Page 46 of Knight's Desire

The scream ripped from her throat, deafening to her own ears, and she received a bone-jarring shake for her trouble.

“I will kill your friend if you fight me,” he hissed.

“I’d like to see you try!” Hope let her body go limp, making his attempt to abduct her more difficult. She folded her elbows so her nails could scratch at the hands clasped at her chest.

“Stop it, bitch!”

“Like hell!” She forced her head back and connected with the underside of his chin. The blow had stars exploding in front of her eyes, but she pushed through the pain, knowing her scream would bring Brick to her rescue.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” His hold loosened as he cried out in pain.

She knew only a moment of satisfaction before she slipped from under his grasp and began to crawl the second she hit the ground.

Everything seemed to happen all at once after that. Other vehicles skidded up to the drive, and she heard Brick shout as he came into view. She collapsed to the ground in relief until she realized her stalker was no longer there. As men ran up from the vehicles, she shouted and pointed.

“He’s here. That way!”

Then she scrambled to her feet enough to stumble over to Isobel’s side. She sat down behind the woman and pulled Isobel against her. Isobel was too disoriented to resist, and by now, the blood flowed freely from the back of her head, staining Hope’s clothes. Hope tried to find the source of the blood but stopped when she touched the sore area, causing Isobel to groan.

“Hope!” Brick reached her side at the same moment another woman she didn’t know knelt in front of Isobel.

“Hope, you don’t know me, but I’m Zane’s girlfriend Bridget. I’m a nurse. Can I check you and Isobel out?”

“Yes, please, I’m fine, but she’s bleeding. I think it’s the back of her head.”

At that moment, headlights beamed into the yard. Bridget gently pulled a semi-conscious Isobel toward her to gain a better look at the back of her head. Hope gasped at the blood matting her hair and gushing from a wound she still couldn’t see. Bridget’s gentle fingers felt along the sight until Isobel moaned when she touched the wound.

Bridget lowered her back against Hope to look into Isobel’s face.

“Iz, talk to me. Tell me your name and where you are if you can.”

Isobel mumbled. Bridget positioned her ear closer to Isobel’s mouth, and after listening to the intelligible words, Bridget rolled her eyes.

“The boys are on it. Right now we need to get you to the hospital, okay? Brick’s right here. He’s going to carry you to his car while I help Hope.”

Concern darkened Brick’s face as he hoisted Isobel into his arms. His eyes zeroed in on Hope, or more specifically the bloodstain seeping into the black fabric of her top.

“I’m fine. Really.” She stood on shaky legs before sending him a weak smile, hoping it was enough to reassure him.

Brick shot a stern look at Bridget, who nodded before waving him off ahead of her. Then she looked into Hope’s eyes.

“Truth time. Where are you hurt?”

“He grabbed me and shook me, but that’s all. I scratched him on his hands and head butted his chin. I never blacked out, but I’m guessing I’ll have a goose egg of a knot on my head. And before you ask, I’m Hope Robertson. We’re at my house at 1296 Magnolia Way, and I really think we should get Isobel to the hospital now.”

Bridget hooked her arm through Hope’s as of to lead her to the SUV. “Nice to meet you, Hope. Zane and his teammate Wings are chasing down the guy who grabbed you. They have help on the way, and they’ll take care of everything here. Don’t you worry.”

She looked up to see Brick settled behind the steering wheel. He’d laid Isobel in the back seat, leaving the passenger door open for Bridget to climb in beside her. Hope was left to ride shotgun, but with the way he glared in her direction, she had second thoughts about going along.

“He’s just scared, Hope. Believe me, his glare is worse than his bite. It’ll be alright. I promise.”

Bridget’s reassurance did little to ease Hope’s anxiousness. But she climbed in beside Brick and buckled her seatbelt without a word.

They had just made the turn out of her neighborhood when Brick’s cell phone rang, and he answered through Bluetooth.

“We lost him.”

Hope jumped as the booming voice reverberated inside the SUV. She slipped her hands under her thighs to stop their shaking, but her heart pounded in her chest.

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