Ashlyn Davidson.
No longer a redhead, the light blonde color suited her even better. She was paler than she’d been the night they spent together, and instead of happy with a hint of wistful jealousy, her eyes were now filled with pure, unbridled terror.
“Back up, this doesn’t concern you,” the man snarled, pressing the blade of his knife deep enough into Ashlyn’s neck to draw blood.
The sight of blood on her slender neck had protective rage bubbling up inside him.
He would have done everything within his power to save the woman, no matter who she was, even if she had just participated in a drug deal. But now, knowing it was the woman he’d been unable to get out of his head for three very long months, there was not a chance in hell anything was going to stop him from saving her life.
“Actually, sir, it does. I'm Detective Bull, and I'm going to ask you again to remove the knife from the lady’s neck. Set it down on the ground, and get down on your knees, hands in the air.”
While he didn't expect the man to comply, he was going to give him a choice before he did something that couldn’t be taken back. Like blow the man’s head off for daring to lay a finger on Ashlyn.
Panic darted in the ice blue eyes that looked back at him, panic flared in Ashlyn’s baby blues as well, but along with that panic was a heavy dose of trust. Knowing that she trusted him to get her out of this alive, had his resolve hardening.
“Last warning, sir,” Grant said. Since Ashlyn was much shorter than her assailant, he had a clean shot at the man. Killing him would get him a whole lot of paperwork and an investigation into the use of lethal force, but Grant found he didn't care in the least. So long as Ashlyn walked away today alive, nothing else mattered.
It was going to come to that, he could tell it was.
The man wasn't going to comply, he was going to do something stupid, something that would get Ashlyn killed.
Preparing himself to take the shot, he was unprepared for Ashlyn to suddenly ram her elbow back into the man’s ribs.
Her assailant grunted, but the knife dropped from her neck, and she was able to dart away from him, scrambling around her car, while Grant didn't hesitate to throw himself at the man, tackling him to the ground.
Despite his need to get to Ashlyn, confirm she was okay, not bleeding out, he didn't look for her until he’d slapped a pair of handcuffs on the man and kicked the knife well out of reach.
Only then did he look over his shoulder to find Ashlyn cowering against her car.
Dragging her into his arms was the most natural thing in the world. When her trembling body pressed closer against his, her fingers grabbing fistfuls of his T-shirt, he couldn’t help but feel it was fate that had led him here today.
Fate had brought him here to save the life of the woman he’d been obsessing about for months, and who was he to argue with fate?
Chapter
Five
May 9th
4:44 P.M.
This was going to end.
Soon.
And she wasn't ready for it.
Ashlyn hadn't even stopped shaking yet, but she knew that Grant staying with her this long was only because of the night they’d shared. If she was anyone else, he would have already handed her off to another cop, or a paramedic, or even just sent her off home on her own.
Thankfully, he hadn't done any of that, and she was still curled against his side, sitting in the back of his car, holding fistfuls of his T-shirt, and praying that the seconds slowed down a little so she could stay just how she was.
Other than when she’d had to give her statement and Grant had given his, he hadn't left her side. Even then, she knew he hadn't wanted to, but they both needed to give statements, and they couldn’t do that together.
Which sucked.
Big time.
Not that the cop who had taken her statement was mean or anything. In fact, the woman had been kind, thoughtful, and genuine, and that had helped a lot. But it didn't make saying the words any easier. Admitting that her would-be kidnapper had been going to make her give him money, jewelry, and then her body.
