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I hauled her into my lap and brushed away the gravel from her jaw. A small cut marred her cheek under a smear of dirt.
Just dirt, not blood.
Not like Jones.
I pulled her against my chest and cupped the back of her head. “Don’t you ever run from me like that again.”
She gripped my back. “You didn’t want me.”
“That’s bullshit. Making myself a goddamn target instead of you isn’t the same as faking my feelings for you.” I hugged her even tighter, my arms straining with tension. “If anything had happened to you…” I laid my cheek against the top of her head.
“You’re shaking.”
“Some lunatic just tried to fuckingtakeyou. Of course, I am.”
She peered up at me. “The truck went dead.” She hissed and touched the back of her neck. “I couldn’t even get out at first. God, what hit me?”
“A goddamn Taser.”
“What?” She hissed again as she touched it. “I thought it was you.”
“Me?”
She held onto me tighter. “Your truck is retrofitted with all kinds of tech. I figured you had an anti-theft thing or something.”
I didn’t know if I should shake her or just lock her in a room for not immediately realizing the threat had come from her stalker. “Smart about the anti-theft. I’ll talk to R&D about working something out in an app. You leaving in my truck, however?Fuck.”I rocked her to chill myself out before I shouted. That was the last thing she needed right now. “What were you thinking?”
“Was…” She clutched the front of my shirt. “Was that him?”
“You know it was.”
Her chest started heaving, a sure sign her panic and shock were about to collide.
“Chaos, take it easy. Slow breaths.”
“He’s here? Actually here? How did he find you?Us?”
“I don’t know.” I hauled her up to stand and rested her against the driver’s door. “Just stay put for a second.”
Still shaking, she looped her arm around my waist. But she stayed on her feet, so I had to give her credit. A Taser blast was a damn blow to the system.
I dug out my phone and dialed Aidan directly, putting the call on speaker.
“Roth.” A lot of noise filled the line.
“Hey. Are those guys you sent out to the orchard more than just techs?”
“‘Those techs’ are me. I’m about thirty minutes from Happy Acres.”
Even better. “Think you can reroute to my place first?”
“What happened?”
“I’m pretty sure he just tried to kidnap Willow.”
The line went silent for a moment. “Are you sure?”
I crushed her to my chest, lifting the phone so the speaker wasn’t muffled. “I don’t think it was a well-thought-out plan. More like he took advantage of a situation.”
