Page 31 of Montana Delta Rescue
Tingles spread up her arm from her hand, as if his touch were magic.
She longed for him to wrap his arms around her and hold her until she felt one hundred percent safe again.
But he was busy listening. For her protection.
Rock’s protection felt so different from Tony’s protection, which had not truly been protection at all. She just hadn’t known the difference. Until now.
Tony’s was an I’ll take care of you baby, and you’ll do what I want, or I won’t protect you at all. In fact, I will hurt you if you don’t do what I want. That was the opposite of true protection.
It could have gotten her killed. Still might, unless Rock could stop him.
Rock would protect her from anything, all the time. That was what he did. Part of who he was. He was a true protector.
When a man truly protected you, he protected you all the time. Not just sometimes.
Watching Rock’s serious chiseled face, she noted how different it was from Tony’s.
Tony could have been a movie star, he was so handsome, and women loved to look at him. But beneath that, he was cruel. He would think nothing of killing her, as if she’d meant nothing to him.
Because she hadn’t.
She’d believed the handsome criminal, trusted in his face and the act he put on, every day, with everyone.
Maybe Rock didn’t smile much, but he was real, and his feelings were real. She could trust Rock to be himself, not be putting on an act around her to get what he wanted.
Tonight, to her, he had suddenly become the most handsome man alive. His chiseled face made her smile. He was all strength, real, and solid. You could count on him.
He turned to look at her, as if sensing her thorough perusal. He searched her eyes.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“More than okay,” she said. “I was really scared before you got here. The men were shooting and then a mountain lion leaped over me. I thought it was going to come back and eat me. So, I started moving again. Then I found this spot and stopped.”
“You were smart to move from where the cat saw you,” he said.
“I thought it might come back there to find me,” she said.
“It might,” he said.
“He was big,” she said. “Almost eight feet long with his long tail.”
“That’s as big as they come,” he said.
“He moved so fast, I never saw him coming until he was jumping over me,” she said.
“Here’s the thing about that,” he said. “They shot at him and that got him moving. So, his goal in that moment was to move away from them. He was moving fast, and he likely kept on going even after he saw you there. He could be far from here by now.”
“But we don’t know for sure,” she said.
“Right,” he said. “We do know he wasn’t hunting you in that moment. So, unless his objective changed, he likely has moved on. Right now, the men are the bigger danger.”
“Because they are hunting me,” she said.
“Right.” He nodded. “But they can’t have you.”
She liked the possessive way he said that. As if she were his and he wasn’t letting them near her. “Good,” she said.
“Now we’re going to move, and I want you to stay behind me,” he said. “But stay quiet and move as quietly as you can.”
