To Love and Protect (Must Love Diamonds 4)

Hopefully, when he picked her up later, everything would be over for good. And even if it wasn’t, as long as he held her in his arms and told her he loved her, she’d deal with whatever came next.

“Shelby! Thank God you’re here.”

The familiar voice jerked her head down, and the sight of Chad hurrying toward her brought a frown. As she straightened from the wall, her stomach gave an uneasy lurch at the sight of his tense expression.

“I need your help,” he said in a frantic rush. “Pixie was hit by a car. She’s hurt bad.”

Hearing the Rottweiler’s name, she tensed as she glanced behind him. “Where is she?”

Even as she asked, she spotted Mrs. Walters’ Cadillac SUV over by the side of the building, driver’s door hanging open, engine still running.

“I have her in the back seat.” He started backing toward the vehicle again. “Please help me.”

She broke into a jog, pulse picking up speed at the thought of another emergency so soon after the last. “Why didn’t you bring her inside?”

“I was afraid to move her.”

“Is your grandma okay? Was she with you?”

“No.”

They’d reached the SUV by then, and as he opened the back door, she hurried past him to assess Pixie’s condition.

But there was no dog in the back seat.

In the split-second she realized her mistake, Chad shoved her face-first against the side of the vehicle. Her cheek hit the glass, and the blast of pain jammed her heart up into her throat, cutting off her breath.

Oh, God, how could she have been so stupid? He was parked too far from the door. In the back of the building—as if he’d been waiting for her. Instinct had told her it wasn’t right—that’s why she’d asked why he hadn’t brought the dog inside. But her emotions had distracted her, and she’d fallen for his excuse to lure her over.

His lips brushed against her ear, his hot breath sending slivers of ice through her veins.

“You should’ve given me a chance, Bells.”

Her nickname in his voice sent an icy chill through her veins. Her cheek throbbed as fear held her paralyzed, her breath rasping in and out of tight lungs, on the verge of hyperventilating. She closed her eyes, desperate to get enough oxygen so she wouldn’t pass out.

“Rule number one—use your voice.”

She popped her eyes open at the memory of Dev’s command. Hope surged, and she focused on controlling her breathing as her mind whirled. She needed air to scream and yell. She needed air to fight.

“Keep your mouth shut,” Chad growled in her ear as he yanked her arms behind her back.

The scrape of something over her wrist jolted her pulse, and she struggled to pull away. She couldn’t let him tie her hands, and she definitely couldn’t let him get her into the vehicle. For a

second, she freed one hand, but he grabbed it back before reaching up to slam her head into the SUV again.

Stars sparked in front of her eyes, and tears blurred her vision. “Please don’t,” she whispered.

He pressed close to her again, the long length of his body against hers turning her stomach.

“Why not me, huh?” Anger roughened his voice. “We got along good. We were friendly during your dad’s campaign. I was always nice to you, so why the fuck not me?”

Blinking to clear her vision, she judged the distance around the building. It was farther to the front than the back door, but people would be in the front. And if she got free, she could run straight for the corner instead of trying to get around him and the car doors.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered weakly. “I—I—oh, God, I’m gonna be sick.”

She dry-heaved, and he backed off just enough to give her the room she needed. Giving a shout that scraped her throat raw, she bent her knees slightly to center her weight over her hips, then pivoted to throw her elbow up into his face with everything she had. He cried out in surprised anger.

Adrenaline twisted her the opposite direction, and she landed a second blow as he grappled for her. Once more in the other direction and she ducked and spun out from in front of him just like she and Dev had practiced dozens of times.