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Matt navigated the rocky terrain with ease, frequently checking Delilah’s location on his phone. From her lack of movement in the past few minutes, she might have found shelter. He refused to dwell on the possibility one of the creeps stalking Delilah had caught up with her.
He moved fifteen feet deeper into the woods and stopped when he heard a low-voiced moan. Female. Delilah?
A male voice murmured to the woman. “She’ll pay, baby. I swear to you. Dee won’t get away with hurting you.”
“I want her dead.”
“She won’t leave the woods alive. My cousin isn’t trained. She has no chance against us.”
Matt’s jaw tightened. Shane and Lisa. Although his gut clawed at him to find Delilah, he wouldn’t leave a known threat at his back. Resolved to deal with the couple as fast as possible, he moved into position. Matt spotted a rifle with a pink camouflage stock. Must be Lisa’s. He hid the weapon and eased closer to two of the people who planned to harm Delilah.
A few feet from his targets, he took advantage of Shane’s distraction with his girlfriend and tackled Delilah’s cousin, knocking him away from the injured woman. Shane fought with ferocious intensity, anger glittering in his eyes. Although he landed a couple punches, Matt’s training and skill in hand-to-hand combat quickly shifted the balance in his favor. He ended the fight with an elbow strike to Shane’s temple, dropping the hunter in his tracks.
He glanced up to see Lisa swing his direction with a Smith & Wesson in her hand. She swayed, but the weapon in her hand would injure or kill him if she got lucky.
Not seeing another choice, Matt executed a leg sweep that ended with Lisa flat on her back. One punch to the face and she was out. He used zip ties to restrain her and Shane, then slapped duct tape over their mouths to keep them from calling out for assistance.
That done, he checked his phone for Delilah’s location. Still no movement. Good. He jogged in her direction. She wasn’t far away. Hopefully, his teammates would deal with the other two clowns hunting Delilah.
He froze a second when he heard a male voice taunting Delilah over the cell phone in Matt’s hand. Fury engulfed him when he realized what would happen if he didn’t reach Delilah in time. Matt ran, uncaring of being heard. He wouldn’t let the man rape her. His gut knotted. If he hadn’t already.
He came to the edge of a clearing. Delilah lay on the ground with a muscular man holding her down. Delilah’s torn shirt lay on the ground. As Donovan Cain’s free hand reached for her bra, Matt sprinted across the open area and slammed into the man, forcing him off Delilah.
Cain shoved Matt off him and grabbed his Ka-Bar. “Think you’re such a tough guy, Rainer? Come get me. After I gut you like a fish, I’ll take my time with your woman. I’ll keep her alive a while before I kill her. She’ll know what a real man is like instead of a wussy medic.”
Matt tuned out the words and concentrated on Cain’s body movements. If he allowed the other man to distract him, Matt and Delilah would both die.
Cain changed his hold on the Ka-Bar and rushed him. Matt blocked the knife strike and trapped the other man’s arm against his side. He punched Cain in the throat with as much force as he could muster in close quarters.
His opponent’s eyes widened in shock. He dropped the knife and jerked away from Matt, hands pawing his own throat as he fought to breathe. Not feeling charitable, Matt shoved him to the ground and bound his arms and legs with zip ties.
After confiscating Cain’s weapons and tossing them aside, Matt turned to Delilah. She’d scrambled to her feet and leaned against the rocks, a large stick in her hand. He moved closer, afraid to move too fast and spook her. “Delilah, you’re safe now.”
“The others?” she whispered.
“I found Lisa and Shane and restrained them. Cain can’t hurt you now. My teammates will have Norris wrapped up soon if they haven’t already dealt with him. If he shows up here, I’ll handle him like I did the others. Will you let me hold you?”
Delilah dropped the stick and raced into Matt’s open arms. He hugged her tight against his chest, thankful to have her in his arms again. “Did Cain hurt you, baby?” She buried her face against his neck without replying. His jaw clenched. Cain had hurt her. “What did he do?”
“Backhanded me. I’m okay, though. Nothing an ice pack won’t cure.”
“I’m taking you to the hospital to be checked out.”
She huffed out a short laugh. “You’re a medic. Check me yourself.”
Matt eased away to tilt her face toward a patch of sunlight. Matt gently probed Delilah’s reddened cheek to check for fractures and breathed easier when he found nothing more than the beginning of a bruise.
“I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.” When Delilah refused to meet his gaze, alarm roared through him. “Sweetheart, look at me.”
When she complied, he cupped her uninjured cheek with his palm. “Be honest with me no matter how uncomfortable you feel. Will you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
“Whatever your answer is to my next question, know that I love you. Nothing will change how much I adore you.”
“I love you, too, Matt.”
He drew in a deep breath and said, “For the sake of your health, I have to know if Norris or Cain raped you.”
