“Move away from her,” he said again, stepping into the light. “Or I’ll make you.”
“You and what army?”
The scene was disjointed, crazy, dreamlike. There was a flash of light, and the boy was flung back, away from her, as if by unseen hands. A moment later the sound of a gun cracked the darkness, out of sync. And then they were scrambling away from her, disappearing into the shadows, and a moment later all was silent.
“Are you all right?” The man moved out of the darkness. In the bright moonlight he looked ordinary enough. Tall, in jeans and a T-shirt, maybe five years older than she was. Nothing to scare a gang intent on rape. But he had scared them. He saved her—he was one of the good guys.
He reached out a hand to her, and for a moment she wanted to shrink back, away from him. She was being stupid, and she took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.
“Are you all right?” he asked again.
“Yes,” she said. A lie. “How did you get them to run?”
He was taller than she was, lean and harmless looking. Not the type to frighten a bunch of creeps bent on rape.
“Car backfired,” he said easily. “They must have thought I had a gun.” He was still holding her hand, and she jerked away, suddenly nervous.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. He tilted his head, looking down at her. He was wearing wire-rimmed glasses that gave him a slightly studious look. “Are you sure you’re all right? I think I should take you to a hospital.”
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice stronger. “I just need to get back to the youth hostel.”
“The one on Market Street? I’ll take you there. I’ve got a car.”
She just stared at him. “You really think I’m going to get into a car with a stranger, no matter how harmless he looks, a few moments after I was nearly raped and murdered? How stupid do you think I am?”
“I look harmless?” he replied, faintly amused. “I suppose I am. But I still managed to scare those boys away. And as for how stupid I think you are, pretty damn stupid to be walking alone in this part of town close to midnight. And whether you like it or not, I’m not leaving you until you’re safe behind locked doors.”
“They don’t lock the doors at the hostel.”
He just stared at her for a long moment. In the moonlit alleyway she couldn’t see him that clearly. Just a tall figure, bordering on skinny, with long hair, and light glancing off his wire-rimmed glasses. Harmless. She was a good judge of character, or at least she always had been. He wasn’t going to hurt her.
So she managed a tight smile. “Okay,” she said. “You can drive me to the hostel on Market Street and chase away any wandering bad guys. Or you can walk me there—it’s not far.”
“If that’s what you prefer. And you can tell me something about yourself, and why you aren’t having hysterics over the fact that you just narrowly
missed being raped and murdered.”
“I’m practical, and having hysterics won’t help me. I’ll wait till I’m alone.”
“There’s not much privacy in a youth hostel.”
She looked up at him. “You’re far too nosy about me and my reactions.”
“Hey, it’s not every day I save a damsel in distress. I have a vested interest.” His voice was light, careless, and the streetlights bounced off the thin glasses as they left the alley.
She shoved her tangle of red hair away from her face. “I’m not a damsel in distress. I’m a student on my way to the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and I can take care of myself.”
“So I observed. Classes don’t start for another three weeks. What are you doing wandering around England?”
The uneasiness that had almost ebbed away began to trickle back. “How do you know when the Cordon Bleu starts classes?”
“I’ve lived in France off and on for a number of years. I’m just about to head back there—I’m taking classes at a small art college in Paris and I planned to bum around the countryside for a bit. What’s your excuse?”
The panic was fading, and she pushed her paranoia down. “I was going to do the same thing. I was told it was safe to hitchhike in Europe.”
“Not when you look like you do.”
It was a simple statement, not even a compliment, and there was no way she could respond. To her astonishment they were already at the door of her hostel, where a pool of yellow light surrounded the front door.