pantsuit
with a white blouse, her hair was up
in a French twist, and she lifted her chin to show that she wasn't
afraid of them. Feeling her chances of a physical defense waning rapidly as she saw the size and strength of the two men,
her hand went
59
DIANA
PALMER
nervously
to the whistle in her pocketbook and brought it by her side.
"Hey, there,
sweet thing," one of the men called. "Got a flat? We'll help
you change it."
The other man, a
little taller, untidy, unshaved and frankly unpleasant-looking, grinned at her.
"You bet we will!"
"I don't have a
spare, thank you all the same."
"We'll drive you
home," the tall one said.
She forced a smile.
"No, thanks. I'll enjoy the walk. Good night!"
She started to turn
when they pounced. One knocked the whistle out of her hand and caught her arm behind her back,
while the other one took her purse off her shoulder and went through it
quickly. He pulled out her wallet, looked at everything in it, and finally took
out a bill, drop ping her
self-defense spray with the purse.
"Ten lousy
bucks," he muttered, dropping the bag as he stuffed the bill into his pocket.
"Pity Lopez don't pay us better. This'll buy us a couple of six-packs,
though."
"Let me
go," Sally said, incensed. She tried to bring her elbow back into the man's stomach, as
she'd seen an instructor on television do,
but the man twisted her other arm so harshly that the pain stopped her
dead.
The other man came
right up to her and looked her up and down. "Not bad," he rasped. "Quick, bring her
over here, off the road," he told the
other man.
"Lopez won't like this!" The man
on the porch came toward them, yelling
across the road. "You'll draw atten tion to us!"
One of them made a
rude remark. The third man went back up on the porch, his footsteps sounding
unnaturally loud on the wood.
Sally was almost sick
with fear, but she fought like a
60
MERCENARY'S
WOMAN
tigress. Her efforts to break free did no
good. These men were bigger and stronger than she was, and they had her helpless. She
couldn't get to her whistle or spray and every kick, punch she tried was effectively
blocked. It occurred to her that these men knew self-defense moves, too, and how to avoid them. Too
late, she remembered what Eb had said to her about overconfidence. These men weren't even drunk and they
were too much for her.
Her heart beat wildly
as she was dragged off the road to the thick grass at the roadside. She would
struggle, she would fight, but she was no match for them. She knew she was in a lot of danger
and it looked like there was no escape. Tears of impotent fury dripped from
her eyes. Helpless
while one of the men kept her immobilized, she remembered the sound of her own voice
telling her aunt just a few weeks ago that she could handle anything. She'd been
overconfident.
A sound buzzed in her head and at first
she thought it was the prelude to a dead
faint. It wasn't. The sound was growing closer. It was a pickup truck. The
headlights illuminated her truck on the roadside, but not the struggle that was going on near it.
It was as if the
driver knew what was happening without seeing it. The truck whipped onto the
shoulder and was cut off. A man got out, a tall man in a shepherd's coat with a Stetson drawn
over his brow. He walked straight toward the two men, who released Jessica and turned to face the
new threat. Eb!
"Car trouble?" a deep, gravelly
voice asked sarcasti cally.
One of the men
pulled a knife, and the other one ap proached the newcomer. "This ain't none of your busi ness," the taller man said. "Get
going."
DIANA PALMER
61
The newcomer put his
hands on his lean hips and stood his ground. "In your dreams."
"You'll wish you
had," the taller of them replied harshly. He moved in with the knife close in
at his side.
Sally stared in horror at Eb, who was
inviting this lu natic to kill him! She knew
from television how deadly a knife
wound in the stomach could be. Hadn't Eb told her that the best way
with a white blouse, her hair was up
in a French twist, and she lifted her chin to show that she wasn't
afraid of them. Feeling her chances of a physical defense waning rapidly as she saw the size and strength of the two men,
her hand went
59
DIANA
PALMER
nervously
to the whistle in her pocketbook and brought it by her side.
"Hey, there,
sweet thing," one of the men called. "Got a flat? We'll help
you change it."
The other man, a
little taller, untidy, unshaved and frankly unpleasant-looking, grinned at her.
"You bet we will!"
"I don't have a
spare, thank you all the same."
"We'll drive you
home," the tall one said.
She forced a smile.
"No, thanks. I'll enjoy the walk. Good night!"
She started to turn
when they pounced. One knocked the whistle out of her hand and caught her arm behind her back,
while the other one took her purse off her shoulder and went through it
quickly. He pulled out her wallet, looked at everything in it, and finally took
out a bill, drop ping her
self-defense spray with the purse.
"Ten lousy
bucks," he muttered, dropping the bag as he stuffed the bill into his pocket.
"Pity Lopez don't pay us better. This'll buy us a couple of six-packs,
though."
"Let me
go," Sally said, incensed. She tried to bring her elbow back into the man's stomach, as
she'd seen an instructor on television do,
but the man twisted her other arm so harshly that the pain stopped her
dead.
The other man came
right up to her and looked her up and down. "Not bad," he rasped. "Quick, bring her
over here, off the road," he told the
other man.
"Lopez won't like this!" The man
on the porch came toward them, yelling
across the road. "You'll draw atten tion to us!"
One of them made a
rude remark. The third man went back up on the porch, his footsteps sounding
unnaturally loud on the wood.
Sally was almost sick
with fear, but she fought like a
60
MERCENARY'S
WOMAN
tigress. Her efforts to break free did no
good. These men were bigger and stronger than she was, and they had her helpless. She
couldn't get to her whistle or spray and every kick, punch she tried was effectively
blocked. It occurred to her that these men knew self-defense moves, too, and how to avoid them. Too
late, she remembered what Eb had said to her about overconfidence. These men weren't even drunk and they
were too much for her.
Her heart beat wildly
as she was dragged off the road to the thick grass at the roadside. She would
struggle, she would fight, but she was no match for them. She knew she was in a lot of danger
and it looked like there was no escape. Tears of impotent fury dripped from
her eyes. Helpless
while one of the men kept her immobilized, she remembered the sound of her own voice
telling her aunt just a few weeks ago that she could handle anything. She'd been
overconfident.
A sound buzzed in her head and at first
she thought it was the prelude to a dead
faint. It wasn't. The sound was growing closer. It was a pickup truck. The
headlights illuminated her truck on the roadside, but not the struggle that was going on near it.
It was as if the
driver knew what was happening without seeing it. The truck whipped onto the
shoulder and was cut off. A man got out, a tall man in a shepherd's coat with a Stetson drawn
over his brow. He walked straight toward the two men, who released Jessica and turned to face the
new threat. Eb!
"Car trouble?" a deep, gravelly
voice asked sarcasti cally.
One of the men
pulled a knife, and the other one ap proached the newcomer. "This ain't none of your busi ness," the taller man said. "Get
going."
DIANA PALMER
61
The newcomer put his
hands on his lean hips and stood his ground. "In your dreams."
"You'll wish you
had," the taller of them replied harshly. He moved in with the knife close in
at his side.
Sally stared in horror at Eb, who was
inviting this lu natic to kill him! She knew
from television how deadly a knife
wound in the stomach could be. Hadn't Eb told her that the best way
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