Page 84 of Her Reluctant Hero
But she didn’t see Santiago.
The door closed behind her and a fist struck the back of her head. Surprise and pain drove her to all fours. When she tried to push upright, to see past the fall of her hair, a hand pressed between her shoulder blades, holding her down. Another tugged at her jeans, and she felt the weight of a man’s thighs against hers.
Her empty stomach roiled, and she choked her nausea back. She would endure this. She would. She just had to remember how to shut out the feelings she’d allowed to surface when she’d been with Alex.
The blow must have affected her hearing because she heard a buzzing. The weight left her body and she looked up to see Santiago move to a window, his attention drawn to the edge of the boat. Despite her dizziness, pain and fear, she scrambled to her feet.
A Coast Guard cutter approached, churning up water, destroying the peaceful view. Joy bubbled through her, but she banked it. So much had gone wrong, she was afraid to hope.
Until she saw Alex standing at the rail of the cutter, automatic weapon at the ready, suited up in a helmet and a bulletproof vest. His stance said they weren’t getting out of here without going through his team of Rangers.
He was alive, standing strong. And he’d come for her.
