Page 29 of Rescuer
He supported her back, lifting her gently as she brought the inhaler to her mouth. She depressed the top and inhaled deeply, holding her breath for a long moment. When she finally exhaled, he could tell she was already breathing easier, but he waited, knowing she had to repeat the dose.
After she used the inhaler one more time, she sighed. “Ohh,” she breathed in relief and replaced the inhaler into her pocket. “Thanks.”
He watched her wipe her brow, then looked her over, checking for injuries or signs of shock.
“Let’s get you back into the hospital. You should be checked out. He nearly killed you.”
“No. I’m fine. It set off my asthma, but you took the brunt of the fall. I really need to go check on Gus.”
“Look, I don’t want to tell you what to do,” he began cautiously. He’d been rebuffed enough by her today. “But I’m really concerned about you. Please let me follow you back to your house and make sure everything’s okay.”
To his astonishment, she didn’t argue.
“I’d appreciate that,” she said. “Can we go now? What if he tries to get to Aunt Gus?”
He didn’t think her aunt was in any danger, but he didn’t want to take a chance. “Sure,” he said. “Do you have any idea why someone would try to hurt you?”
There was no way that had been an accident.
“None. This is surreal. Can we hurry?”
He stood and grimaced briefly at the pain, then he reached down a hand and helped her up. Unlike her reaction before, she allowed him to assist her. When she stumbled on her feet, she leaned against him for a moment until she got her balance back.
“I’ll walk you to your car. Then wait for me. I’ll follow you home.”
He held her car door open for her and waited until she’d folded herself into her seat and fastened her seat belt before saying, “Listen, just so you know, I’m calling this in. I’ll have cops meet us at your house. I know you’re anxious about Gus.”
It was a sign of how worried she was that she didn’t argue. She simply nodded.
He closed her door and ran to his truck. He didn’t want to give the hit-and-run driver an opportunity to go for her again.
Once he was in the cab and driving behind her, he dialed 911. The moment he heard Vickie’s voice, he relaxed.
“Vickie, I need a police officer to meet me at 297 Locust Drive. I’ll be there within the next ten minutes.”
“Sure thing, Jackson. What’s the reason?”
“There was an attempted hit-and-run.”
“You got it,” Vickie responded. “Anything else?”
“Nope. Just a cop or two.” He’d already checked Mia out as best he could, but once he got back to her house, he’d keep an eye on her for any signs that something was wrong. Maybe once she saw her aunt was fine, she’d be willing to get checked out more thoroughly.
She pulled into her driveway, and Jackson parked along the curb, leaving the spot behind her for the police car on its way. He jumped out and speedwalked to her side. She hadn’t even grabbed her purse out of the car when the front door slammed open.
An irate blonde stomped out of the house.
Oh yeah. He remembered her cousin Jane. She had been a year ahead of him at school. As far as he knew, she’d never had any kind of relationship with Mia. Jane gave him a once-over before a sneer slid over her angry features.
Yep. She recognized him. Mia’s entire family had disdained him ever since he’d known her. Guess that hadn’t changed.
Completely ignoring his presence, Jane lit into Mia. “You were supposed to be home at six!” she shouted. “I have things to do, you know.”
To her credit, Mia straightened, totally in control. She wore dignity like a comfortable cloak. “Maybe if you’d shown up at eight this morning as we agreed, I could have arrived home earlier.”
Jane seemed to swell with outrage. He had the random thought that if he had a pin and pricked her, she’d pop like an overfilled balloon. “If you want me to come back tomorrow…”
Mia’s right eyebrow rose. “Oh? You don’t need the money?”
