Read Into the Fire for Free Online Page A

don’t suppose you have anything as mundane as a soda?”
    â€œThey call it pop out here in the hinterlands, Your Highness. Check in the fridge.”
    He’d been lying about the beer. They must have finished it all during their late-night poker game. The contents of the refrigerator consisted of a chunk of moldy cheese, half a quart of milk and enough cans of soda to satisfy anyone. She grabbed a Coke and shut the door, snapping the top and taking a long drink, letting the sugary caffeine bubble down her throat.
    He was watching her, an unreadable expression on his face. Not that she’d ever been able to guess what he was thinking. “What?” she demanded irritably.
    â€œYou don’t strike me as the type who’d drink straight from the can.”
    â€œMaybe I don’t trust your idea of cleanliness.”
    â€œI’m sure it’s not up to your standards.”
    â€œIt’s not. When did you get my suitcase? Is my car here?”
    â€œYour car’s still stuck in a ditch out on the highway. And I didn’t get the suitcase. Mouser was running an errand for me and he stopped and got it. You made quite an impression on him, but then, he doesn’t know you as well as I do.”
    â€œYou don’t know me at all. We haven’t seen each other in twelve years, and back then you had nothing to do with me.”
    â€œThat’s not the way I remember it.”
    It felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. She didn’t even blink. “And your memory is so clear after all these years?”
    â€œClear enough.” She wondered if she was imagining the faint thread of menace beneath his smooth tone. Probably not.
    â€œI need to call my mother.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œTo tell her I got here safely. And to tell her I’ll be leaving as soon as the car is ready. This afternoon, I hope.”
    â€œHope away,” he said. “Mouser said your car was pretty messed up.”
    â€œThis is a garage, isn’t it? I’ll pay you to fix it.”
    â€œI work on old American cars, not imports. Different tools.”
    â€œThen I’ll call Triple A. If they can find someone to fix it I’ll stay in a motel until it’s ready—otherwise I’ll rent a car.”
    â€œHoney, this town is the armpit of despair. The only motel around rents rooms by the hour, not the night, and no one rents cars but me.”
    â€œSo?”
    He glanced at her. “So I don’t rent cars to drive out of state. No way to get them back.”
    â€œI’d think you’d be motivated to get me out of here.”
    â€œNow, that’s where you’re wrong,” he said lazily, reaching for the coffeepot, which was now filled with thick black sludge. “I think I’m going to enjoy reliving old times. The halcyon days of my youth and all that.”
    â€œYour youth wasn’t particularly halcyon.”
    â€œNeither was yours, princess.”
    â€œThat’s not the way I remember it. I had two loving parents, a secure life, I had Nate as my brother and best friend. Until you got your hooks into him.”
    He took a chair at the table, reaching for his cigarettes. It seemed like years since she’d been around anyone who smoked, and she watched with fascination as he lit the cigarette with a flip of his silver lighter. “Memories can be faulty,” he said, and blew smoke at her.
    She would have liked to summon up a hacking cough, but in fact she’d never been particularly sensitive to smoke. Besides, he was clearly trying to bother her, and she wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. “Maybe yours are. I think I’m a little clearer on details than you would be.”
    â€œSuit yourself.”
    â€œWhere’s the telephone?”
    â€œIn the garage. It’s a pay phone—be sure you have plenty of quarters.”
    â€œHow do you manage to do business without a