driver’s side back tire with a grim expression. The tire looked a little flat but not horrible. It would need to be changed, though. “You found it.”

  He nodded, rubbing his chin. “I did. We might have picked up a nail somewhere.”

  There had been some construction going on across the street from the movie theatre.

  “Do you have a spare?”

  Levering up, he came to the back of the car where she was standing and she caught a whiff of his aftershave or body wash. He smelled pretty good for a bad date. “I do but it’s just one of those stupid donuts. I guess it’s better than nothing. I’ll get this changed and we can get back on the road. I’m sorry about this.”

  “It’s not your fault. Can I help?”

  It must have been the last thing he’d expected her to say because he blinked a few times before answering. “Thank you but no, I’ve got this. You can go wait in the car if you like. The temperature has dropped quite a bit. You’re probably cold.”

  “You have to be cold, too.” She pointed to his bare forearms where he’d rolled up his shirt sleeves in preparation for changing the tire. He wasn’t even wearing a jacket. Men were so stupid sometimes, acting all macho. He was probably freezing his boys off but didn’t want to admit it. “How about I see if there’s a hot coffee machine in there?”

  “Actually, I could go for a soda, if you don’t mind? The cold really doesn’t bother me. My brothers and cousins would throw me out in the snow just for fun and then lock the door.”

  He didn’t seem like a guy that would allow that to happen. She wouldn’t have let her older siblings toss her out into the snow. That was crazy.

  She couldn’t stop herself from asking. “And you just let them?”

  Chuckling, he smiled and it looked rather evil. “They were bigger than me and there were more of them. I was the youngest so I had to be smarter. I always got them back, trust me on this.”

  This was the best conversation they’d had all evening. His phone hadn’t rung once on the drive home.

  “Thanksgiving at your house must have been a riot.”

  “It still is. We may be grown up but get us all in a room together and we act like little kids. Last year our mom threatened to put us in time out. And my oldest brother is over forty.”

  It actually sounded fun. And heartwarming. And kind of sweet.

  “Just so we’re clear I only know some basic first aid. If you get frostbite you’re on your own. One soda coming up. Diet or regular?”

  He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out several one-dollar bills and a five. To his credit he wasn’t a cheapskate.

  “Regular. And get yourself whatever you’d like, too.”

  “Thanks.”

  Mallory headed into the brick building and immediately found the vending machines along the far wall. A woman was standing in front of the soda machine with a bottle of water in her hand.

  “I’ll be done in a sec,” the woman said with a friendly smile. “My husband needs the caffeine to stay awake.”

  She must be with the minivan.

  A can of Coke dispensed with a thunk and the woman fished it out of the machine’s well before nodding and walking toward the entrance. Quickly Mallory fed two dollar bills into the machine and pushed the button. The can loudly fell and she fed it more money, but this time getting one without caffeine for herself. Otherwise she’d be up all night.

  Wrapping her jacket more tightly around her, she headed back out into the cold where Carter had the tire off and was putting the donut into place. Despite assuring her that the weather didn’t bother him, she still felt badly that he was having to change the tire. “Here you go,” she said, placing the can on the ground next to him. “I think I’m going to run to the ladies’ room.”

  Carter grunted as he reached for the hubcap with the lug nuts rolling around inside. “Take your time. I’ll need to make a pit stop before we go, too.”

  She turned but stopped, instead asking him a question before she left him to finish.

  “Were those air or hand tightened?”

  If they were the former, he’d have had a bitch of a time getting them off, and there was no way she would have been able to do it.

  The question made him grin, showing off that dimple again. “Air and I won’t make that mistake again.”

  He’d been…surprisingly pleasant to deal with since they’d pulled into the rest stop. If he’d acted like this all evening things might have turned out much differently. There might have been a second date.

  Alas, it simply wasn’t to be.

  Chapter Two

  ‡

  Carter shoved the flat tire into the trunk and slammed it shut. Wiping his hands on a towel he’d found in his gym bag, he checked his phone for another message. One of his buddies was at the hospital tonight with his wife. She was in labor and his friend had been texting him all evening long keeping Carter and everyone else in the loop. Normally that would have been fine but it had played havoc with his date.

  Mallory didn’t seem to appreciate the constant interruptions and he really should explain, although he wasn’t sure that this date was going anywhere. The evening had been mediocre at best and he’d been glad when it was time to drive her home. She was an extremely attractive woman with her dark hair, golden-brown eyes, and curvy figure. He was a boob man through and through and Mallory Cook was perfection in that department. Not too big and not too small. Like in the Three Bears his mother used to read to him when he was little, Mallory was just right.

  She might be his physical match but personality-wise she just wasn’t his type. Every time he’d tried to engage her in conversation she’d stayed stubbornly silent. At first he’d thought that perhaps she was shy, but eventually he’d come to the conclusion that she didn’t want to talk to him.

  When he’d agreed to this date he’d heard quite a bit about her. She had dated someone for a long time but they’d broken up about a year ago. That’s when she’d moved to Green Pine to teach math. His friend had said that Mallory was pretty, funny, intelligent, and kind. He couldn’t argue with any of that – except maybe the funny part. She hadn’t laughed at any of his jokes tonight and that hit a man hard in the ego. But she was smart and kind. She’d remembered the rest stop and she’d offered to get him a coffee which was nice. Maybe a second date wasn’t out of the question after all.

  Except he didn’t think she was all that attracted to him. Carter prided himself on knowing women and when they were into him. And Mallory? She didn’t seem to care if he lived or died. Not in a cruel way but more in a “she’d be fine if she never saw him again” kind of way. Another ego buster.

  Carter and Mallory needed to get going as well but first he wanted to make a quick trip to the restroom. He headed into the building, pausing to hold the door for the lady from another vehicle. She gave him a small smile.
r />   “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, ma’am.”

  His mama had raised him right. Open doors. Pull out chairs. Say please and thank you. Don’t put your elbows on the table and don’t eat like a hog at a trough.

  Once inside, Mallory was nowhere in sight. She must still be in the ladies’ room. There was something about her. He didn’t know what it was but he hadn’t really given her much of a chance tonight. He’d been dragged kicking and screaming into this date but she was what had been promised. He hadn’t exactly been the perfect escort either. Distracted by his friend, Carter could have tried harder to engage her in conversation. Get to know her a little. What had he even asked her? He didn’t remember since he’d been so distracted.

  They didn’t have much of a drive home left but Carter was going to try and be nice to her the rest of the way. Try and make her laugh. Salvage what he could of the evening. They might even go out on another date.

  * * *

  Mallory smoothed down her windblown hair and then applied a fresh coat of lipstick. This was about as presentable as she was going to get. She made a face at herself in the mirror and then slipped the lipstick tube back into her purse. The date was almost at an end. Carter would drive her home and then she’d never have to see him again.

  He’d been nice since the flat tire, though. Smiling and friendly in a way that he hadn’t been before. His phone had been blessedly silent the last few minutes and she wondered if perhaps he had something going on at work to be getting all of those messages. Or perhaps he was just rude. She didn’t know because he hadn’t said a word about them, simply tapping away at his phone and ignoring her.

  If only he’d been this guy all night. It would have been a heck of a lot more enjoyable.

  Pushing open the door of the ladies’ room she headed out of the warm, well-lit building and out into the cold night air. The bite of the wind immediately undid any work she’d done on her hair, and she wrapped her coat a little more tightly around her. The temperature was definitely dropping and since it was only around midnight it still had further to go.