Bruises had already started to form on her throat and rage ignited within him as Seth deduced what had happened. The man had broken into her motor home with the intention of killing her.
Just as he’d tried to do four years ago.
Seth reached for her and she stumbled into his arms to collapse against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, balancing himself and her on his good leg and taking his weight off the one that screamed at him. “Shh,” he whispered against her ear. “It’s all right. He’s gone.”
She clung to him fiercely, her shoulders shaking, not making a sound. But he could feel the warmth of her tears soaking through his shirt. He held her close, trying to offer her the comfort and safety she so desperately needed. Officers descended. Security and rodeo personnel arrived. Seth drew in a deep breath, the scent of her strawberry shampoo mingling with sweat and fear making him tighten his grip.
She finally stirred and brushed a hand across her wet cheeks. “Are you all right? Your leg?” she whispered.
His heart stuttered. She was concerned about him when she’d been almost killed? He simply nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Ma’am, can you tell me what happened?”
Using the palms of her hands, she scrubbed the rest of the tears from her cheeks. Seth rested his hand on her shoulder, just to remind her that she wasn’t alone.
Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed. She seemed to shrug off her fear, but Seth could still feel the fine tremor beneath his palm. “I can tell you exactly what happened,” she rasped, then cleared her throat. “I heard a noise, like someone checking to see if any of my windows were unlocked. They weren’t. I decided to call 911 when I heard someone on the roof. He came through the overhead bathroom vent.” She spread her hands and shook her head. “Just crashed through and came out the door and...there he was.” A shudder ran through her. “I tried to get to the door and he grabbed me.” She touched her bruised throat.
“Did you recognize your attacker?” the policeman asked.
“He had on a mask, but I know it was Hank Newman.”
The officer lifted a brow. “How do you know that if he had on a mask?”
“Because I recognized his cologne. And—” she drew in a deep, cleansing breath “—it’s not the first time he’s tried to kill me.”
“Oh.” The policeman frowned and wrote something in his little notebook. “All right. Anything else?”
She looked at Seth. “When you pounded on the door, it startled him. He loosened his grip enough for me to get away and get the door open. Thank you for that,” she whispered.
“Hey, I owed you. You saved me from a trampling today.” He gave her a gentle smile. Her tension lessened by a fraction. She smiled back but it was shaky and tight.
“I just wish I could have kept him from getting away,” Seth muttered. His leg was on fire, but not so intensely he was unable to ignore it. For now. Tomorrow would be worse, he knew.
An EMT approached. “Ma’am, would you like us to take a look at you?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been through this before. There’s nothing you can do for a bruised throat.”
Seth finished telling his side of the story and the officers left, armed with Hank Newman’s photo, but Seth knew they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest the man. He’d had a mask on. Tonya might believe it was Hank, but without solid proof, the creep would continue to be free to terrorize her.
Unless Seth did something to protect her. He mulled that thought over while friends and fellow roadies hugged Tonya and told her they were there for her.
“Tonya! Tonya! Where are you?”
* * *
Tonya spun to find herself engulfed in Mia’s slender arms. She winced at the tight hug, her new bruises protesting, but she didn’t pull away. Her best friend finally let her go and stepped back to give her the once-over. “Are you all right? I just heard someone broke into your motor home.” Her eyes landed on Tonya’s throat and widened. “What did he do?”
“Tried to strangle me. Again.”
“Again?”
“Yes.”
“So you were right. He was here.”
“Is here. I saw him earlier on the grounds and at the hospital. I have no doubt it was him in my home.” She swallowed hard. “He’s back and apparently he wants to see me dead.”
Mia paled. “What are you going to do? You still have a show to do tomorrow. Not to mention the contest in a couple of weeks.”
“Don’t worry—I’m not going to leave you in the lurch.”
“Are you kidding? Your life is more important than some stupid show. I can handle it. And there are always other contests out there. You just do whatever you need to do.”
Tonya’s heart gave a grateful beat. “Thanks, Mia, but I think I’ll be all right. Hank is probably long gone by now.”
A slight pause. Mia eyed her. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
Tonya sighed. “No, not really, but I refuse to let that loser send me running again. I’m not going to let him ruin my reputation in this business. I’ve worked hard to get where I am.” Even though the thought of standing her ground and fighting back terrified her.
“But—”
“But nothing. I’m staying.” Saying the words made it so for her.
“Okay, okay.”
Tonya pulled in a deep breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.”
“No, it’s fine. Let me know if you need me to do anything. You want to come stay with me?”
Tonya considered that. “What about Monty?”
“I’ll kick him out. He can bunk with Jake or one of the other guys.” When Tonya still hesitated, Mia rolled her eyes. “Come on. You know my brother won’t care.”
“All right. If he says it’s okay, I’ll stay with you. Thanks. I’ll have to get something to cover up the hole in my roof and then I’ll get someone to walk me over.”
“Great. I’ll go get your bed ready.”
“Thanks, Mia.”
“Of course.” Tonya watched her friend walk away, still in shock over the events that had transpired. Fortunately, Mia’s fifth wheel was only a few rows over.
“I have some tarp I can put over the hole until you can get someone out here to fix it,” Seth said.
“Thank you.” She bit her lip and let her eyes linger on his handsome face. He really was a good guy.
“I’ll walk you over to Mia’s and then come back and do it.”
She frowned. “I can help you.”
“No need. Won’t take but a few minutes. You need to rest.”
“What about your leg?”
“It hurts, but it won’t keep me from doing what needs to be done.” He nodded at her motor home. “Get what you need for the night. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Tonya struggled with the notion. She wasn’t the kind of female who needed a man to take over or take care of her. She’d grown up with that for the first two decades of her life with four older brothers. Part of her wanted to rebel and assert her independence, but Seth didn’t come across as doing it because he thought she couldn’t. He genuinely