" her sunglasses and opened the back door. “Good-bye.” “Emory?” Poised on the threshold, she turned. He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. “Be careful.” * * * “Jeff? Hi. I made it.” The two-hour drive from Atlanta had left Emory tired, but most of the fatigue was due to stress, not the drive itself. The traffic on northbound Interstate 85 had thinned out considerably about an hour outside the city, when she took the cutoff highway that angled northwest. She’d arrived at her destination before dusk, which had made navigating the unfamiliar town a bit easier. She was already tucked into bed at the motel, but tension still claimed the space between her shoulder blades. Not wanting to exacerbate it, she’d considered not calling Jeff. Last night’s quarrel had been a skirmish. She sensed a much larger fight in their future. Along every "

― Sandra Brown , Mean Streak