Risky Return. Virginia Vaughan

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СКАЧАТЬ he’d said but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting to Rebecca before this man could do any more damage.

      He screamed at the attacker, who spun to face him then whipped out a knife and slung Rebecca to the ground before lunging at Collin. Oh, how he wished he had his gun with him, but he didn’t need it to take down this man. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to fight hand-to-hand with an armed assailant. His instincts kicked in, and he batted away the knife, knocking it from the attacker’s hand as he kicked his legs out from under him. The attacker scrambled to his feet and took off running, disappearing around the corner of the store.

      Collin didn’t try to follow him. He was more concerned with making sure Rebecca was all right. He bent down beside her and called her name. When she didn’t move, he carefully turned her over. Blood was running from a wound above her eye and her hands and arms were scraped from the pavement, but she was alive. Her eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness and his heart hammered against his chest when he saw her beautiful brown eyes staring back at him. She blinked several times then tried to sit up, grabbing her head in pain as she did.

      “Take it easy,” he said as he helped her.

      “What—what happened?”

      “A man attacked you as you were leaving the store. Don’t you remember?”

      She glanced at him again, but her eyes held more confusion than fear. He suspected his presence was probably only adding to it. “We should get you to a hospital.”

      “No!” The confusion seemed to clear from her face. “I don’t need a hospital,” she told him. “I need to go.”

      “You’re bleeding.”

      She reached up and touched the gash then looked at the blood on her fingers. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

      He pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the police.”

      “Don’t.” She struggled to stand and he reluctantly helped her when it was obvious she wasn’t going to remain still.

      “I have to call. Someone intentionally tried to hurt you, Rebecca. You at least need someone to look at that gash and I know he slammed your head against the car. You should be examined by a doctor. You probably have a concussion. The police need to be notified and the man who did this needs to be found and held accountable.”

      “I just want to go home.”

      He thought she must still be in shock and didn’t realize how close she’d come to being killed. Maybe she hadn’t seen the knife her attacker wielded, but he was certain she’d felt her head slamming against the car. She reached for her car door handle, but Collin intervened, keeping it closed.

      “You can’t leave the scene of a crime and you certainly don’t need to be driving in your condition.” He should probably call someone on her behalf. Her family. A husband, perhaps. She would have had their sham of a marriage dissolved a long time ago and moved on with her life. They’d only been kids when she’d gotten pregnant and they’d run away together. She’d been barely eighteen and he’d been nineteen, not even old enough to get married in Mississippi without a parent’s signature, so they’d crossed state lines and married in Louisiana, where eighteen was the legal age.

      He’d left town after everything fell apart and hadn’t looked back, so he’d never received any divorce papers, but he knew after certain public notices that she could have gotten one without his signature. He didn’t see a ring on her hand and although he knew it didn’t necessarily mean anything, he felt vindicated to know she was still single.

      He should call her parents now, but he shuddered at the thought of even speaking to them. Collin would let the police handle that, or Rebecca, when she was able.

      She looked up at him, the confusion returning to her face. “What are you doing here, Collin?”

      It had to be a shock for her to see him again after all these years, but this didn’t seem like the time to go into a lengthy description of why he’d returned. She was hurt and bleeding and had just been through a trauma.

      He glanced at her belongings, now scattered on the ground. Her purse was still there and so were her keys. The attacker hadn’t tried to rob her or even steal her car. This attack had been personal. “Who did this, Rebecca? And why would anyone want to hurt you?”

      * * *

      Rebecca’s head was still swimming when the paramedics and police arrived. She hadn’t wanted them there, but she’d agreed because she didn’t want to tell him about Missy. She allowed herself to be helped into the ambulance and her gash and scrapes tended to. Her head was pounding and she was having trouble focusing on what was happening. But she had to keep her wits about her. A girl’s life depended on it.

      An unmarked cruiser pulled up to the scene and Kent Morris got out, his hair and clothes neat and orderly. He’d always dressed impeccably ever since high school and she knew he was ambitious and had recently been made an investigator with the sheriff’s office. He approached Collin first and started asking questions.

      Collin Walsh! A new rush of confusion washed over her. What was he even doing here? She hadn’t seen him in twelve years, but today he’d appeared out of nowhere and swooped in to save her life. There was no denying it was him. He was older, but he had the same strong features and beautiful green eyes. He was a shadow from her past. Her first love. Her high school boyfriend, then later her husband when they’d eloped after discovering she was pregnant. And the father of the baby lost to them both before he was even born.

      She’d often imagined that if their baby had lived, if she hadn’t miscarried him, he would he have had Collin’s smile and curly hair. He would have been twelve now, nearly a teenager and as witty and charming as Collin had been at that age. She tamped down that train of thought. She couldn’t go there. She wouldn’t, because it hurt too much to even imagine.

      The paramedic finished bandaging her up. “You should go to the hospital to get checked out.”

      “I’m fine,” Rebecca assured her. “I don’t need to go.”

      “If you lost consciousness, you might have a concussion.”

      “I said I’m fine.” She didn’t relish the idea of sitting in a hospital for hours on end. Her head hurt but it was nothing a few Tylenol couldn’t help. She had to get back to Missy Donovan. Rebecca had promised her food and a safe place to stay until they figured out what to do and whom they could trust with her story. She’d picked up something for her at a drive-through when she took the teen to the motel, but she’d hoped to return with more food and supplies tonight. Those groceries were now scattered around the parking lot.

      Kent approached her, followed closely by Collin. His green eyes studied her, and she was suddenly self-conscious. He certainly wasn’t seeing her at her best. Her face felt swollen and the bandage on her forehead couldn’t be attractive.

      Stop it. It didn’t matter what she looked like to Collin. Not anymore. Not since he’d abandoned her after she’d lost the baby.

      Kent spoke first. “Hey, Rebecca, Collin filled me in on what happened here. Did you see the man who attacked you?”

      “I didn’t see anything.” It wasn’t a lie. The man had blindsided her. She’d never seen his face, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have an idea who’d СКАЧАТЬ