Buried Secrets

Outside, the night air, laced with spring, wrapped him in warmth. Before climbing into his car, Zach paused to view the lights of Albuquerque below him. He loved this part of the country, but it had taken his partner’s betrayal to get him to move here from Dallas. As a child he used to come every summer to see his grandparents, and he would treasure those memories forever. His heart twisted with the thought that he would never see his grandfather again. Anger pushed through the pain and stiffened his resolve to get to the bottom of his granddad’s murder. He might not have proof, but he’d learned to listen to his instincts long ago.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Her voice, with a husky timbre, penetrated his thoughts. “Yes, I have a home not too far from here. I love this view. Sometimes I just wish I had more time to appreciate it. I spend more time at the college than my house.”

“That sounds like me. Work can have a way of consuming a person’s life.”

Over the top of his car, he looked at her. “Do you enjoy your work as a doctor?” He knew a lot about her, having done some research before approaching her with his theory.

She nodded. “And you?”

“Yes.”

As he slid behind the steering wheel and started the engine, Maggie settled into her seat. He pulled out of the parking space, the silence between them comfortable, which surprised him after their tense dinner. As he negotiated the first set of curves on the mountain road, the Corvette picked up speed. He pressed his foot on the brake. Nothing. He pumped the brake again. Still nothing.

The car’s speed increased. He took the next curve too fast, slamming Maggie against her door. The passenger side scraped the guardrail—the only thing that stood in the way of them and the bottom of the mountain.

Father, I’m in Your hands, he prayed silently.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t need to see the panic on Maggie’s face. He could hear it in her voice. Another curve loomed ahead. “Brace yourself. We’re in for a rough ride.”

FOUR

Maggie latched on to the door handle, her grip so tight that her hand ached. Transfixed, she watched as Zach maneuvered the car around another curve. Each time he put his foot on the brake, nothing happened. Instead, the Corvette kept going faster.

“Do you have your seat belt on?” His voice held a razor-sharp tension.

Her hand trembled as she checked to make sure. “Yes.”

“Good. I’m going to try and slow us down as much as possible. If my memory serves me right, there’s a field near the bottom that’s pretty flat, right off the side of the road. Even if we make it there, Maggie, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

She tensed. The sound of metal grinding against metal thundered in her ears. Every muscle locked into place as the rugged terrain along the side of the road jarred her. Their speed decelerated when they hit a patch of level road, but not enough. Then the asphalt descended again down the side of the mountain.

A hundred things flew through her mind—regrets, wishes. There was so much she hadn’t done yet. She didn’t have anyone who really cared if she died here at the bottom of one of the steep ravines. The loss of her grandfather deluged her all over again.

Why, Lord? What are You doing?

Maggie saw the field Zach had mentioned up ahead. She held her breath as the car barreled off the road and over the rutted ground. Even with her grip on the door handle and her other hand on the console, she was tossed about. Her knee hit the dashboard. Her head snapped back. Pain raced up her leg and down her spine as the car slowed its speed, then came to an abrupt halt in a shallow ditch, throwing Maggie forward. Her seat belt cut across her chest and stole her breath.

Maggie straightened and pried her hand loose from the handle. Her heartbeat raced, and her breath came out in pants. Safe. Alive.

A moan pervaded the pounding in her ears, and she angled around to see if Zach was all right. Slowly he lifted his head from the steering wheel as he reached up to touch his forehead.

The growing darkness prevented her from seeing him well. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer.

She had been trained not to panic in an emergency, but in the back of her mind she realized how close they had come to dying. She wouldn’t let herself think about that now. There would be time later.

Ignoring the part of herself that would like to fall apart, she shoved her door open a few inches until the light came on. Then she turned to Zach to see how serious his injuries were. Blood trickled down his cheek as he stared at a point beyond the car.

“Zach,” she whispered, and gently touched his chin to bring his face around for her inspection.

