Dare Me (Take Me 2)

His gaze homed in on the flashing dots on the monitor mounted to the dash and he said to Colin, “You see that, don’t you?”

“I most certainly do. Three…two…one…”

An SUV came out of nowhere and barreled into the side of the vehicle they were on a collision course with, shoving it out of the way and plowing just swiftly enough through the intersection that the Town Car almost cleared the accident ahead of them.

Almost.

The driver’s side clipped the end of the SUV and made a god-awful roar of metal on metal and screeching tires and shattering glass as the car did a one-eighty, hopped the curb and slammed into a lamppost on Damen’s side.

He and Nikki ducked as the window exploded. Then his attention instantly snapped to her.

“Are you all right?” he demanded.

“Jarred, but not injured.”

“Colin?”

“Mint condition. Apologies for it not being a softer landing.”

“You were perfect,” Nikki assured

him.

Damen’s gaze returned to her.

“I mean, other than taking out the lamppost,” she joked.

Damen smirked. “Let’s go. We have another car waiting. Come with us, Colin. Agent Garcia will handle the details here.”

She was already out of the SUV with her weapon drawn. Two other teams had arrived on the scene and they all surrounded the crumpled sedan. Sirens wailed in the distance.

Nikki sprang free from her seatbelt and scurried across the seat to follow Damen out. He took her hand and was on the move, but she jerked on his arm.

“Damen.”

He whirled around, his heart lurching into his throat. “You’re fucking hurt, aren’t you?”

“No,” she swore. “But others might be.”

Her gaze scanned the immediate crowd.

“Right.” Of course that would be her first concern. And as much as time was of the essence to get the hell out of there, he couldn’t fault her for wanting to survey the scene.

His gaze swept the area, too. There were a lot of startled people and a few had been knocked off their feet, but none appeared wounded.

When Nikki was satisfied, she turned back to Damen and nodded. “We can go.”

God, he loved her compassion. So much so, he sort of stalled out for a few seconds as he merely stared down at her.

She eyed him quizzically. “Damen?”

“You’re incredible, Dr. Nikki Kane.”

Now, she gazed up at him with appreciation. “Thank you for that. And for being so concerned about my wellbeing.”

“That I can’t help,” he said and gave her a suggestive grin.

“I want to kiss you,” she quietly said. “But bad guys might be watching us, correct?”