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“I seeing into her flesh as he steered her around a corner

The line of his jaas rigid, hard flesh stretched tautly across it Her own ry fe against his grip and instead held herself stiff, not yielding to his physical force

Halfway down the narrow cross street he pulled her to a stop beside a parked car and opened the door “Get in,” he ordered

Rachel flashed hio of her arer seat Then he closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side She toyed with the idea of ju out of the car, but it sounded childish even to her Her beach bag was tossed into the back seat as Gard slid behind the wheel and inserted the key into the ignition switch

Holding her tight-lipped silence, she said nothing as he turned into the busy traffic on the Malecon, thethe waterfront of Banderas Bay At the bridge over the Cuale River the traffic became heavier as cabs, trucks, burros, and bicycles all vied to cross

The river was also the local laundro their clothes and their children in the river belohen Gard took his turn crossing the bridge Under other circumstances she would have been fascinated by this bit of local atot it

Her sense of direction had always been excellent Without being told, she knew they were going in the exactly opposite direction of the pier where the ship was tied It was on the north side of town and they were traveling south The road began to climb and twist up thewhite condo to precarious perches on the steep bluffs When the resorts and residences began to thin out, Gard still didn’t slon

Rachel couldn’t stand the oppressive silence any longer “A abducted?”

“You ht call it that,” was Gard’s clipped answer

Not once since he’d cliaze strayed from the road His profile see lines She looked at the sure grip of his hands on the steering wheel Her arers, but she refused tosoreness

As they rounded the an a doard curve to a sheltered bay with a large sandy beach and a scattering of buildings and resorts Recalling his earlier invitation to spend the afternoon in some quiet beach area, Rachel wondered if this was it

“Is that where we’re going?” The tension stayed in her voice, giving it an edge

“No” His gaze flashed over the bay and returned to the road, the unco “That’s where they filuana” His voice was flat and hard

“You can let ht ahead “I should be able to hire a taxi to take me back to town”

There was a sudden braking of the car Rachel braced a hand against the dashboard to keep fro catapulted forward as Gard swerved the car off the road and onto a layby next to so the bay