Page 6 of Securing His Heart

She scooped up her bag and brushed past him before he even had a chance to register that she was moving.

“Damn.”

He threw the menu to the table, and strode after her, weaving through the crowd with skill only a seasoned soldier could achieve.

Chris burst through the door, the almost-silence after the noisy bar, jarring. He looked up and down the street and spied Lindy about fifty feet from him, rushing away.

How was she able to walk so quickly in those sky-high heels?

He started toward her, when a figure darted out of the alley she walked past and grabbed her, shoving her until she lost her balance.

The assailant stood over her for a fraction of a second before snatching her bag and rushing off down the alley they’d appeared out of.

Chris reached her within seconds, his breathing ragged, as if he’d run ten miles with a full pack on his back, and not fifty feet. He squatted down beside Lindy. “Are you okay?”

“I-I think so.” She cried out when she went to push off using her left wrist.

He immediately took her wrist in his hands, gently running his fingers over her soft skin. “Does this hurt?” he pressed an area at the base of her wrist.

“Yes,” she sucked in a breath.

Chris hated that examining her caused her pain. “I don’t think it’s broken. I think it’s a sprain, but we should take you to get it looked at. After we’ve spoken to the police about what just happened.” He silently cursed himself that he’d let go of his normally iron-clad control and had almost kissed her. If he hadn’t done that, then they would still be safely inside the bar and she wouldn’t be lying on the pavement nursing a suspected sprained wrist.

He looked toward the alleyway again. Too much time had passed. The chance to chase down the asshole who’d hurt Lindy was long gone.

It didn’t matter.

His concern for her was all that mattered.

“It’s fine. And I’m not sure what the police can do, it was a simple bag snatch.”

“A simple bag snatch?” Chris roared. “You could’ve been seriously hurt. Or kidnapped. There aren’t that many nice people in the world. And even though you may think your city is safe, I think what just happened to you proves that it’s not.”

He couldn’t contain his anger no matter how much he tried.

This beautiful woman could’ve been seriously hurt, or worse. Not to mention, the fault was his.

Chapter

Three

The anger radiating from Chris kept Lindy firmly seated on the ground.

What had he seen in his life to assume the worst?

Or maybe he had a point, when he said that the city wasn’t as safe as she’d always thought. Plus, she’d been so caught up with the fact that she’d almost kissed a man she’d known for less than an hour, Lindy hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings. If she had, she might’ve been able to take evasive action and still have her purse.

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” His anger seemed to switch off as quickly as it had turned on.

“My bag. It had my keys, purse, identification in it. I can’t get into my car or my home.”

She again tried to stand, this time using her right wrist to lever herself off the ground and not her left. Once she was upright, Lindy brushed down her skirt, grimacing when her fingers caught into a tear in the fabric.

“I’ll get you home. But first, we’re going to the police and reporting this.”

The last thing she wanted to do was prolong the evening.

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