“You are one helluva lot of trouble, sugar.”
“Get off me!” With her arms pinned between them, Jenny could barely move.
“Randy as I’m feelin’, this shouldn’t take long.” She heard the swish of the knife Clyde pulled out of his boot.
He pressed the blade against the side of her neck. “I don’t want to hurt you, sugar, but I will. Now why don’t you just relax. I’ll take what I need, then we’ll call Barrett, see how much he’s willing to pay for used goods.”
A whimper escaped.
She felt one of Clyde’s hands slide between them as he tried to unzip her jeans. Jenny started struggling and Clyde pressed the knife a little deeper.
“Take it easy. I won’t waste no time.”
She wanted to fight him, but she didn’t want to die.
Tears blurred her vision the instant before a slight movement in the darkness caught her eye. The blue metal barrel of a gun appeared as Cain stepped out of the scrub brush near the entrance to the tunnel, the semiautomatic gripped in his hand.
“If it’s money you want, let her go, and we’ll do business.”
Clyde rolled off her, at the same time jerking her to her feet. The knife pressed even more solidly against her throat. “So I guess the Lone Ranger got here just in time.”
“Where’s Bart?” Cain asked, the gun never wavering.
“Your little gal here took care of him. Bashed him in the skull with a rock. Got to admire her grit.”
“I admire a lot of things about Jenny. The one thing I won’t allow is anyone hurting her.”
In the darkness, Jenny caught the quick flash of Clyde’s smile. A trickle of blood slid down from the thin slice in her neck.
“How much is she worth to you, Barrett? You bring me a bag full of money, and I’ll let her go.”
“I’m not leaving her with you. Not for an hour. Not for a minute. Not for another second.”
Jenny shoved Clyde, knocking him off balance, and Cain fired, the bullet slamming into the other man’s shoulder, the knife flying into the air, landing with a clatter against a rock somewhere in the shadows.
Swearing foully, Clyde staggered backward, and Nick Faraday moved out of the shadows. Cain grabbed Clyde by the front of his shirt and punched him hard enough to send him sprawling, dragged him up and punched him again. Punched him in the stomach, doubling him over, then punched him in the face again. Clyde grunted as he hit the ground and didn’t get up.
Jenny raced across the clearing toward Cain, whose long strides carried him toward her. He pulled her into his arms and pressed her tight against him.
“I’m here now. No one’s going to hurt you again.”
She was trembling, burrowing into him, trying to absorb his warmth and strength.
“I’m all right . . . now that you’re here.” She buried her face against his shoulder, and his hand stroked over her thick brown curls.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this. None of it had anything to do with you, and yet you were the one who paid.”
She looked up at him, her eyes wet and glistening. “I don’t care about any of that. I needed you, and you came. I knew you would. I just had to hold out long enough for you to get here.”
She felt the shudder that moved though his tall, hard body. “I love you, baby. This whole thing showed me just how much.”
Cain loved her. It took a moment to absorb the words. Her arms slid up around his neck. “Cain . . .” She blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I love you, too.”
Cain lowered his head and kissed her, brief and hard. A finger gently wiped away the tear. “I wasn’t sure. I hoped you felt the same way.” He kissed her lightly one last time. “We need to talk, but this isn’t the place. Where’s Bart?”
Jenny swallowed. “I think I . . . I think I killed him.”
“Where is he?”
