Hidden Impact (Safeguard #1)(3)

“Thanks, Charlie. Let’s get out of here and head home, then.” She nodded to one of the venue’s regular security guards and stepped out into the cool night hoping to clear her head.

It must’ve only stopped raining a short while ago. Not a surprise for Seattle. The sidewalk pavement shone silver in the light of the streetlamps, with highlights of green or red from the traffic light at the top of the alley.

“The others left for the train station already. I’ll walk you to your car.” Charlie gave her a lopsided grin.

She shook her head. “No worries. You need to catch the bus, right? Don’t wait for me. I’m parked just up the street anyway. Totally safe.”

“You’re sure?” Charlie’s brows drew together and briefly she flashed back to the way the mercenary’s scowl had darkened his face. A fierce expression—not frightening so much as intimidating—and Charlie couldn’t be more different. What she needed now was more than any of her friends or family could do.

“Yes.” She forced her lips to widen in a smile. “Absolutely.”

Another door opened farther down the alleyway, the venue’s other back exit. Several men and women stepped out, all with the dark suits of the personal security her client had hired. Funny the way Henderson enjoyed flaunting his mercenary security, but they’d carried themselves with better polish and sophistication than the majority of the guests.

Speak of the devil. The man she’d spoken to and his colleagues must be heading home too, wherever it was for each of them. She wondered if they called each other “colleagues” or something more...militant.

“See?” She turned back to Charlie. “I’m not even alone back here. Get going. And if anything happens, I’ll shout to those guys for help.”

Charlie eyed the group dubiously. “Men like those aren’t safe to be around, Miss Cheng. I bet the women aren’t either.”

As if Charlie could do anything against them.

No, that was uncharitable. “Thank you. Really. But I’m sure I’ll be fine. You get yourself on your bus or I’ll have to drive you all the way home.”

She made a shooing gesture to Charlie and after another moment’s hesitation he turned, jogged up the alley to the street and headed for the bus station. She followed at a walk because trying to jog in heels this high was ridiculous. Plus she’d probably trip and break an ankle. An added embarrassment she did not want with those people, with him, behind her.

Maybe in an immediate emergency they’d actually move to action. Or they might just shout the name of a private investigator to her.

Not fair.

Shaking her head, she huffed out a laugh at herself. She was in all sorts of a mood this evening. And who would blame her? But being temperamental wasn’t going to convince anyone to help her, and she needed help. She’d take every moment of frustration and rage and swallow it if it could get An-mei the help she needed faster. What Maylin had to do was be constructive, figure out next steps. There was always something else to be tried. Somehow.

And sometimes it seemed like every street in downtown Seattle was uphill. So no one would judge her if she took a breather up at the top of the alley and maybe stood at the corner a minute longer than necessary. If anyone did, she’d blame it on the crosswalk signal changing sooner than she thought she could cross.

Honestly, she needed to build up better cardio.

Screeching broke through her thoughts, the sounds of tires on wet pavement. She turned to her left and instinctively threw up her arm against the glare of insanely bright headlights.

“Down!”

A wall slammed into her left side, taking her to the ground and rolling with her until what was left of the air in her lungs was forced out in a whoosh as they hit the side of the building.

How? How had they rolled away from the street? And...what...?

Tires peeled.

“Are you okay? Hey!” The words boomed in her head from far away, like someone shouting through a fog.

Too many lights swam across her vision, images burned on her retinas blending with the streetlamps overhead. Her throat contracted and her lungs burned.

Breathe.

She gasped and cool air rushed in, clearing away some of the fog.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Take another breath nice and slow. Slow.” Strong hands patted her down, touched her with gentle purpose. “Does anything hurt? Your neck, your head?”

“The way you took her down, it’s amazing her skull isn’t splattered all over the sidewalk.” Another man’s voice floated over from some distance away. Or was it a shock thing?

Maybe she was in shock.

Did people’s feet get cold at times like this? Only her left one.

“Your left foot is colder because you lost a shoe when I shoved you out of the way.” A thread of amusement ran through the original speaker’s voice. She liked the sound of it. Kind humor, like what she heard in his words, was the sign of a good man. “I’m going to help you to a sitting position, but if anything hurts at all, you let me know right away and we’re laying you back down. Understood?”

“Yes.” She said it out loud on purpose, because she was pretty sure she’d been talking out loud anyway so it’d be good to know if she could do it when she actually meant to.

The same big hands she’d taken note of before took hold of her, one sliding under her neck to give her support as she came up to a sitting position.