Without Regret (Devil's Playground #1) by Nicole Edwards Page B

fumbled with her seat belt while she prayed the heater would push something more than arctic air at her.
    How long did it take for frostbite to set in?
    Wow. And wasn’t that an odd question to worry about at a time like this?
    Hoping she wasn’t going to find out, she forced the notion from her head.
    Less than a minute later, Marissa wasn’t worried about her numb fingers and toes or even what the sound had been that had woken her in the middle of the night. Her new interest was who this man was and where they were going.
    When she turned to face him, ready to pelt him with those exact questions, Marissa was tossed around the front seat like a rag doll—despite the seat belt that was supposed to hold her in place—as he took a turn on what had to be two wheels. Fear gripped her once again as she grabbed for the oh-shit handle and held on for dear life. He obviously knew what he was doing, navigating the top-heavy vehicle in polar-like conditions, never taking his eyes off the road.
    Chancing another glimpse in his direction, Marissa studied his profile despite the mask still covering his features, trying her best to look at him. Really look at him.
    When he glanced over at her, tugging the mask off his head, allowing her to see his face for the first time since he’d arrived to whisk her out of the house, her breath lodged in her throat.
    What the fuck?
    “You’re lucky I don’t punch you right now,” she told him grumpily, earning a chuckle from him.
    Continuing to watch him, Marissa willed her heart to stop pounding, her breath to return to normal.
    “Since when did they start sending in the big guns?” she muttered when she could breathe again, sarcasm and incredulity replacing the fear that had racked her for the past… According to the blue digits on the dashboard, only fifteen minutes had passed since she’d awoken to the noise.
    He didn’t respond.
    Before Marissa could blast him for what had happened, there was an explosion that rocked the SUV. Twisting in her seat and peering through the tinted back window, she saw a fireball billowing in the chilly night air.
    “Ohmygod… Ohmygod… Oh. My. God.” Marissa turned to eyeball the man who’d come to her rescue. The last man she’d expected to see. The very man who had just saved her life. “Was that…?”
    “Your house? Yeah,” he offered with a slight edge. Although his rich, dark tone reflected a hint of sympathy, his white-gray eyes were hard as steel.
    Her house, or rather the residence she’d inhabited for the last two and a half months, was now… Shit. It was now a fireball in the sky.
    Spinning back around and shifting nervously in her seat, Marissa sucked air into her lungs, praying she wouldn’t hyperventilate and pass out. Or maybe that would be better than dealing with this now. Who knew?
    A firm hand landed on her back, thrusting her forward.
    “Head between your knees, damn it. Don’t you dare pass out on me, girl.”
    Girl? Was he serious right now?
    Marissa had no choice but to obey his booming command, as he was simultaneously forcing her head toward the floorboard. Closing her eyes, she slowed her breaths, ignoring the way her hands trembled uncontrollably and her heart raced like a Kentucky Derby racehorse. A few minutes later, when she finally got her bearings, she sat up slowly and asked the one question she felt she’d been asking for far too long. “Who’s after me now?”
    Once again, no response. Typical.
    She might never receive an honest answer to that, but at least Marissa had the answer to her earlier question…
    Disaster.
    Plain and simple.
    That was exactly what she’d been running toward .
    And disaster’s name was Trace Kogan.
    Wait for Morning Available now!

Acknowledgments
    I have to thank my family first, for putting up with my craziness. From my sudden outbursts when I think of something that needs to be added or when I question why one of the characters did what they did, to the strange hours that