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when I pointed the pistol at her, she went with me without a single argument. And because they thought
I was going to hand her over to them, they didn't shoot at me until it was too late."
"I still say..."
With a long-suffering sigh, Lang pulled out his automatic and slapped it into the policeman's palm.
The officer stared at him, puzzled.
"Well, look at it," Lang muttered.
The policeman turned it over and sighed, shaking his head.
Lang held his hand out. When the weapon was returned to it, he pulled the missing clip out of his
pocket, slammed it into the handle slot and cocked it, before putting on the safety. Then he slid it back
into his underarm holster and snapped it in place.
"It wasn't loaded?" Meg asked, aghast.
"That's right," Lang told her. He glowered at her. "And you thought I was selling you out. She called
me everything but a worm," he told the policeman. "A traitor, a turncoat. She said she hoped they hung
my head on a radio antenna!"
The policeman was trying not to laugh.
"I didn't know you were trying to protect me," Meg said selfconsciously.
"Next time, I'll let them have you "he said irately. "Thev can throw you into somebody's harem and I
hope they dress you in see-through plastic wrap!"
The policeman couldn't hold it back any longer. He left, quickly, chuckling helplessly.
"I like that,"Meg said haughtily. "At least I'd look better in it than you would!"
"I have legs that make women swoon," he informed her. "Playgirl begs me for photo sessions."
"With or without your gun?" she countered.
He grinned. "Jealous because you don't have one? Pistol envy."
She burst out laughing. Lang was incorrigible. "All right, I apologize for thinking you sold me out,"
she told him. "But you were pretty convincing. I had no idea you had on a mask, figuratively
speaking."
"You'd be amazed at how much company I have," he said dryly. He glanced up as a car approached.
"Oh, boy."
She looked where he was staring. It was a big black limousine. Her heart leaped when it stopped and a
white-faced, shaken Steven jumped out, making a beeline toward Meg.
He didn't break stride except to throw a heated punch at Lang, which the younger man deflected.
"She's okay," Lang said, moving back. "I'll explain when you cool off."
"You'd better do your explaining from someplace where I can't reach you," Steve replied, and he
looked murderous.
"I told you!" Wavne raged, moving into view behind Steve. "You idiot, I told you not to do things on
your own!"
"If I hadn't they'd have carried her off!" Lang shot back, exasperated. "What was I supposed to do, call
for reinforcements from the trunk of their damned car on the way to the river?"
"They wouldn't throw you in any river, you'd pollute it and kill the fish!"
Lang's voice became heated as the two men moved out of earshot. Steven paused just in front of Meg
and looked down at her from a strained face.
"Are you all right?" he asked tersely.
"Yes, thanks to Lang," she replied. "Although I wasn't exactly thanking him at the time," she added,
nodding toward the remains of the car Lang had rescued her in.
Steve didn't look at it very long. It made him sick. He reached for Meg and pulled her hungrily into
his arms. He held her bruisingly close, rocking her, while his mind ran rampant over all the horrific
possibilities that had kept him raging all the way to the scene after Wayne had gotten the news from
the city police about the chase.
"I guess your evening with Daphne was spoiled?" she asked a little unsteadily.
"If anything had happened to you, I don't know what I'd have done," he groaned.
She eased her arms under his jacket and around him, holding on. It was so sweet to stand close to him
this way while around them blue and red lights still flashed and voices murmured in the distance.
"You'd better get her home, sir," the police officer said gently. "Everything's all right, now."
"I'll do that. Thanks."
He led her back to the limousine. "What about Lang?" she asked Steve. "And didn't his
friend...Wayne...ride with you?"
"They can go with the police or hitchhike," Steve said. "Especially Lang!"
"What about Daphne...?"
"I'm taking you home, Meg," he said. "Nobody else matters right now."
"Is David there?"
He nodded. "He doesn't know about any of this. I didn't want to worry him."
She crawled into his lap when the chauffeur started the car, to Steve's amazement.
"Your seat belt," he began.
"I've had my close call for tonight," she told his chest. "Let me stay.
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