Read Lost in Shadows for Free Online

gust of snow spreading like a blanket over the dashboard only to melt immediately. The overhead light bulb and ding of the door indicator were welcome reminders that this was twenty-first century America, not a forest primeval. Then she slammed the door shut, the light went out, and they drove into an impenetrable silence.
    The road became even worse than the goat trail they’d just left. He hung onto the dash to keep from bouncing into the ceiling as they jostled over the irregular surface. If there was a surface. Maybe they were hopelessly lost in the woods already—Hansel and Gretel on wheels.
    Ryan bit her lip in concentration, the dashboard lights cast her face in a ghostly glow. He liked the way her hands played over the steering wheel and gearshift, as if she and the car were one. She had long, slender fingers, but her nails were short, much shorter than any of the women he knew in the city. She wore no makeup, no nail polish, no jewelry except for a plain gold band on her left hand.
    Oh, yeah, she had mentioned a husband. A cop. Brother in arms. He looked up at the photo of a man in dress blues, the vibrations had caused it to slip from the rubber band holding it in place, and it teetered, ready to fall to the dash at any time. 
    The best ones were always taken, Lucky thought with a sigh. Like Chase’s wife-to-be, KC. Or his newfound friend, VD Ryan.
    Guess he’d never have the chance to get to know her better. Oh, but it would have been fun...A wave of fatigue engulfed him. As he closed his eyes for a moment, the memory of Ryan’s hands dancing over his body, checking him for injuries, morphed into something more sensual. 
    He imagined her face hovering over him, biting her lip as she slowly teased his clothes away from his body. And what luscious, thick lips they were, he could almost taste them—
    The car came to an abrupt stop.
    “End of the road,” Ryan announced.
    Lucky’s eyes popped open. Trees, coated in white, loomed all around them, shimmering with menacing intentions in the headlights. He looked back, there was no sign of any road in the snow. The forest was dark, silent and ominous.
    “Where the hell are we?” he asked.
    “Lost River Wilderness Area. Where’d you think we end up? On the Capitol Beltway?” She turned on the map light and looked over at him. “Didn’t you have a plan when you told me to get off the road? Did you even look at a map before you came up here?”
    “It was a spur of the moment thing,” he muttered. “Supposed to be my day off—I’m meant to be at a wedding right now.”
    “If she loves you, she’ll wait.” 
    He ignored her sarcasm. “My plan was for us not to get shot by some local yokel cops who are probably working for the wrong people.”
    “So you’ve never been out here before?”
    “My idea of country living is a picnic on the Mall near the reflecting pool. If I really feel adventurous, I’ll head over to the Jefferson Memorial.”
    She was silent, her eyes upon him, their intensity increased by the glow of the dashboard lights. Lucky felt as if he had somehow let her down. Almost getting her killed and then stranding them in this godforsaken wilderness probably had something to do with that.
    “All right,” he said. “Here’s the plan. We wait out the storm here, then head back out. There is a way back out, right?”
    She shook her head, reached into the back seat and handed him a water container. “Drink. You need fluids.” 
    He took the water but waited until she answered his question before he followed her order. 
    “This storm isn’t going to let up for a few days,” she told him. “Which is good because it will keep your friends from tracking us, at least not without spending a lot of time and effort.”
    “Believe me, these guys have all the time, manpower and money they need. No storm is going to stop them for long.”
    “They want to kill you that bad?” She was chewing on her lip again, obviously unhappy with the