Chapter 1: The Bridge

QUINN'S POV

Frozen ice water rushed all around me, piercing my skin like a thousand sharp knives. I became almost instantly numb. Suppressing the instinct to kick my legs until I reached the surface, I forced myself to still, letting my body go limp and grow leaden. I expelled all the air in my lungs in a slow gurgle and begin to sink.

Glancing up toward the surface, the watery murk of buttermilk colored sunlight began to fade with each passing second. Quiet surrounded me. Darkness crept in the deeper I sank and I squeezed my eyes shut. My lungs burned with the need to gasp for air. Every swimmer instinct I had raced to the surface.

I sank so heavily; my limbs bobbed of their own accord, my hair floating around my face like spiraled kelp. The cold quickly became increasingly unbearable. My entire body ached with the sting of it.

I sank deeper and faster all the while it became gradually harder to concentrate. Blackness edged its way around my thoughts until it took over entirely -- like the way a slip of paper burns from the outside in. I felt my lips part and the icy water rushed in, filling me.

I awoke in heaven. A brilliant, blinding sunbeam shone overhead, shielding the face of the angel looming over me. I felt the touch of frozen lips against mine before I lurched, coughing up river water.

"Thank God," the angel said.

I tried to focus my eyes, anxious to take in my new surroundings. "Is this heaven?" I heard myself ask.

"No."

Fear struck me in the gut. "Is it hell?"

"Depends on who you ask."

"I'm not dead?"

"No, thankfully."

I blinked madly. "Why not?"

The non-angel pulled me up, his hand pressed against the small of my back. "Because I found you in time. What happened? Did you fall in?"

Clarity and anger surged through me all at once. I rubbed at my eyes and coughed. I didn't owe him any explanations.

I shoved tangled curls off my forehead and the man moved to my right so I could see him clearly now. His face looked strained, his bluish-purple lips trembling with cold. Fully clothed and drenched to the bone, he shook violently.

I coughed again and began to tremble with uncontrollable shivers. The chills jolted me back to reality. Suddenly, the terrible cold and unease I felt frightened me.

"Can you walk?" the man asked me and I nodded.

He helped me to my feet but my legs gave out beneath me. Without warning, he swept me into his arms and cradled me against him. Although he shivered too, his body heat burned through his wet clothes and began to thaw me.

"Put me down," I demanded weakly.

"You can barely stand."

"I don't know you and I don't know where you're taking me. Put me down, please."

His grip around my waist tightened. "I'm the man who just saved your life."

"I didn't ask you to."

He responded with a soft grunt. I looked around. The little road I'd chosen was deserted -- a fact that had delighted me only a few minutes ago. Now, I desperately wanted to see other signs of life.

"Where're you taking me?" I repeated. My teeth were chattering like mad. So were his.

"To my car. I have a blanket in my trunk."

I looked up the road a bit and sure enough, a gray car sat on the side of the road.

"How do I know you're not going to kidnap me?" I asked shakily.

What sounded like a chuckle seemed to rumble in his chest like a kettledrum. "Have you ever known a kidnapper to 'save' someone's life?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No, but then they're not the sanest people either."

"It seems highly unlikely I would try and kidnap you seeing as though I just saved your life. It doesn't make sense that I would now turn around and harm you."

I'd have to be satisfied with his answer. I couldn't think straight anymore. The winter air combined with my soaked clothes paralyzed me.

The man put me down when we'd arrived at his car and then retrieved a thick blanket from his trunk. He wrapped me in it, rubbing my arms to help circulate my blood.

"You should take your sweater off and wrap the blanket around you. You'll get warm faster."

"Not happening," I scoffed.

"Believe me, I'm not hitting on you. It was just a suggestion."

"From what? Your Boy Scout training manual?"

He paused. "Actually, yes. But also, common sense."

Reluctantly, I smiled.

"We'll sit in the car for a while and get warm. Get in."

I hesitated and he looked at me over the roof of the car. "Didn't we already establish the fact that I'm not going to hurt you?" he asked dryly. "Get in before you freeze to death."

