To Love & Protect Her. Margaret Watson

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СКАЧАТЬ telling himself she needed someone to hold on to. He didn’t want to examine his need to touch her, to reassure himself. “Did you go into your apartment?” Was there someone in there still, waiting for her?

      “I don’t know. All I remember is seeing the painters and hearing their voices. I don’t remember anything else until I heard your voice.”

      She flushed pink again, and he wondered why. Then she turned to him. “What are you doing here, Mr. Fortune?”

      “I like it better when you call me Griff,” he said, and he gave her a quick smile. “We’re not very formal down in Australia. And I’m here because your godfather asked me to check on your security system. He was worried about you.”

      Willa eased herself carefully back against the seat and turned to face him. “I mentioned that I’d been getting hang-up phone calls, and he got upset. He wanted me to get a security system, and I told him I would. I didn’t think he’d get you involved.”

      “It’s a good thing he did. If I hadn’t been here, you’d have been kidnapped.”

      He regretted his blunt words when she paled again. “Why would anyone want to kidnap me? It’s not as if I have anything anyone wants. I’m not a famous person, and I don’t have any money.”

      “Maybe it was just a random attack,” he said, although he doubted it. It sounded as if the supposed painters had been waiting for Willa. He didn’t want to remind her that her godfather had a lot of money. “The reason doesn’t matter, though. It happened, and now we have to decide what to do about it.”

      “We should go back into my apartment and call the police,” Willa said.

      “No. We’re not going back into your apartment.”

      “Why not?”

      “Because we don’t know who those two were, or if they had any help. There may be someone waiting for you in your apartment.”

      She stared at him, fear welling in her eyes. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

      “I did.” His voice was grim. “We need to get away from here. I don’t want to be around if those two come back to finish the job they started. Let’s get you to a hospital.”

      He put the truck in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. He didn’t like the smell of this. His sister Matilda had been shot at and almost killed while she was on her honeymoon. Everyone had suspected Clint Lockhart was involved, but so far they couldn’t prove anything. He didn’t know if the attack on Willa was connected, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.

      Even though Clint was Ryan’s brother-in-law by his first wife and therefore one of the family, he’d held a grudge against the Fortunes for years. He believed they had stolen his father’s ranch out from under him, taking advantage of his financial difficulties. His desire for revenge had caused him to plot with Ryan’s estranged wife Sophia in an effort to exhort money from Ryan. When things went sour, he’d killed Sophia. He’d escaped from prison several months ago, and the family had lived in fear ever since.

      Yes, until he had some answers, he was going to stick close to Willa.

      “Where’s the nearest hospital?” he asked her as he waited to turn onto the street.

      “I don’t need to go to a hospital.” Her voice sounded stronger, and she touched the lump on her head. He saw her wince, even in the dim light. “It’s just a lump on the head.”

      “You should probably get it checked.”

      “I’m fine, Griff.” She touched it again. “They’ll just tell me to take two aspirins and call them in the morning.” She gave him a weak smile, and his heart rate increased. Even injured and frightened, she was able to make a joke at her own expense.

      He didn’t want to go to the hospital, either, but for a different reason. He was afraid that the kidnappers would be expecting them to go to a hospital, and be waiting there for them. And he didn’t want to take that chance. With the medical training he’d had as part of his job he could probably tend to Willa’s injuries. “Are you sure?” he asked.

      “Positive.” Her voice was firm. “Let’s go call the police.”

      He hesitated. “I’m not sure we should do that.”

      “Why not?” She turned in her seat toward him, and he saw the bewilderment in her face. “Someone tried to kidnap me. Why wouldn’t we call the police?”

      “I’m not used to relying on the police,” he finally said. “But maybe you’re right. We should let them know. The kidnappers might come back to your apartment. The police can at least keep an eye out for them.”

      He pulled over to the side of the road and took his cellular phone out of his jacket pocket. He had to bend close to Willa to reach it, and her scent curled around him. It wasn’t the demure floral scent he would have expected. It was sharp and tangy, reminding him of wild, elemental things that he had no business connecting with Willa.

      He leaned as far away from her as he could and dialed 9-1-1. When the police answered, he told them what had happened, gave them a description of the van and the two kidnappers, then told them he was taking Willa away to keep her safe. He didn’t tell them where he was going. Cutting off their sputtering questions, he snapped the phone closed and set it on the floor.

      “Okay, we’ve called the police.”

      Willa had leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes while he talked. Now she opened them and gave him a tiny grin. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind. You didn’t give them a lot to work with.”

      “I told them as much as we knew.”

      “Didn’t they want to talk to me?”

      “They did.” He scowled at her. “But I’m not letting anyone close to you until we figure out who tried to snatch you, and why. Not even the police.”

      Willa felt a soft warmth stealing over her as she looked at Griff. His hard face was even harder than usual, and his mouth was set in a grim line. He looked formidable and dangerous, and the wild part of him, the part that had drawn her from the first time she met him, was very close to the surface.

      “Then what are we going to do?” She was amazed at how calm she sounded. But she trusted him completely, she realized. Griff would keep her safe.

      “We’re going to leave,” he said slowly. “We’re going to go somewhere that no one will expect us to go. Somewhere far from College Station and your godfather’s ranch.”

      “You don’t think Ryan has anything to do with this, do you?” She was horrified.

      “Of course not. But that’s where someone would expect you to go, isn’t it?”

      “Probably,” she said reluctantly. “He’s the only family I have.”

      “Then we’re going in the opposite direction.” He glanced at his watch, then pulled the truck away from the curb. “Ryan told me about a little cabin in the mountains near El Paso that his sister-in-law Mary Ellen owns. Her son used it recently, and it sounded quiet and isolated—perfect for hiding. We’re СКАЧАТЬ