Beautiful Disaster

Part Two

Tree... bush... tree... tree... rock... tree...

Hugh Grayson yawned as he kept trying to identify the shadows he was passing by. Only recently did he realize that this was all the countryside had to offer. Hugh wasn't a big fan of crowds, but this barely populated part of the world bordered on the extreme.

He checked the time and saw that it was a little after eleven. And Towdee was still nowhere in sight. Just how far was the place from Ambervale City anyway?

Hugh didn't want to think he was lost. He had a keen sense of direction, after all. Just one glance at a map, and he was ready to go.

Perhaps he needed to speed up a bit more. There weren't very many cars on the road, so there was no reason to dawdle. In fact, it looked like he was the only person driving around the country tonight.

But he was soon proved wrong when he saw a car parked close to a bend.

The lights were off. There was no driver in the front seat. It looked like the thing was abandoned.

Hugh knew that stopping by the car and checking it out wouldn't be very smart. His mind was telling him to ignore it. For all he knew, the car could be a decoy, a lure to accost holiday tourists and wring them dry of cash.

However, Hugh wasn't a devout follower of logical thinking. Years of living on the streets had honed his instincts, and now it was telling him to ignore protocol and trust his intuition. So he smoothly stopped his rental, took out a flashlight from his backpack and stepped outside.

"Hello? Is anybody out there?" The air was freezing, but he was used to icy temperatures. He'd been to colder regions that even Santa wouldn't dare give gifts to. "Hello! Does anybody need some help?!"

Just as he thought the car had truly been abandoned, a small voice came out of nowhere. "Stay—stay back. I've got a weapon."

Hugh tried to make out where the voice was coming from. He realized that it originated from behind a couple of bushes some feet away. From the high pitch, it was obviously a woman's.

"Hi there. The name's Hugh Grayson." Just what is a woman, all alone and defenseless, doing in the middle of the road? he thought. "Do you need some help?"

"I said to stay back," she said again, her voice firmer than before. It was as if she was not sure of what to do.

Hugh knew that he needed to gain this woman's trust so that he could help her get to civilization. He was a big man, with a height wannabe basketball players dreamed of and a built that made the targets of his job cower. If he could make a grown man cry, he would most probably be able to frighten this woman to death—something he didn't want in his records.

So he used his most sugary voice. "Alright. I'm not gonna hurt you, see? I just wanna help."

A beam of light appeared between the leaves of the bushes and landed directly on him. "Put your hands where I can see 'em."

Hugh complied, knowing that if this were a trick, he could still take her down anytime. "Okay. I've got my hands high up in the air." He tried pleading again. "I just wanna help you. May I know your name?"

"Take off your clothes."

WHAT? His brows furled, and his jaw nearly dropped to the asphalt at his feet.

Had he heard right? Had this woman actually asked him to strip himself bare? Hugh had to admit that he was scarier than most men, but he wasn't Jack the Ripper.

"Take off your clothes!" the woman insisted. "If you really want to prove you're not a rapist or serial killer, do as you're told."

"And how am I going to be sure you're not a killer or anything?"

Something was thrown from behind the bushes. It landed a few feet away from Hugh and began rolling to where he stood. He bent to retrieve it and almost laughed when he realized that he was holding an almost empty can of pepper spray in his hands.

He was more surprised when two other objects thumped in front of him—a pair of glittery gold stiletto boots that were the literal embodiment of 'killer heels.'

"Those are the only weapons I have," she admitted. "Now, please take your clothes off before you scare me more than you already do."

"Fine, but I'm not taking my boxers off. I'm not a free stripper service." He hoped that his comment would make her as embarrassed as he was. "So what next?"

"Um... well..."

Hugh detected the faint tremor in her voice. She was more afraid than he realized and was making up for it in bravado. He looked up from his inspection of the 'deadly weapons' and was shocked to find that the woman had emerged from behind the bushes.

"Is there a weapon in your car?" The woman came closer.

For a moment, Hugh couldn't say anything. She was the most beautiful creature he'd laid eyes on. Her bare legs went on and on until they disappeared beneath a tight mini-skirt that also glittered like gold. She had on a black sweater with sleeves that went all the way to her slender wrists.

He couldn't quite clearly see the color of her irises, but her hair was brown and coiffed into neat curls. And she had the best set of ti—teeth. Hugh suddenly regretted taking his clothes off.

He was pretty sure his shorts wouldn't be able to cover any action that went down under there. "No."

The woman assessed him with her big, big eyes and must have concluded that he was as safe as he said he was. "Then—then, can I hitch a ride to the Towdee Police Station? Please."

Hugh grinned. If it weren't for her innocent face, he would have assumed she was his boss' crazy—Hell no!

But no matter how much Hugh denied it, the evidence was right before his eyes.

She had the same face. She had the same voice Hugh had heard from all those recorded phone calls her father had made him listen to. This woman who'd forced him to help her, who'd coerced him to drop his pants in the middle of a near-freezing night, could only be his next assignment.

She was the notorious Izzy Nacino.

♥

Continued

Please stay tuned for more parts. And please tell a friend if you think they might enjoy this type of story. Thank you for reading!