She frowned. She knew what it was like, how great it was, but as she tried to picture it, the images in her head started to become a little fuzzy. She opened her eyes again and swallowed hard, feeling a wave of panic flood her as she saw where she really was.

It was one thing to be abandoned, when it was so obviously a mistake, but to be led to an obvious dead end like this?

Her bottom lip wobbled. Maybe the nice cab driver—who had seemed so surprised to pick up a half-naked woman that he didn’t even complain about the fact she was slightly soggy from her unexpected nosedive into the tank—would take her somewhere better than this.

Somewhere appropriate where she could think about what she was going to do next, in comfort and luxury.

She turned back to the cab just as it pulled away from the curb.

“Wait!” she called, but it was too late.

She swallowed hard. The street was fairly busy. She could see another yellow taxi in the distance. She raised her hand as it approached.

But it didn’t stop. Instead it drove right through a puddle, drenching Val in a small tidal wave of cold water. She sputtered and wiped at her face.

Her bottom lip began to wobble again.

She turned back around to face the motel.

PARADISE INN. VACANCY.

Lucky me, she thought. There’s a vacancy. Woo-hoo.

Just then, she heard a strange sound. She frowned and listened, then turned around to see that it was squealing tires. A rusty Volkswagen Jetta came to a screeching halt next to her. The passenger door flew open, and a man flew out who hit the sidewalk hard. The door slammed shut and the car sped off.

The man got to his feet, brushed off his faded jeans, and yelled, “Claire, baby! Come on . . . I didn’t do anything wrong!” He sighed heavily, and turned to glance absently at Val. “My girlfriend. She’s the jealous type. No reason to be though.” His gaze slowly tracked down