“Come on,” Wyatt said to Evan. “I’ll help you take them to the truck.”
Chapter Fourteen
Grace slumped onto the log as Wyatt shut the truck’s passenger door. She was shivering, but not so much from the chill in the air. She’d never witnessed a real fight, much less been a participant. Her heart was still knocking around her chest like a pinball.
She pressed her palm to it. She could still feel the place on her arm where that guy had clamped it. When he’d put his meaty hand over her mouth, she’d thought she was done for.
The panic evaporated the second she saw Wyatt coming to her rescue like an avenging angel. She nearly sagged to the ground in relief. He handled the man—both of them—as if, well, he really was in the security business. His swift, compact movements left little doubt that he could’ve put an end to it even quicker. As if he was merely toying with them.
She’d never doubt him again.
The two men hadn’t put up a fight as Wyatt and Evan helped them back to the campsite. Grace was just glad to see them leaving.
The truck started with a roar and began rolling away. There was a flash of movement from the driver’s side as Evan waved. She waved back. He’d obviously felt terrible about what his friends had done.
Grace’s eyes slid to Wyatt as he returned to their site, no more than a stealth shadow moving in the night.
“Are you all right?” She thought he’d only taken the one suckerpunch to the gut. But it had been dark, and everything had happened so fast.
“That’s my line. Did he hurt you?”
“No.” Grace absently rubbed her arm. “You showed up just in time.”
Wyatt sank onto the log beside her. “Sorry I let him slip past me. That was sloppy.”
Grace blinked at him. He acted as if her safety was his job. And from where she was sitting it looked like he’d handled the situation like a pro.
“Are you kidding me? You saved my life back there. Or at least my virtue.” She shuddered at the thought.
“You managed pretty well yourself.”
“He was really strong.” She’d felt so trapped against his chest. But then she remembered her contribution at the end and breathed a laugh. “I’m just glad I didn’t kill the other guy. That was a heavy rock.”
“We made a good team.”
He obviously could’ve handled things fine without her, but it was nice of him to give her credit.
“We’ll need to report this when we get back to town.”
She didn’t want those guys victimizing another woman. “Yeah, let’s do that.”
Silence settled around them for a long moment.
Then she voiced the question that had been rolling around her head since the second guy showed up. “Why didn’t you draw your gun back there?”
“They weren’t carrying, and I knew I could handle them.”
“Allof them?”
He hitched a shoulder. “If necessary. Come on, two of them were drunk.”
“How’d you know they weren’t carrying?”
“There are tells.”
“Such as?”
“Bulges under the clothing. Security checks—little touches or adjustments to the gun when they move around. A sagging pocket. Lots of things.”
