Tycoon Takedown by Ruth Cardello Read Free Book Online Page B

found them cumbersome in the heavy New York traffic, but they did allow for a certain amount a privacy that a town car didn’t.
    A privacy h e’d decided the day would require at two o ’ clock that morning, when h e’d changed his mind about pursuing Melanie. He had written off the possibility of anything happening between them while she was there based on two assumptions that weren’t necessarily true. First, although Sarah wouldn’t share why Melanie was in the city, that didn’t mean it was a bad thing. Maybe she was there for a potential job or to have an old tattoo removed or any number of reasons she didn’t want everyone back on the ranch to know about. So staying away from her because she was in a fragile state was unnecessary unless he found out differently. Second, he assumed that she would want a relationship with him that wouldn’t be possible because of her child. Not every woman did. She might be looking for exactly what he was—a quick fling to demystify their attraction.
    The driver stopped at a red light and Charles slammed an open hand against the stationary part of the divider. “Run it. We need to get to her.”
    “Who, sir?”
    “Melanie. Someone mugged her. It sounds like she’s going after him. Run every fucking light. Just get there.”
    “Yes, sir. Maybe you should call the police.”
    The police.
    Of course. He wasn’t a man who panicked, but the image of Melanie confronting her assailant alone ripped away his usual calm. He was supposed to watch over her while she was in the city. H e’d already failed to keep her safe.
    He should have told her how to hold her purse. He should have warned her to be careful. She didn’t know what to do or not to do in a city like New York. Fuck, he should have hired a car for her for the week. He could have cleared his schedule for the day and made sure she made it to wherever she was going.
    He hadn’t wanted to get involved. But he was fucking involved now.
    Something in her voice when sh e’d decided to go after the man wh o’d robbed her had sliced through years of emotional scarring and ripped open an old wound. She doesn’t know how quickly a life can be lost. How one moment of stupidity can provide a lifetime of regret.
    He rang the local emergency number.
    “911, what is your emergency?”
    “There is a woman being mugged on East 23rd and Madison.”
    “Can you see her? Are you near her?”
    He wanted to scream, I wouldn’t need you if I were fucking there. But he didn’t. He wasn’t there and although he was racing to her, h e’d take any advantage he could get. Anything that would save Melanie.
    “No, I was on the phone with her when it happened.”
    “What was the last thing she said to you?”
    Cutting through what he considered nonsense, Charles snapped, “Do you have an officer on the street near her? Is there a car in the vicinity? If so, get them to her.”
    “Sir, I’ll need more information to be able to help her. What is she wearing?”
    “I don’t know,” he answered angrily. “Probably jeans and cowboy boots. She has long brown hair.”
    “I have an officer on that street. He hasn’t seen anything unusual. I’m calling one of the cars we have in the area. If you have her number, call it. She may be fine. People are mugged every day, sir. It’s an awful thing, but it happens. If you have access to another phone, I’ll stay on while you try to reach her.”
    “Give me your phone,” Charles ordered his driver. He scrolled through the phone for Melanie’s number and called it. It rang, but she didn’t answer. His heart beat painfully in his chest and he spoke to the emergency operator in a tight voice. “She’s not answering her phone.”
    “I have a car on that street, sir. Keep trying her.”
    After what seemed like an unsurvivable amount of time, Charles spotted Melanie on the side of the road. She was standing in the middle of a circle of people. “That’s her. Pull over,” he ground out, and