LITMIR.BIZ

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for Charlie Halverson, then yes.” Mustang pushed to his feet and extended his hand.

      She hesitated a moment before placing her hand in his and letting him pull her to her feet.

      “Are you okay?” His gaze raked her body from head to toe, his eyes straining in the darkness. He’d lost the flashlight in his chase to catch her.

      She nodded. “I think so. A little banged up and bruised from the car wreck and from being tackled.”

      “Sorry about that,” Mustang said.

      A smile quirked at the corners of her lips. “I guess I should thank you for keeping me safe from running out into the middle of the road.”

      Footsteps sounded on the pavement behind the woman. Declan raced toward them. “Mustang? Emily?” He ground to a halt and shook his head. “An ambulance is on the way. And I called the sheriff’s department and the police department and have them looking out for a dark sedan with no license plate.”

      Mustang shook his head. “The dude will be long gone before anybody gets out here.”

      Declan stepped up to Emily and held out his hand. “Grace sent us. You must be Emily.”

      The woman took his hand and nodded. “I’m Emily,” she said softly. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

      Declan chuckled and tipped his head at Mustang. “You’ll have to thank Mustang. He’s the one who came to your rescue.”

      She raised her eyebrows and shot a glance toward Mustang. “Mustang? Is that your real name or is that a call sign?”

      “Call sign,” Mustang answered. “Frank Ford.” He held out his hand and she took it, giving it a firm shake before releasing it and rubbing her hand on the side of her leg.

      The wailing of a siren brought all three heads up at once. Lights blinked around the corner and an ambulance came to a stop beside Mustang’s truck. The EMT crew leaped out of their rig and converged on Emily.

      She held up her hands and backed away. “I’m okay,” she insisted.

      Mustang touched her shoulder. “Let them look you over. Even if it doesn’t make you feel better, it will make me feel better,” he said and stepped back to let the EMT crew get to Emily.

      Declan fell in beside Mustang. “Did you get a look at the guy who attacked her?”

      Mustang shook his head. “No, it was dark, and the guy wore a ski mask.” He stared in the direction the dark sedan had gone. “However, the man had a Russian accent.”

      Declan’s brows rose. “Russian, aye.”

      Mustang shrugged. “Not that I speak Russian. But it sounded like it to me, and Emily apparently can speak Russian because she said something in Russian when I tackled her.”

      Declan chuckled. “You tackled her?”

      With a frown, Mustang nodded. “I had to, to stop her from running out in the road.”

      Declan shook his head. “That’s no way to make a new friend.”

      Mustang snorted. “I wasn’t trying to make a friend. I was trying to save her from getting run over.”

      Declan clapped a hand to Mustang’s shoulder. “Well, that will make Grace happy. She was worried about Emily.”

      When the EMTs brought out a stretcher, they were stopped by an emphatic, No!

      Emily shrugged out of the hands of one of the technicians. “I’m okay, I’m telling you.”

      “Ma’am, being in a car wreck, and having the airbags deploy, can cause concussion. We’d feel better if you came to the hospital and had one of the doctors look you over.”

      Emily shook her head. “At no time was I unconscious.”

      “You don’t have to be unconscious to have suffered a concussion.” The EMT gripped her arm. “Please, ma’am, let us take care of you.”

      She shook off his hand and backed away. “I’m okay and I can take care of myself.” She looked around, her gaze catching Mustang’s. “If I’ve suffered any injuries, my friends will make sure that I get to a hospital on time. Won’t you?” She directed her challenge at Declan.

      Declan chuckled. “We’ll get her to the nearest hospital if she starts showing any signs of deteriorating health.”

      The technician shrugged. “Have it your way.” He closed his kit and loaded it into the emergency vehicle. The two other technicians who’d gotten the stretcher out put it into the back of the ambulance and eventually the three of them drove away.

      Emily turned and stared at the wreckage of her car. “I don’t suppose I’m going to get that out of the ditch anytime soon,” she said.

      Again Declan chuckled. “No. The only thing that’s going to get that vehicle out of the ditch is a tow truck.”

      Emily sighed and turned to Declan and Mustang. “I take it you’re my ride.”

      Declan nodded. “However, you do have a choice between riding with me—” he tipped his head toward Mustang “—or with Mustang.”

      Emily’s eyes narrowed as she stared from Mustang to Declan and back.

      Mustang found himself holding his breath. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t know the woman, but he wanted her to choose him.

      Though she was soaked with the equivalent of swamp water, he had come this far to save her. He didn’t want to let it end there.

      For several seconds Emily chewed on her bottom lip. Then she drew in a breath, let it go on a sigh and nodded at Mustang. “I’ll ride with Mustang,” she said softly.

      “Well then, let’s get you to Charlie’s place. It’s not too far down the road. That way you can get out of those cold, wet clothes. It’s starting to get chilly outside,” Declan said.

      Emily nodded, a shiver shaking her frame.

      Declan grinned. “I’ll see you there.” He spun on his heels and hurried toward his truck.

      When Mustang tried to steer her toward his truck, Emily dug her heels into the pavement. “I can’t leave my purse and keys in the car.” She started toward the wrecked vehicle.

      “I’ll get them,” Mustang insisted. “Stay here.”

      He dropped down into the ditch and found his way into the damaged vehicle. After pulling the keys from the ignition, he took longer than he wanted to find the purse. Finally, he had what he needed and returned to Emily’s side.

      Mustang handed her the purse and keys, gripped her elbow and led her to the passenger side of his pickup. He opened the door to assist her into the seat.

      She put her foot on the running board and it slipped, causing her to fall back into Mustang’s arms.

      He held her until she had her feet firmly on the ground again. “You all right?”

      She nodded. Color rose up her neck and into her cheeks. She reached this time for the handle inside the cab of the truck and helped pull herself up into the passenger seat.

      Once Emily was settled, Mustang reached around her and clicked the shoulder strap of the seat belt across her lap. As he retracted his elbow, it brushed gently across her breast and he quickly mumbled an apology. A blast of electricity shot through him.

      Emily’s breath hitched, as if she’d had a similar experience.

      Mustang jerked his arm back and stepped away from the side of the truck, slamming the door firmly. He rounded the front of the vehicle and climbed into the driver’s seat. Without another word, he started the engine and pulled out onto the road. The shock he’d felt had to have been static electricity. There could be no other explanation. There was no way he’d felt

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