Hide and Seek. Desiree Holt
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The man on the driver’s side turned toward him. They were dressed identically in black jeans and black all-weather jackets despite the heat. Heavy sunglasses obscured their faces and they wore black ball caps pulled low over their foreheads.
Their posture was decidedly unfriendly.
Okay, Logan, defuse, defuse, defuse.
He just hoped the woman was sharp enough to play along with him.
“We have this under control,” the man on the driver’s side said. “You can go on.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Logan held up a hand and looked through the window at the woman. “What happened, sweetheart? I told you I’d follow you to town. You should have waited for me to get off the phone.”
The look he gave her said play along.
The expression on her face was a combination of anger and terror. She wet her lips. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to rush your phone call.”
Thank God. At least she was no dummy. But how the hell had she gotten herself into this situation?
He looked from one man to the other, his face expressionless. What the fuck was going on here? “What happened, babe? Did you take that turn too fast?”
Keep it up, lady. We don’t want full-out war with these guys.
She looked from him to the man standing next to him and back to Logan again. Her faced was taut with fear, but the look in her eyes told him she had smarts and was using them. Maybe she figured if he got rid of these two guys she could handle one man herself.
“I, um, skidded on the road and ended up in the ditch.”
“We’re helping her,” the man beside him said, his Spanish accent evident.
Logan gave him a look he hoped said get the fuck out of here or I’ll bust your balls. As an agent at a private security and protection agency and former Marine, he’d taken down more than one man at a time before, men who were sharper than these two.
“This is your wife?” one of them asked. His voice was heavy with skepticism. If she’d been targeted specifically, they’d know she wasn’t married, but maybe this would scare them off.
“Sure is. Thanks for stopping, guys, but I’ve got it from here.”
They two men exchanged a look, as if deciding whether or not to take him out.
Logan glanced into the car. “Damn, sugar, you’ve got that glass all over you. Let me get my phone out, call for help.” He lifted his shirt to reach for his phone in his back pocket, deliberately exposing the gun in his waistband.
The man next to him took a step back. Good.
“Oh, oops.” Logan grinned. “Sorry.” He reached on the other side and pulled out his cell.
But the man shook his head once to his partner, who looked like he was spoiling for a fight, and they backed away. Good. They were smart enough at least not to start a firefight on a public road, no matter now sparsely traveled it was.
“Sorry,” he said. “We just stopped to see if we could help.”
They strode back toward their SUV.
Logan pulled out his cell phone and began snapping pictures of the two men and their vehicle. He had barely lowered the cell when the vehicle took off with a screech of tires.
Then he turned to give the woman a good look. Even shock from the situation didn’t detract from her appeal. Rich, thick sable hair pulled back in a ponytail accented her face with its delicate cheekbones, full lips, and smoky gray eyes framed by the thickest eyelashes he’d ever seen. Her body, with rounded breasts and hips, was a wet dream walking. She was definitely all woman, something he’d noticed the moment he’d approached her car. One hell of a woman, if he was any judge.
Unexpectedly his cock stiffened.
For fuck’s sake, Logan. Get your shit together.
He wasn’t as much shocked by his physical reaction as by the fact that it happened at all. For a long time now, he’d managed to keep a clamp on his sex drive and take it out only when required, like taking aspirin for a headache.
“You’re a smart woman,” he said. “I didn’t know if you’d play along with me.”
She inhaled an unsteady breath and blew it out. “I took a chance. You could have been worse than they were.”
“Still, that shows brains and quick thinking. Good for you.” He studied the interior of her car. “Wow. They did a number with that window. Don’t move. There’s chunks and pebbles everywhere.”
She stared at him, studying his face. “You promise you aren’t the second wave? You know, like good cop, bad cop? The bad guys threaten me and you come along and win my confidence by helping me?”
“Nope. Scout’s honor.”
“I, uh, saw that you have a gun.”
“So did those jackasses. I wanted them to see it.” He smiled at her. “But I only use it as part of my job.”
She caught her lower lip in her teeth. “They just came at me out of nowhere and ran me off the road. Then they boxed me in and smashed the window.”
“Later I’ll want all the details. Right now let’s get you out of here.”
“Do you know who they are? Those men?”
“No.” His voice hardened. “But I know other garbage like them.”
She swallowed. “So who are you, anyway?”
“Oh. Sorry.” He winked at her, and the tension in her body visibly eased. “Logan Malik. Savior of women in danger.”
“Devon Cole.” She dug up a smile. “Woman in danger who needed saving.”
“I’d shake hands with you but I think you should sit very still.” He nodded at the glass sprinkled all over her. “You’ve got some scrapes where the chunks of glass hit your arms but fortunately they aren’t sharp enough to do more than that.” He studied her face. “Miraculously none of it flew at your head, so your face is clear.”
She blinked.
“Oh.” She looked down, taking in the glass scattered over her lap, the seat, and the floor of the car. Then she then lifted her arms and looked at them. The safety glass had splintered into pebbles of all sizes, and she had some scrapes and bruises where they’d hit the unprotected skin. When she lifted a hand to brush off the ones clinging to her T-shirt and thighs, she was shaking.
“Adrenaline crash. Been there, done that. Take some deep, slow breaths and in a minute you’ll be steadier.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him, although he was sure that was a big exaggeration. “Do whatever you have to.”
And she has guts. I sure hope I find something wrong with her before I make a big mistake.
With a slow, deliberate movement he pulled open her car door and stuck his head inside.
“Hold on.” He made his voice sound as reassuring as possible. “I want to get you out of here before your car lurches any farther into the ditch.”
She cleared her throat. “I’m going to need a tow truck. And I should call Chief March. I need to report this.”
“I’ll do it. I’ll make both calls. Also, I got a picture of their car and license plate, which I will ask my boss to run for me.” He looked at her front seat again. “Your cuts should be looked at. So let me get things going here.”
“I’m fine, really. A tow truck and a little first aid and I’ll be fine.”
He gave her high marks for not falling apart. He’d feel better if someone checked her over but he agreed