Read Online Come Gentle the Dawn by Lindsay McKenna - Free Book Online

exhaustion. He wanted to urge her to forget the reporters, but she doggedly shook her head and went over to them. She answered their barrage of questions for nearly twenty minutes. He breathed a sigh of relief when she finally ended the press conference and walked to the van.
    “Why’d you go out of your way to talk to those idiots?” he asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
    “Because the people of Ohio need to be informed on what we do. Every little scrap of information throughthe media to them may help us do our job in the long run, Linc. It helps everyone if we can teach the public to check tankers as they pass them on the highway, see if they have any leaks, then report them, if there are.” She stopped near the van, giving him the keys. “You drive, I’m getting tired.”
    He opened the door for her and saw a shadow of a smile lurking at the corners of her glorious mouth. “Chauvinism is not dead,” he informed her silkily.
    She climbed in. “Does that mean you’ll put my seat belt on, too?”
    Linc hesitated, very aware that she looked so vulnerable because of her fatigue. “Just say the word. Nothing’s too good for you, lady. Not after the way you handled this haz-mat situation.”
    Brie met his dark eyes, realizing he respected her for the first time. “Get in. I’m not so weak that I can’t buckle up. Will I need to put on a crash helmet with you at the wheel?”
    Linc shut the door and grinned. “My good friends always called me Captain Crash.”
    Brie chortled and waited until he climbed into the van before saying, “Is that short for Captain Crash and Dash?”
    “Yeah. How’d you know?”
    “That’s an old fire fighter’s pet name for those who crash through a burning structure’s door, then fall through the floor into the basement. We never thought much of the crash and dashes in our department, or any other, for that matter. They risk other people’s lives with their inability to think coolly under stress.”
    He got the van on the road and they headed toward Canton. “I’m not that kind,” he protested.
    Brie slumped into her seat, relaxing and closing her eyes. He wasn’t a reckless driver, and she smiled slightly. “So, how many pumpers or tankers did you wreck then? There had to be a reason for the nickname.”
    He glanced at Brie, alarmed by the faraway tone in her soft voice. Darkness shadowed her features, relieved only by the lights of passing vehicles. “The name Captain Crash was given to me because in certain situations I just lower my head like a bull and charge.”
    “Wonderful. Now you tell me. What did you do, bully those poor reporters earlier? They didn’t have many nice things to say about your handling of them.”
    His brows drew down. “Tough. I’ll never let them at you when you’re exhausted or busy coordinating an incident.”
    Sleep tugged at Brie, and she wanted to give in to it. “Linc, I’m going to knock off for a while. It’s still an hour until we get home. Wake me up when you hit the outskirts of Canton, okay?”
    Again, Linc was struck by Brie’s exhaustion. Didn’t she ever get a decent night’s sleep? “Are you all right?” Concern was obvious in his voice, and he saw her look at him through her lowered lashes.
    “I’m fine. Don’t worry, I didn’t breathe in any of that stuff at the site. I’m just beat, that’s all.”
    “Okay. Sleep for a while.”
    “Sure? It’s been a long, hard day for you, too.”
    He liked her sensitivity and regard for others. “Go to sleep, kitten. I’ll wake you when it’s time,” he told her in a husky voice. Linc tried to tell himself that the care he extended toward Brie was part of his cover, not real concern.
    Pleasantly wrapped in the melting honey of his tone,Brie went to sleep. She spiraled quickly into an abyss where nothing except peace existed.
    When she awoke, it was to the caress of strong fingers gently massaging her shoulder. Wanting to remain in the arms of