bounced back the reflection of the rain. Ryan switched back to low beams and fastened his attention on the dark, slick road that would take them to the highway.
âYou donât happen to have a picture of your son, do you?â Ryan asked.
âNo.â Her response was as fast as the bolt of lightning that slashed on the horizon in front of them.
She was lying.
And she was really bad at it.
Her voice actually cracked. There was, no doubt, a picture or two tucked inside her wallet. What new mother wouldnât carry around photos of her baby? Still, Ryan had no intentions of calling her on that lie. In a way, he welcomed it. Because if he saw a photo of her son, heâd scrutinize it and pick it apart until he forced himself to see something. Anything. That would only cause the hope to grow.
There was no room left in his heart for hope.
âI donât know if my father ever contacts you,â she said. Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan watched her twist the trio of rings she had on her thumb, pinkie andmiddle fingers of her right hand. The one on her middle finger had a tiny jeweled butterfly charm dangling from it. âBut if he does, Iâd prefer that you not mention anything about this visit.â
âYour father only contacts me through his lawyers. And the last thing Iâd discuss with him or anyone else is what happened tonight.â
âThank you.â She paused and did more of that nervous fidgeting with her fingers. Delicate fingers. For that matter, a delicate face. Not drop-dead gorgeous, but attractive in a woman-next-door sort of way. Unfortunately, he found that appealing.
Even though that hadnât been the case until tonight.
âBut you will check up on Dr. Keyes and the embryologist, wonât you?â Delaney asked.
âAbsolutely. If thereâs some kind of scam, Iâll find out.â
She blew out a long breath, probably not from relief. By now, she was probably kicking herself for even coming to the estate.
He understood how she felt.
There was another flash of lightning, and as the white-hot spear sliced through the darkness, Ryan thought he saw something on the road just ahead. A shadow, maybe. Maybe one of the horses had gotten out of the pasture. He automatically leaned in closer to the windshield, trying to look through the rain and the murky night to determine what it was.
But it was too late.
The dark-colored car came out of the thick curtain of rain. Not on the other side of the road, either.
Right at them.
Ryan heard Delaney scream. A sound of terror that he was sure he would remember for the rest of his life.
If he had a rest of his life, that is.
As he swerved to the right, it occurred to him that this could turn out to be a fatal accident. He knew what was out there.
A deep, six-foot-wide irrigation ditch.
Almost certainly overflowing with rainwater.
A second later, Ryan took out the almost certainly. Even though he tried to keep the car on the road, he wasnât successful. They hit the narrow shoulder of soggy, slick gravel, skidded and then plunged right into the watery ditch.
Chapter Four
One second Delaney was breathing.
Then, she wasnât.
The air bag hit her face and chest. The impact of the collision into the ditch, coupled with that slam, knocked the breath right out of her. Before she could react, she felt the icy cold water begin to gush into the car, spilling onto her feet and legs.
Reality quickly set in.
They were no longer on the road. The car was on its side, her side, harshly angled into a gaping ditch. The collision had crushed in her door, so much so that it vised against her right shoulder.
Trapping her.
If she didnât do something fast, she was going to die.
She forced herself not to panic. No easy feat. Her heart was already pounding, and adrenaline was pumping through her.
Frantically, Delaney batted back the milky-white airbag so sheâd have some room to maneuver and so she
Heidi Hunter, Bad Boy Team