I glance to the side where my car is—or, I should say, was. “Fuck,” I groan, slamming my head back into the snow and squeezing my eyes shut.
If my day was bad before, it just got worse.
“Are you hurt?” the burly tow truck driver asks me again.
“I don’t think so.” But that doesn’t meantomorrow I won’t feel the tumble deep down in my muscles.
“Fuck. That was close.”
Then it hits me. I was standing right where the car must’ve sideswiped mine, missing his tow truck but sending my car off into the woods on the side of the highway.
“You saved me,” I breathe, my fingers touching his jeans somewhere near his ass.
“I couldn’t let you die.”
“You could’ve,” I argue.
This handsome man stares down at me and, with a straight face, says, “Darlin’, what kind of man would I be if I let you die right in front of my eyes if I could save your life?”
“One who has an overwhelming sense of self-preservation,” I tell him.
Would I have done the same? I’m a good person, but I don’t know if I could literally jump toward a moving car to save a stranger, even a hot one.
He smirks at my statement as he pushes himself off me and then holds out a hand to me.
I don’t hesitate in taking his hand and being pulled up from the ground like I weigh nothing.
God, I love strong men. Smart is a bonus, but strong…that gets my motor running. Maybe that will change as I get older, but for right now, it is high up there on the list of important qualities I want in a man. Is it stupid? Probably, but I don’t give a crap.
When my eyes move to where my car used to be, I suck in a breath as the realization crashes over me. A minute earlier and I would’ve been bending over, half inside, half outside to grab my purse. A few minutes before that and I would’ve been completely inside, waiting for the lumberjack tow truck driver to get here.
“Don’t worry,” the guy says at my side. “I have a dashcam. We’ll find out who that asshole was.”
I hadn’t even realized the person never stopped after demolishing my car like he meant to do it. “Damn,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Why would they leave?”
“A bunch of reasons. Maybe they were drunk or had an outstanding warrant.”
“Asshole,” I whisper and turn my gaze toward Mr. Burly. “Not you. Them.” I fling my arm out toward the pieces of my car that stayed where the entire thing used to be.
He reaches into his pocket, fishing out his phone. “That they are, darlin’. I’ll call this in.”
“Call it in?” I ask, totally missing that he called me darlin’. In any other time, those words would’ve made my belly flutter, but right now, I was knee-deep in shock.
“The police.”
I nod as he lifts the phone to his ear. “Right,” I mutter, and I am happy at least one of us is thinking clearly.
I turn my body, staring out across the highway, and watch the cars move past in a blur. I’ve never been that close to dying before. If he hadn’t tackled me, I wouldn’t be breathing right now. It all happened in the blink of an eye, and that is the scariest part of it. One minute you’re here, and the next…you’re not.
“They’re on the way.”
“Thanks,” I say, my voice soft compared to the buzz of the traffic.
The man touches my back so gently, I almost don’t feel it. “Why don’t you wait in the truck. It’s not safe to stand here.”
I can’t argue with him. His point was proven a few minutes ago. “Okay,” I say, sounding more like a zombie than myself.
My feet move on their own, trusting this man with every fiber of my being. He guides me toward the passenger door of his giant tow truck, which looks more like a tank compared to my cute little sports car.
