Haynes nced at her, but still answered.
"That''s right."
Ste''s tone was loaded with meaning. "Are you sure you didn''t mistake her for someone else? Because if you did, all those years of devotion would''ve been wasted on the wrong person."
Of course, Haynes could hear the implication behind Ste''s words.
He didn''t get angry, though. Instead, he replied calmly, "I didn''t get it wrong. We met face to face back then, and even talked for a while."
Ste wasn''t at all disappointed that her attempt to stir up trouble had failed.
"I suppose that makes sense. Even if Rachel wasn''t the one you were looking for, the fact that you''ve been so drawn to her for so long means there''s something about her you can''t let go of."
Haynes fell silent.
He had no interest in discussing this, so he changed the subject.
"How''s your driving?"
Ste grinned. "Average. I''m still a rookie, really."
Haynes looked intrigued. "A rookie?"
"I''ve only been driving for about a year. Doesn''t that count?"
"Ever raced before?"
"Haven''t had the chance."
"I see..."
Their conversation trailed off after that.
Ste focused on the road as she headed toward the Williams family''s vi. She kept her speed conservative; they were in the city, after all, and she was careful to obey the trafficws. Besides, she had a nagging suspicion her driving skills had gotten rusty-how else could she have ended up hitting Joshua?
Lost in thought, Ste suddenly noticed a car up ahead swerving wildly from side to side.
It waste, and traffic was thin, so she could see the situation clearly. She watched as the car''s brake lights shed, but the speed didn''t drop at all.
A cold realization struck her. "The brakes... are they failing?"
She nced at the license te. It looked familiar.
Haynes noticed too. "Looks like something''s wrong with the brakes."
He took one look at the te and immediately recognized it.
"That''s Sellers'' car."
Ste''s face twisted with distaste. "How do you know?"
"I saw it when we arrived at the auction earlier," Haynes exined.
Ste watched the car''s brake lights flicker
karmsperately. "Well, I guesse
thánh
caught up to Sellers faster
I expected."
Haynes nced at her. "Why do you say that?"
"Isn''t itmon knowledge he''s a creep? Maybe this is payback for that."
She made no effort to hide the
satisfaction in her voice-she w
enjoying his
cleatly
For some reason, Haynes found her reaction amusing and actually chuckled.
Ste shot him a re. "What''s so funny?"
His voice was low and rich. "You. You''re funny."
She looked at him, baffled. "What''s funny about me?"
"It''s just...the way you were a minute ago. I found it really amusing."
Ste was at a loss for words for a moment before muttering, "You''re nuts."
Haynes spoke, half to her, half to himself. "If only you''d been like this back then." She ignored him.
Meanwhile, Sellers'' car was still in trouble; it was only a matter of time before something happened. Ste weighed her options: should she speed up and overtake him, or slow down and keep her distance?
She made her decision in an instant.
She mmed her foot on the gas.
At that moment, Sellers finally realized something was wrong.
His face drained of color. "This isn''t good. The car''s got a problem."
Everyone in the car turned to him in shock.
Sherman asked, "What''s wrong, Uncle?"
"The brakes... They''re not working."
Panic swept through the car.
"How could that happen? How do brakes just fail like that?”
"Was it an ident, or did someone do this?"
Just then, another car shot past them, speeding down the road.
Sherman caught a glimpse of a familiar face through the window.
An idea—wild and unbelievable-shed through his mind. His eyes went wide.
"Could it be...Ste?!"
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