streetlamps illuminated a scattered area of the dark lot, but her car was on the back row, past the safety of the bright lights. Although she’d initially toyed with the idea of calling the security office for an escort, she’d opted against it because she hadn’t felt like waiting for them to arrive. She was ready to get home, into her own bed, and try to get some rest. Wiping away a trickle of sweat from her brow, Laura hiked her backpack up on her shoulder as she crossed the parking lot. The Louisiana summer night was muggy and added to the lethargy she was already feeling. As an ER nurse, she was accustomed to the long shifts at the hospital, used to operating on only a few hours of sleep, but lately something else had been keeping her up, even on her nights off work.
She stopped short when a man stepped from between two rows of cars. He nodded at her, then leaned against the back of a truck, seemingly paying her no more attention. He was tall and good-looking, dressed in boots and jeans, and, even without a hat on his head, she could tell he was a cowboy. Laura continued past him, her senses on high alert for anything suspicious. As she walked past, she felt his eyes follow her, watching as she neared her car.
She readied her keys, prepared to do battle against him if necessary. She hated how her mind automatically moved toward evil intentions. A few weeks ago she might have smiled flirtatiously at the ruggedly handsome cowboy or confronted the man and demanded to know why he was lurking around the parking lot. But that was before the notes began...before the late-night visits from Chuck Randall and his goon squad...before she’d learned her father had done the unthinkable and promised loan sharks and bookies that Laura would cover his gambling debts. Was this cowboy one of those men who’d come to try to collect from her? She’d made herself clear. She wasn’t paying. And she certainly wasn’t interested in anything else Randall wanted from her, either.
Laura hit the button on her key fob and the lights on her car flashed. The cowboy moved, approaching her as headlights from another car in the lot flickered on and an engine revved loudly. She glanced at the car and saw it roar from its parking space and head her way.
Laura ran for her car, fumbling with her keys as the car sped toward her. The keys slipped through her fingers and hit the ground. She reached down to grab them and suddenly the cowboy was upon her, grabbing her arm and yanking her out of the way as the vehicle barreled past her.
Heart hammering in her chest, she hit the hood of a parked car with a thud and heard tires screeching behind her. She scrambled to her feet to see the cowboy pull a gun from his belt and aim it at the vehicle that was turning back toward them.
“The black pickup. Go now!” he shouted at her.
But Laura stood frozen, her eyes fixed on the vehicle barreling toward them.
“Laura, move now!” The cowboy punctuated his words by firing several shots at the approaching car.
Oh, God, help me!
She couldn’t move. Paralyzed with fear, she could barely drag in her next breath. This can’t be happening... It just can’t be.
The cowboy sprinted in front of the oncoming car and grabbed her, once again pulling her out of the way just in time. He fired off a couple more shots as the vehicle screeched to a halt and then he gripped her arm and pulled her alongside him, his stride brisk and determined.
Laura tried to wrench herself free from his iron grasp as he headed toward the black pickup. Safety lessons rushed through her mind about getting into cars with strangers. She wouldn’t go with these men...refused to let Randall win. “Let me go! What do you want with me? I don’t have anything of value. Please! Just let me go.”
He stopped and loosened his grip on her arm. His sharp features softened as he turned his warm, brown gaze to her, his eyes reflecting urgency. “I’m here to help you.”
He was trying to rescue her. Maybe he wasn’t one of Randall’s men.
She looked at the car headed their way. Those were Randall’s men. She was certain of it. But something about this stranger was different. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what, but she saw more than strength in his square jaw and rock-hard physique. He had kindness in his face. Should she take a chance that he was one of the good guys? What choice did she really have?
He turned and fired toward the thugs again, hitting the windshield. The car swerved and smashed into a row of parked vehicles. “Get in the truck now,” he commanded.
This time Laura did as she was told. She pulled open the passenger door and hurried inside. The cowboy slid into the driver’s seat, gunned the engine and took off. Laura scrambled to find the seat belt and buckle it as they raced away from the would-be abduction.
She glanced back to see that the car was following them, but the cowboy—her rescuer now—pressed down hard on the accelerator and took off. His shoulders were tight, his jaw tense, yet his composure remained calm, cool, self-assured. She had the feeling he knew what he was doing and hadn’t happened upon her by accident.
“Hold on,” he instructed as he slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel, causing her to slide toward him. The seat belt locked and she was yanked back in the opposite direction. Laura grabbed hold of the dash and tried to hang on. She wasn’t complaining. Anything to keep free of Randall and his crazy obsession with her!
He gunned the engine again as the car came alongside them and the man in the backseat pulled out a gun.
“Get down!” her cowboy shouted, pushing her head down as shots rang out, dinging the truck and smashing the side window behind him. “Get on the floor!”
She unbuckled her seat belt and crouched on the floorboard as another shot whizzed past her and hit the passenger door.
He jerked the steering wheel and Laura heard metal crunch metal as he smashed into the side of the car, pushing it onto the shoulder and off the road before maneuvering the truck back onto the road, never once taking his foot off the accelerator.
Laura peered out the back window and saw the car on its side in a ditch and several men scrambling from the vehicle. “You did it. They’re not chasing us.”
He nodded curtly. “They’ll regroup and be back.”
Relief flooded her, then the startling realization that Randall had indeed sent men after her. She’d tried ignoring his threats and his advances, but it had done no good. If it wasn’t for this handsome stranger, who knew where she might be now or what Randall would demand of her.
She stared at him as he concentrated on the road. His rugged jawline and profile seemed the embodiment of strength and courage. She wasn’t afraid of this man, but she had no logical reason not to be. She didn’t know him, yet she’d jumped into a truck with him. He’d swooped in like a hero in an action flick and rescued her.
“How did you know they were going to try to kidnap me?” she asked.
He turned his chocolate-brown eyes her way and her toes tingled at his gaze. However, his next words stopped her cold.
“Because I’ve been following you, Laura.”
* * *
Colton didn’t let up on the accelerator as he sped down the highway. He was less concerned about getting a speeding ticket than he was about getting Laura to safety.
She pressed herself against the passenger door, her hands shaking and her expression morphing from one of acceptance and gratitude to confusion and
