She groaned, disoriented, as snow covered her side windows and pine needles pressed into her windshield, darkening the interior and blocking any view of the outside world.
The car ticked and hissed. Her head swam and she wondered if she’d hit it. A trickle of warm blood seeped into her eye. She cradled her face, trying to think. With a shaky hand, she shut off the engine, unsure what to do. Then she shut her eyes.
CHAPTER 4
Giovanni slid to a stop at the top of the ramp leading onto the snow-covered highway. Visibility was shit, and he seemed to be the only idiot on the road at this hour.
His windshield wipers pumped, doing little to clear the view. There must have been close to eight inches of snow on the ground and the stuff kept falling.
Squinting through the heavy flakes, trying to make out the road, he glimpsed at what might be the guardrail. The pavement was a blur, so there were no painted lines or medians visible to guide him.
Edging forward, his car coasted in a slow glide that did little to control the car. Thank God he was the only one out. He’d never be able to drive in this while navigating around other cars.
A strange divot formed in the road and he frowned. Tracks. But they were a mess like someone was doing donuts. On a highway?
Everything was muffled from the heat pumping through the vents and the heavy, whipping pattern of the wipers. He hunched over the wheel, driving like a blind granny, wondering who had ridden those tracks into the snow, when his headlight caught something reflective in the tree line.
“Oh, shit.” He carefully pulled over, unsure if he was still in the road or on the shoulder. “Please tell me that car’s empty.”
The little red coupe was nose down in the ditch with heavy pine branches and snow covering the windshield. It was too dark to see any damage to the body of the car, but it wasn’t parked in a natural position. Shutting off his engine, he pocketed his keys in case he needed them to break a window. He stuffed his cell in his pocket and left his headlights angled toward the coupe as he got out.
“Fuck.” His Italian-soled shoes sank into the snow. “Two hundred dollars down the drain for some good Samaritan bullshit. Someone better be in there.”
He hiked through the slush and ice, the ankles of his jeans growing wet and heavy with each frigid step. Flakes caught in his lashes and hair. Just two minutes outside of his car, and his hands were chapped and frozen.
“Hello?” he yelled, staring down at the cockeyed car. It had definitely slid off the road. “Is anyone in there?”
The wind whistled and he hunched deeper into his jacket. He wanted to go back, but the way the branches covered the driver’s door made him think it hadn’t been opened since the crash. The other side was smacked up against the trunk of a pine tree.
He kept going, choosing his steps carefully, but unsure what terrain existed underneath the smooth coating of snow. His shoes crunched through the icy surface, his feet sinking ankle-deep. The damp cashmere of his dress socks clung to his freezing ankles.
“Damnit!” Losing his footing, he fell to his back and slid down the slope, banging his knee into the hard metal of the door. Ice chips rushed up the back of his shirt, cold against his skin, and he groaned then kicked the side of the car.
Rolling to his knees, he fumbled to stand. The snow had made a drift and gravity was working against him. He had to climb onto the car to pull the branches away. They were heavier than expected.
The windows were iced over and when he pulled the handle, the door stuck. He doubted anyone was in there. His shoes were ruined and his clothes were soaked. He’d probably catch pneumonia from this, and for what?
What happened to Giovanni?
Oh, he wrestled a pine tree in a blizzard and lost.
Heh-heh, he always was an idiot.
He wrestled with the door as branches swatted him in the face and more snow fell down his collar. The damn thing wouldn’t budge.
“Open, you piece of shit!” He yanked the door hard and it finally gave way. Squinting into the shadows, he caught sight of a feminine leg and gasped.
Holy shit, there is someone in here.
“Hey?” He braced the door on his shoulder so it wouldn’t shut. The car was freezing. “Hey, are you okay?”
Her body was bent at the waist and draped over the passenger seat. He could make out the round shape of her ass and a damn fine set of legs but her upper body was bundled in a white parka and blonde hair tumbled over her face, hiding any identifying characteristics from view.