What a Woman Desires Read Online Free Page B

cries as she fought to free herself from her captor battled with the roar of Monica’s heartbeat. The man clutched her beloved friend against his barreled chest with one thick arm, his free hand fondling her breast. What were they to do? The animal molesting Stephanie had been aboard the phaeton before either of them could react, grabbing Stephanie by the hair and dragging her to the ground. Now, it was them against two men. The minuscule opportunity to gain the upper hand had been stolen in the moments of shock and terror as the men had initiated their assault.
    “Take the gun from her, for Christ’s sake. What are you waiting for?” the man holding Stephanie yelled at his partner. “There ain’t nothing to her. Get her on the floor.” He laughed. “Isn’t that where we want the pair of ’em anyway?”
    Monica’s mouth drained dry even as fire caught in her blood and rushed through her veins. Malcolm Baxter had defiled her body a lifetime ago, and another man would never come near her flesh without her permission ever again. She clenched her jaw and glared at her target. “Move an inch and you’re dead.”
    The man watching her through narrowed eyes shifted from one foot to the other as though preparing to pounce. Monica tensed, her finger steady on the trigger. Icy-cold perspiration bloomed on her upper lip. His cold eyes assessed her as he languidly ran his gaze from her boots to her hair. “Why don’t you put the gun down before something happens you’ll regret, eh, missy?”
    “The only thing I’ll regret is letting either of you assault me or my friend in any way.” She hitched the gun higher. “Now, why don’t you tell your boss to let go of my friend and the pair of you walk away before I blow a hole in the center of your forehead.”
    He glowered. “He ain’t my boss and you ain’t got the guts to shoot that gun.” He grinned. “I can see you shaking from here.”
    “Guts? You have the audacity to talk about guts when the pair of you accost lone women in darkened lanes? I think the only person without any guts is you.” Monica glared, her heart hammering. She would not give in. Whether it be her and Stephanie or the two goons, someone would be dead before she surrendered.
    The man shook his head. “You’re a real firecracker, ain’t ya?”
    Stephanie’s shriek and the ensuing scuffle to her side set Monica trembling once more. The man holding Stephanie dragged her closer to his accomplice. “Here, take this one. I’ll deal with this blue-eyed beauty who thinks she’s a cut above. Someone needs to seal that fancy mouth of hers once and for all.” He shoved Stephanie aside and cupped his manhood. “And I’ve got just the thing to fill it.”
    Bitter revulsion coated Monica’s mouth with bile. She swept the gun back and forth between them. “Another step closer and I guarantee at least one of you will go down with a bullet right between your eyes. I couldn’t give a damn which of you it is, but you’ll be facedown in the dirt.”
    The bigger of the two men clapped his hands and roared with laughter. “Well, you are the sexiest, boldest piece of skirt we’ve met since we came to this godforsaken village.” He grinned. “I like it. You’ve cheered me up more than I thought any woman possibly could . . . especially if she isn’t underneath me.”
    The thundering of approaching hooves wiped his smile and he turned to look along the lane. Indecision battled inside her as Monica glanced from him to Stephanie’s terrified eyes and the man’s gnarled and dirty fingers digging into her friend’s throat.
    Shoot him. Shoot him.
    Her heart hammered as fear enveloped her body and ran cold through her veins. How could she kill a man? She’d be a murderer. It would be her word against his friend’s, because there wasn’t any chance she had the skill or nerve to kill them both.
    Closer and closer the thundering hooves came.
    A shot rang out, cracking through the sky and sending their