Page 63 of Legacy of Danger
Vaughn shoved his hands in his front pockets and tried to ignore the flakes of snow melting on his head. "Yeah, real convenient. Like getting away with murder."
"I haven't killed anyone." The unspoken "yet" chilled Vaughn's blood.
The man snickered and darted glances around the compound, like he expected to see someone.
Or something.
The background rumble of Vaughn's power blunted his ability to focus.
Where the hell was Mariah? It was full dark. How long had she been in there?
Wyatt spat on the ground. "So you'd better steer clear of lady doctor. For her safety."
Vaughn closed the five feet between them, ignoring any risk to his own health. "The. Fuck. You. Say." No one threatened Mariah. He'd had enough.
As he grabbed the man's shirtfront, Vaughn's power began to expand again, like a bubble that searched for her, wanting to keep her safe inside the sphere. Wanting to repel Wyatt far away from Mariah. An ache formed over his temples as the energy grew.
Wyatt's mouth gaped and his feet slid away from Vaughn, as if pushed by an invisible impulse. "Back away, Taggart, if you know what's good for you. One day, you'll be at our beck and call. Soon. You'll see."
Damn it, as badly as he wanted to hand this bastard his teeth, Vaughn needed to focus on Mariah's safety. His ears buzzed as he fought a gut-twisting need to get her far away from these armed nut jobs. He stormed across the porch to the front door.
As he reached for the handle, the door opened. Carrying her coat over one arm and the satchel over the other shoulder, Mariah stepped onto the porch. Under the halogen light, her eyes swam in a pale face. Her chest rose and fell at a rapid rate.
Linc appeared right behind her, dwarfing her. Looming. Vaughn wanted to move her far away from that man. Now.
"Get out of here, lady," Wyatt growled and motioned at her. "You too, Taggart. Get right in the truck and leave. Don't help her. She can manage. Hands on the wheel after you close that door. No funny business."
Vaughn gritted his teeth and did as he was told, swinging up into his seat and slamming the door.
With jerking movements, like her limbs had locked up, Mariah walked to the truck and, after two attempts, opened the door of the truck. In a clumsy move where her foot slid off the bottom step, she finally managed to clamber in. When she shut the door, she stared straight ahead and didn't move.
He'd seen that blank expression last night, when he screwed up in the parking lot, but tonight it was a million times worse, like a complete void. His gut churned. What had Linc done to her? Half of Vaughn wanted to exit the truck and pound a confession out of the guy. The other half wanted only to remove Mariah from this place.
"Get out of here, Taggart. Don't show your face on our property again or we'll shoot first and ask questions later." Wyatt yelled, reaching for his gun.
He turned the key in the ignition, and sweat cooled on his brow when it took two tries for the truck to start. Mariah sat like an ashen statue, hands clasped in her lap, staring out the front window. She still wore the satchel. Her coat lay in her lap.
"Are you all right?" he asked, as he made a sloppy K-turn, the truck wheels kicking out slushy gravel.
"Fine," she whispered, not moving.
She looked anything but. "Put on your seat belt."
With one shaking hand, she reached back and tried to pull the strap around. She couldn't do it. Tried again. Failed and gave up. Stared out the window again. What the holy living fuck was going on with her?
He hauled ass down the ranch road like the demons of hell snapped at his heels, the back end of the truck whipping from side to side. Careening onto the county road, he put another few miles behind them before yanking the wheel and pulling off onto a shoulder. Hopefully, the truck wouldn't sink in the soft earth and snow, but he needed to figure out what was going on with Mariah.
He smacked the dome light on, illuminating the moisture that glistened on her pale cheeks.
"God, Mariah, are you all right?"
She opened and closed her mouth. No sound came out. She stared straight ahead.
What was he supposed to do?
If Linc had so much as touched her, Vaughn would trek back there and start a title fight early.
"Damn it." He slid over to the middle of the bench seat and pulled her sideways onto his lap. The coat and satchel fell to the muddy floorboard.Please, let this be the right thing to do.Tremors racked her delicate frame, enough to shake his own bones.