"We didn't establish anything," I retorted as I opened the car door.

I obeyed because it made sense and the tingling sensation in my fingertips made me think I may be close to losing extremities. But something about his demeanor, his authoritativeness, forced me to take heed, too.

I slipped into the camel-colored leather seats and he started the ignition, turning the heat on full blast. I tugged the blanket around me and put my face to the vent.

"Take off your shoes and socks. Let the floor warmers warm your feet."

On second thought, he was kind of bossy. "Stop trying to get me undressed."

I took off my shoes and socks anyway. He followed suit, also removing his sweater. I couldn't help but steal a glance at his bare chest, ripped with muscles and hard planes of definition. He reached behind my seat, unzipped a garment bag, and grabbed a dress shirt, tugging it on.

"Do you always keep a change of clothes in the car?" I asked.

"No. I'm packed for a business trip."

"Oh." I paused. "I hope I didn't detain you."

"You certainly did."

I knotted my fingers. "Sorry." 'What did I have to apologize for? No one asked him to jump in after me.'

"But so did my flat tire. I tried to call my associates to tell them I'd be late, but I had poor cell reception. I walked up the road to see if I could get a signal, and I saw you fall into the river."

He hollowed his cheeks and blew into his frozen red hands. "As soon as I get a little warmer, I'll change the tire and take you to the hospital to get checked out."

"That won't be necessary. As soon as I get warm, I'll be fine."

"I'd rather the doctor tell you that."

"I don't want to see a doctor."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't."

He huffed. "You took a little while coming around when I gave you CPR. You should get checked out to make sure you're okay."

I curled up in the seat, tucking my bare feet beneath the blanket. "Doctors ask too many questions."

"What're you afraid of them asking you?"

I thinned my lips into a straight line. "Nothing," I lied.

I watched him slip his shoes back on and grab his coat. "I'm going to put the spare on. Don't move. Keep the heat on and stay warm."

His door slammed and I heard the trunk pop open. I watched in the side mirror as he walked around to the passenger side and knelt at the rear tire. His dark brow furrowed as he concentrated on positioning the jack underneath the car. He began to crank and the side of the car gently lifted up. I watched him pump the lever with ease, his muscles hardly straining.

His jeans were soaked and they clung to him, outlining every bulge of his muscular thighs and calves. I tore my gaze away.

After only a few minutes, he slid back into the driver's seat and put the car in gear. He lifted the center console and grabbed a napkin, wiping the black grime of oil off his hands.

"If you won't let me take you to the doctor, then you're coming home with me so I can look after you. At least for tonight."

I whipped my head around. "No, I'm not."

He snorted. "Yes, you are. Is there anyone I can call for you?"

I folded my arms across my chest again. He was very blunt. And very rude. "No. And I'm not going home with you."

"I'm not asking you; I'm telling you. Someone needs to look after you and it might as well be me. There's 'no one' I can call for you?"

"No one," I bit out.

"Then, it's settled. You're officially on 'my' watch."

"What about your business trip? You can't miss that."

"I'll figure something out."

"Why're you doing this?"

I watched him lift his broad shoulders in a shrug. "I feel responsible for you somehow."

"Well, you're not."

"No. But I can't help feeling that way. It'll only be for tonight and then you're free to do as you please."

What could I say? My options had become extremely limited. I needed a day to figure out my next move.

"I don't even know your name," I finally said.

"Ford Harper."

He didn't ask my name. He didn't ask me anything about myself. Maybe he didn't care. I'd grown accustomed to people not caring. However, he'd jumped into a freezing river to save me and seemed intent on not letting me out his sight -- at least not for today. He must've cared a little.

"Are you warming up?" he asked.

My body still shook with tremors and my clothes clung to me like a second skin. I only felt a tad warmer than before.

"Slowly, but yes. You?"

He nodded, his eyes focused on the road. We were already nearing the city and I stared out the window with disinterest. Life buzzed all around me. People whizzed by in their cars, pedestrians crowded the sidewalks, office buildings held the working world -- all going about their daily routine. This is not the day I had planned.