Then he leaned forward and cupped her chin. Charlie held her breath, hoping for a kiss, but all she got was a threat. “No matter what, don’t you dare get out of this car. Do you understand me?”
She especially loved it when he touched her. His hands were always hot, a little rough, and it excited her. She probably would have agreed to anything when he was touching her. She forced air into her lungs and whispered, “I understand.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and with a slight curse, he pushed himself away. He was out of the car in the next instant. She watched him crouch low and race around the building, keeping to the shadows. More than anything, she wanted to follow him, to protect him, but what if they got separated and he came back to the car? What if Floyd chased him, but she wasn’t where she was supposed to be? Though he expected her to run like a coward, she knew Harry would never leave without her. He was naturally protective of anyone or anything smaller than himself. He wanted to help the senior proprietors, he’d willingly tried to shield her from Ralph and Floyd before he’d even known her. And just seeing him with his animals, the way he took care of them, even surly Ted the cat, reaffirmed in her own mind how special Harry was. He could deny it all he wanted, but he had the makings of a true hero.
Waiting was one of the hardest things she’d ever done.
It seemed an hour had passed, but she’d checked the car’s clock every minute, and knew it had been less than a quarter of that time. When she saw a shadow fall across the pavement, coming from the direction Harry had disappeared, her shoulders started to sag in relief.
Then the man stepped around the brick building and he looked as shocked to see her as she was to see him. He wasn’t Harry, no, not even close. This man was shorter, heavier, and he had an aura of menace about him. Even when he smiled, she wasn’t encouraged, because there was no comfort in his baring of teeth or the tilt of his thin lips. Charlie felt her senses scream an alert.
Where the hell was Harry?
The car was still idling, so she put it in gear, undecided on what to do. The man approached as if driven by mere curiosity. He tapped on the window, and Charlie, nervous but not wanting him to know it, lowered the window a scant inch.
The man looked her over. “Is everything okay, miss?”
“Fine, thank you.”
She started to roll the window back up, and he quickly asked, “Can I help you with something? This isn’t a good place for you to be loitering around alone. Or are you alone?”
She tried to think, but her worry for Harry had doubled and she didn’t know what to say. “I’m just…lost.”
“Where did you want to be?”
“Um…” Where? She had no idea. She hadn’t even been paying that much attention while Harry drove, choosing instead to look at him.
The man grinned again, one brow lifted. “If you’ll just roll this window down a little more so we can talk—”
Of course she had no intention of doing any such thing, but then it became a moot point anyway. The man suddenly swung around, but not in time. Harry, who’d crept up with neither she nor the man knowing it, landed a powerful blow against the man’s jaw, driving him hard against the car. Charlie jumped.
But the man didn’t stay put. In half a heartbeat, he’d pulled himself together and lunged at Harry. Charlie stuck the car in park and would have gotten out to help, but the two men again fell against the car, blocking her door. She tried to climb over the seat and keep watching at the same time. The shorter man hit Harry in the eye, making him curse and duck, then grabbed up a piece of pipe lying on the ground and swung it at Harry’s head.
Frozen in very real fear, Charlie screamed.
She struggled with the door, but she’d forgotten it was locked, and by the time her frantic hands got it unlocked and open, Harry was there, cursing her and shoving her back in. “Damn it, I told you to leave!” he roared, and then he slid in beside her, forcing her to move, to climb over the controls to the passenger side while she tried to assure herself his head was still where it was supposed to be.
“Oh my God, are you hurt?”
Harry pushed her away, jerked the car into reverse and stepped on the gas. The car shot backward, and Harry jerked the wheel, spinning the car in one fluid motion so it faced forward, then speeding out of the lot.
Charlie came to her knees beside him and touched the swelling bruise already visible around his eye. “Harry—”
“Put your seat belt on, damn it.”
She ignored him. “What happened? I…I thought he was going to hit you with that pipe and—”
“And you screamed.” He looked at her, his injured eye swollen almost closed. “I never thought to hear such a female sound from you.”
That gave her pause, but she shook the discomfort off. “You weren’t even looking. I thought he was going to split your head open.”
Harry grunted. “I kicked it out of his hand. The fellow was a totally pathetic fighter, slow and inept, and I’ll thank you to have a little more faith in me, if you please.”
Charlie sank back on her heels, nonplussed. He was actually insulted that she’d worried for him? “You, ah, handled that very well.”
“You didn’t.” Without looking at her, he began the same tedious drive in and out of side streets, making it difficult for anyone to follow, though he didn’t seem overly concerned with the prospect. “I think I could be happy if even once you’d follow my instructions. What were you waiting for? For him to open the car window with the pipe he tried to use on my head? What would you have done if I hadn’t shown up?”
“I don’t know. But it was dumb of you to tell me to leave without you. I’d never do that.”
In a burst of temper, Harry hit the steering wheel with a fist. “This is exactly why you should have kept your stubborn hide at home instead of dogging my heels!”
His tone was vicious, not loud, yet twice as intimidating for the low tone. Charlie swallowed, more hurt than alarmed by his anger. Guilt gnawed at her because she knew he had a valid point. He’d obviously had everything under control, but for the first time in her life, she’d panicked. The realization was so new, so alien, she couldn’t quite fathom it.
Of all the stupid things, she’d fallen in love with Harry Lonnigan.
“That was one of Carlyle’s henchmen, you know. He’ll tell him we were there. If you hadn’t blundered, I could have looked my fill with no one the wiser. But now, they know we know where they’re at, and odds are they’ll move. Tracking the idiots will be twice as difficult after this!”
She had no idea what to say. They’d been through a lot together already, and not once had Harry sounded so fed up, or so disgusted with her. Slowly, she sank into her seat and relatched her seat belt. She stared out the window, hoping to collect her thoughts enough to offer an excuse, a reply of some kind. But how could she tell him that she cared, that she was worried about him? Obviously the man was big enough, tough enough, to take care of himself without her questionable assistance, so she surely couldn’t use that excuse. And mentioning love, or any type of emotion, was out of the question. Harry had been very clear on his feelings for her. He didn’t even want her anymore and did his best to fight her off. She was such an uncouth yokel compared to his sophistication and background. She hadn’t thought of it before, but now she had no choice.