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Darby
“Darby,” Will murmured in my ear. “Come home with me.”
I giggled again. “Why do you want me to?”
“Maybe you should guess.”
“Explain it to me,” I whispered back. “But you’ll have to catch me first!”
I ran from him, laughing the whole way. I rounded the edge of the rose garden and hid behind a column, trying to cover my laughter with my hand. Will’s heavy footfalls tried to keep up.
“Darby!”
He wasn’t far, but facing the wrong direction.
I snickered aloud, and darted off again, choosing another pillar on the circular walkway to hide behind. When he got within a few meters, I let another laugh loose and hopped through the border of roses and into the grass outside the garden.
He gave chase. I couldn’t see him clearly over my shoulder, it being mostly dark and everything, but I could hear him. I skirted a parking lot, hopped over a couple paths, and ran for a grove of trees.
He caught up and grabbed my wrist.
I laughed as my momentum caused us both to fall to the ground.
“Ouch!” I said through my laughter.
“Oh, you’re in for it this time,” Will said.
I tried to push up, but he kept me down, pushing my shoulder to the ground.
He bent down and kissed me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me, adrenaline soaring through every inch of my being.
His mouth wandered down my neck, his hands down the length of my body.
I moaned, bowing up to him.
He shifted, planting his knees between my legs.
He began to unhitch his pants.
Warning bells went off. You don’t want this!
“Stop, Will.”
Either he didn’t hear me or he didn’t want to. He grabbed my legs and pulled me closer. Rocks bit into my back.
“No! Stop!”
“You’re saying that because you don’t know what you’re missing.” He fell on top of me, shoving my skirt up. His hands went to my neck and face. “Trust me, you want this.”
And for a moment, with his touch on my collarbone, I did. All the pleasure sensors in my body went wild, and I craved more of it.
He nearly had me convinced it was my idea, too.
A weaker woman would have given in, would have let the attack happen.
But I’m a kick-ass cop.
An armed, kick-ass cop.
I tried to ignore my body arguing with my brain as I fumbled for the Derringer on my thigh and shoved it into his ribs. “Get off me.”
“You shoot me, you’ll have to file a report.”
“This is my personal weapon. I don’t have to do it if it’s my own gun.”
“C’mon, Darby, I’m messing with you.”
“No, you aren’t. And you haven’t moved. I may not kill you with this gun, but you’ll be in a world of hurt.”
“You want me to do this.”
I pushed the gun more forcefully into his ribs. “What did you give me?” My words were slurring. “Ecstasy? Is that how you got me here?”
In the dim light from the moon, he narrowed his eyes. But he didn’t say anything.
“Are you the one who gave it to me last night? God, I’m such an idiot!” Of course he did it. Who else was there? “When did you do it? When I went to the ladies’ room?”
He glared. “Yes. And by God, it took enough to take down a horse to even have an effect!”
I pulled back the hammer on the gun. “Off. Now.”
“Good luck getting home.” He stood and zipped his pants.
Another gun cocked. “No, that’s why I’m here, asshole.”
* * *
Mark
“YOU OKAY?” MARK LOOKED down at Darby.
She stared up at him, then her eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out.
Will took off.
Damn it. Mark holstered the gun and grabbed the stunner as he ran after Young.
Will could run, he’d give him that.
But Mark had been training for more than twenty years.
“Dispatch, send closest officers to my location. In pursuit of a suspect in an attempted rape.”
“Confirmed, Herman, Detective Mark. Three units sent to your location.”
Dispatch rattled on about when they’d get there. Just get here.
“Stop, Young!”
They were nearly to the other parking lot.
Mark slowed, aimed his stunner, and pulled the trigger.
The electrified prongs shot out.
And missed wide.
Mark reloaded, pulling the mechanism back as he would his Glock.
Aimed, fired, and this time, the prongs caught Young in the leg.
It slowed him down but didn’t stop him.
But it was enough that Mark took him in a flying tackle.
They rolled on the grass as Young tried to take a swing at him.
Mark shot the shrink in the chest.
When the electricity in the miniature battery had run out, Young was on the ground, and Mark took out his handcuffs.
“You’re under arrest for the attempted rape of Darby Shaw. You can keep quiet, asshole.” He finished snicking the cuffs around Young’s wrists, then sat down on the grass.
A moment later, a patrol vehicle pulled up, lights on, but no sirens.
Mark pulled out his badge and held it up. A blue and red beacon flashed for the other cop to see.
An officer hustled over. “You called for backup?”
“Yeah, haul this sorry piece of crap to HQ. Don’t believe anything he says. Do your best not to let him touch you, and make damn sure he stays away from other prisoners.”
“You got it. Anything else?”
“Got a flashlight?”
The officer took one off his service belt and handed it to him. “I’ll need it back.”
Mark rolled up and turned it on. “If I don’t get it back to you before you head out with this twerp, come get it from homicide.”
The officer nodded, then turned his attention to Young.
Mark limped over to where he thought he’d left Darby. She’d been in a clump of trees, and there weren’t that many in the park, but she wasn’t quite where he’d left her.
She’d gotten up—somehow—and was halfway back to the rose garden.
“Darby! Hold up.”
Mark raced over to her. He had to get to her before she stumbled and got hurt. There was a serious hill up to the roses, and in her state, she would get hurt.
He reached her. “Where you off to?”
She turned to him, eyes glassy. She stared for a minute. “Will?”
He pointed at himself. “Mark.”
Confusion creased her eyebrows. “I’m s’posed to be on a date.”
“I know. Something came up. Will...had to go. I’m going to take you home.”
“Why?”
“I promise, I’ll explain in the morning.”
“What about now?”
“You’re tanked. You’re not going to remember this tomorrow.”
She stared up at him, mouth open like a fish. “Oh.”
And then she collapsed again.
Mark caught her before she made it to the ground, and cradled her against him.
Then he carefully carried her to his borrowed car and laid her on the backseat, covering her with a blanket his sister kept in the trunk.
Time to get her home, get her safe, and get her on the road to recovery.