Diamonds In Her Veins

Chapter Six: Shining Knight in the Rough

Channing's POV

I groaned and leaned my back against the door. I wanted to kick myself where it hurt the most. So much for the infamous iceman expression. I obviously hadn't looked icy when I looked at Chasity. No. I had been all fire and emotion because I hadn't been able to hide my fear that the beautiful woman might be the kings daughter.

And now Chasity was suspicious. At best, Chasity and I had a tenuous relationship. Neither trusted the other. This revelation was likely to cause her to skyrocket. With reason. She was probably out there right now wondering if I was going to send her away, to keep her safe. I was wondering the same thing. What the hell was I going to do?

Of course, no one knew about Chasity. Besides the King, and the very few guards keeping her safe. So, Liam couldn't possibly know about her, not yet. I groaned again, wishing I had something to punch and whirled around to check on Chasity.

My heart slammed to the floor. With her dress in her hands, Chasity was frantically running for the door. She wasn't alone. There was a man in a ski mask chasing her. Not one man, I quickly corrected, but two.

I saw the second one race out from the side yard. I did some racing, too. I reached in the back waist of my pants and pulled out the gun. I jerked open the door and headed out. I had to get there in time. I couldn't watch Chasity gunned down before my eyes.

"Help me," Chasity shouted. I did my best to do just that. I jumped off the porch, landing hard on the ground, and I quickly maneuvered himself between Chasity and the men.

"Get inside," I ordered her. She didn't argue. I heard her barrel up the steps, but I kept my focus on the two men. The one who'd come from the side yard lifted his gun and aimed at Chasity. I took aim at the man. I was ready to kill if necessary, but the other man didn't shoot. He must have realized that he was about to be killed because he turned and started to run. So did his comrade. So did I.

I raced toward the men, hoping to capture just one of them so I could beat some answers out of them. And the men were definitely fools if they'd decided to take me on. I tackled the man, and we both went crashing to the ground. I was ready to slug the guy, but the sound stopped cold. Someone screamed. I glanced up and spotted the other man. He'd taken aim not at me but at the house. Where Chasity was standing.

The anger raged through me, and I brought up my weapon so that I could return fire. But it was too late. The man ducked behind some tress. Worse, I saw the movement out of the corner of me eye a second before I felt my captive's elbow slam into my jaw.

"Move and she dies," someone yelled. It was the man at the back of they yard. I glanced at the house and saw Chasity still on the porch. She was struggling to get the back door open. Since the elbow shot had thrown off my aim and position and since I couldn't risk Chasity being killed, I froze. My captive didn't. The man sprang to his feet and started to run toward his comrade.

Both men ran into the woods, disappearing. I wanted to run after them, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave Chasity alone. I hurried to the porch, and Chasity got the door open just as I joined her. I rushed her inside, locked the door and ran to get the guards.

"Are you hurt?" I asked. She shook her head but didn't say anything. With her breath coming out in rough, jagged gusts, Chasity just stared at me. I checked Chasity for any signs of injury and didn't see any. Well, no visible signs, anyway. I silently cursed the men who'd put her through this. Thomas called the Doctor that lived close by, and requested more guards on look out.

"Those men wanted to kill us," Chasity whispered. Because she seemed on the verge of collapsing, I slid my arm around her and pulled her to me.

"For what it's worth, I dont think they had murder on their minds,"

Blinking back tears, she looked up at me. "Then, what did they want?"

"I think this might have been a kidnapping attempt. If they'd wanted to kill you, they would have stayed in the cover of the trees and fired," From the range, they wouldn't have missed. "And the one shot they did fire at you was well over your head. I think it went to the roof," I added.

I watched her process that in the depth of her green eyes. She didn't process it well. "You think they wanted information or something?" Or something. I had that sickening feeling that the something was Chasity.

I looked down at her and didn't pull any punches. "Those men could come back, or follow you home. Next time you might not be so lucky. This isn't really a request, Chasity. You are moving in with me, here at the Castle. And were bumping security now."

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A/N: Hey guys! If you read this please leave a comment or something. When no one comments, I don't know if any ones reading it. If i don't receive any comments or votes I'm going to stop writing the story.

Thanks,

Dusti