He blinked, then finally focused his attention on her as she probed the gash above his right eye. Not too deep. She tried to maintain her professional facade, but their brush with death had left her vulnerable, stripped of her usual control. Her fingers on his forehead quivered.

“Will I live, Doc?” A huskiness edged his voice.

“Afraid so.” She dropped her hand away from him. The trembling spread to encompass her whole body. “I don’t even think this will require stitches. You should go to the hospital, though, in case you have a concussion.”

“No. I’ll be fine.” He reached back and pulled a T-shirt from a gym bag and mopped the blood from his face. “Believe me, I’ve suffered a lot worse than a bump on my forehead.”

The finality in his voice erased all arguments from Maggie’s lips. “Will you at least let me check you out—” she glanced about “—in better conditions?”

“Sure, later.” He tossed the bloodied shirt into the backseat. “But first, I’d like to get out of here.”

“Well, just in case you haven’t noticed, your car isn’t going anywhere.”

Zach withdrew his cell from his pocket and punched in a series of numbers. “Ray, Zach here. Can you pick me and a friend up? We’ve been in an accident.”

Maggie half listened as Zach gave his friend directions to where they were. Only for a few seconds had she glimpsed any vulnerability in him. He had just saved their lives with some spectacular driving, and now he was calmly taking charge, getting them a ride, calling a tow truck to pick up his car, as if brake failure were an everyday occurrence for him. Did anything get to this man? She watched him as he made his last call to the police. He was very much in control of his emotions, while she shivered from a cold that had nothing to do with the temperature.

If he ever loved someone, he would demand all of her because he didn’t invest himself easily. Whoa, where in the world had that observation come from? She was more shook up than she originally thought if she was putting Zach and love together in the same sentence.

Maggie ignored his words, but tuned in to the sound of his voice. It was rough and warm, slightly gritty, with an indisputable maleness to it that reflected the man. It was the reassuring voice of a person who was used to being in command, to making difficult decisions, possibly even involving dangerous matters. Suddenly a calmness descended on Maggie as though some of his strength had invaded her, soothing her.

“C’mon. Let’s wait near the road for Ray.” Zach tried his door, but it wouldn’t budge. He threw her a grin. “I guess I’ll use yours.”

She pushed on hers, but it didn’t move more than the few inches it was already open. “I think we’re stuck.”

“Here, let me see.” He reached across her body to shove at the door.

His clean, fresh scent overwhelmed her as he pressed against her. Her pulse reacted, racing through her as fast as they had driven down the mountain. His face, inches from hers, held her enthralled. She saw the tiny laugh lines at the corners of his eyes, the gleam that glittered in the gray depths. Her throat went dry.

An eternity later, the door gave way, and he twisted around so he looked directly at her. A connection, forged from a shared near-death experience, mesmerized her, binding them together. That realization should have panicked her, but for a few minutes it didn’t. It felt right—a Somers linked with a Collier.

Zach lifted his hand and grazed a finger down her cheek. He started to say something, but a car rounded the curve. A pair of headlights illuminated the ditch in front of them, and sent Zach back to his side of the car. While the vehicle passed them on the road, he gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white.

She resisted the urge to touch where his finger had. But his effect on her staggered her. A Collier was a taker, not a giver. Those were words she had heard many times from Gramps. She needed to remember them.

Without a word, Maggie stood on shaky legs, clasping the door to steady herself while Zach crawled over the seat and climbed out. He, too, grasped the car, his body so near that the hairs on her arm tingled.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked, needing to keep herself focused on being a doctor rather than a woman.

“I told you, I’m fine.” He released his grip. “When Ray comes, I think we should go to my place.” Before she could protest, he put his finger over her lips. “I don’t think this was an accident. That’s why I called the police. I want your car checked tomorrow before you drive it back to Santa Fe.”

Although she tried to ignore the feel of his touch against her mouth, it took her a long moment to gather her thoughts enough to say, “I can’t. I have patients to see first thing in the morning.”