Laura had turned to run, when an intractable force grasped her bodily and threw her off her feet, hurling them both sideways. Winchester, or to be precise, his muscled arms, had circled her body, heavy, protective, and immovable. Women screamed on the street below. Footsteps pounded across the stone steps.
Laura and Richard hit the ground a few feet from where they’d been standing and he rolled, his arms wrapped around her. The cocoon of his body stopped her from slamming onto the harsh stone, and he kept her lifted free of the blistering gravel on the pavement. After a series of rolls and tumbles, they pulled up in a tangled heap, a foot short of the tree-lined fence that separated church land from a row of buildings.
Not out of danger but, thank God, no longer sitting ducks. A large palm spread across the back of her head and gripped, as the Earl thrust her head into the concave shell of his chest. Her rib cage hurt as she struggled to open her lungs. She sucked in noisy streams of air, bobbed her head skyward and fought for normal breaths. His hand brushed her hair.
“Shush. Just breathe. Slowly.”
His mouth nuzzled, soothed, and hot breath lifted her curls. Under his guidance, she managed to slow her breathing to ease the ache in her chest and calm herself. She turned her head to listen, before peering out from under his arm. Sweat dripped off her brow and splashed onto the gravel below her chin, while drops fell from Winchester’s face onto her.
From beyond the high-piled vegetable cart, which provided a little protection, came chaotic noises—the terrified whinny of horses and high-pitched shrieks from humans. By the mix of lower-class voices calling to each other along the pavement, the crowd was confused about what had happened. Though not Laura.
She’d been stunned for a few seconds, but hadn’t needed any announcements to know a bullet had been fired. Not after several other incidents in recent months. They’d been physically threatened, and Becca had witnessed the murder of their friend who did the book-keeping at the Women’s Betterment Society. Scenting Scandal By Suzi Love Book 2 Scandalous Siblings Series. books2read.com/suziloveSS
