Free Mac's Angels : Sinner and Saint. a Loveswept Classic Romance (9780345541659) by Sandra Chastain Page A

her bed that it seemed natural to pull up a chair and sit down beside her.
    The moonlight caught the silver of her hair and it glimmered. He remembered his first reaction to her icy beauty. He’d seen her as a Russian princess, riding in a horse-drawn sleigh across a field of white.
    And she’d seen him as a Gypsy, riding a white horse with scarlet ribbons woven into his mane.
    For so long his world had been sterile, empty. Now this woman had intruded, pushing away his self-imposed solitude. What would he do with her when she no longer needed him? She had become a part of his present, a moment he wanted to freeze in time. A moment he was fighting to keep.
    He wanted Karen Miller to be the princess. And he wanted to be her Gypsy on the white horse.
    Friday the 13th—plus seven hours—the fantasy
    Niko rose early. He made coffee and drank a cup as he looked through the window at the white landscape beyond. Did he dare leave her here while he went for supplies?
    No. By now whoever was tracking her might be too close. They’d stop along the way. Quickly he piled clothing and personal necessities into a duffel bag, pulled on a jacket, and carried his things to the Bronco. He cranked the engine to warm the car while he readied the vehicle for his patient.
    He couldn’t take her out into the weather wearingonly a T-shirt and a terry-cloth robe. Back in his bedroom he dug out a pair of cotton warm-up pants that had shrunk and a sweatshirt. For her feet—a pair of athletic socks and the purloined house shoes, until they could get boots.
    He knocked on her door. When she didn’t answer he opened it and looked inside. Her bed was empty. She was in the bathroom. Quickly he dropped the clothes on the foot of the bed and backed out.
    â€œCoffee’s ready,” he called out.
    â€œI’ll be right there.”
    At the sound of her voice, he let out a sigh of relief.
    Moments later she was in the kitchen. She’d donned the clothes, looking more like a bag lady than a Russian princess. The pants weren’t too bad, but she’d had to roll up the sleeves of the sweatshirt into lumpy circles around her elbows while the bottom hung almost to her knees.
    â€œI’ve been thinking about your helping me,” she said. “I feel bad about taking you away from the hospital. So, if you’ll just take me to the island, I can manage by myself.”
    â€œI don’t think so, princess. There is no power, no heat, no food, and no way to get there.”
    â€œBut how—I don’t understand.”
    â€œDrink your coffee. We need to leave here.”
    She looked down at herself. He could tell she wanted to argue, but realistically she had no choice but to accept his help. Without questioning him, sheswallowed her coffee and rinsed out the cup. “Do I have any other clothes?”
    â€œNot here.”
    â€œDid I have a purse, any money?”
    â€œNot that I know of.”
    â€œThen how did you know my name and where I worked?”
    â€œOne of the homeless people who hangs out at the library identified you when you were hit.”
    â€œSo what I see is what I’ve got?”
    There was frustration in her voice and he knew that she must feel truly helpless. “Temporarily. But don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. You’ll have to make do with what you’re wearing until we get out of the city. Then we’ll stop at a Kmart for boots and warm clothing, a supermarket for groceries, and we’re on our way.”
    Traffic out of the city wasn’t bad, except for the snow. There was heavy silence inside the four-wheel-drive vehicle, while outside a myriad of car horns blared rudely. They crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge and headed north. The slap of the windshield wipers made a steady rhythmic sound, like a heartbeat, like the monitors in the hospital.
    Karen took a deep breath and tried to relax. She couldn’t separate reality from her