Laurann Dohner - Slade

She inwardly cursed, realizing it appeared to be a crush injury. The skin was torn and she guessed his hand must have been thrown through the window that had been smashed out when they rolled. Her fingertips brushed up his arm, feeling for injuries, and she determined his wrist had also been broken. He’d caught a break there, no pun intended, since the bone hadn’t popped through the skin. He jerked awake.

“Bart?” She swallowed. Her voice kept breaking on her. “Where does it hurt besides the seat belt and your arm?”

“My leg,” he gasped. Tears drowned out the brown of his eyes when he started to cry.

Crap. Trisha couldn’t get any farther into the driver’s area since his body was in the way and the steering wheel was above. She could have seen better if she’d had a flashlight since the sun was going down, making the interior dim.

“Can you move both feet?”

“It hurts,” he cried softly.

“Do it, Bart,” Trisha snapped. “Those men could be coming after us. Move your feet. I need you to work with me.”

He moaned in pain. “I feel them and I think they moved.”

Trisha nodded, looking up at where his feet would be. No drips of blood were coming down to hit the roof she lay curled on. Another good sign. She forced herself to remain calm and think. Her head throbbed, her body ached and she was in pain. She still tasted blood and didn’t even want to guess the cause. She’d assess her own injuries later but right now it was all about the younger man in front of her.

“Listen to me, Bart. I need to find out if your legs are pinned or if we can get you down. I need you to move your legs to see if they are free. Do you understand me?”

“It hurts,” he whined.

Trisha clenched her teeth. “I’m in pain too. Come on. Did you hear me about those men who ran us off the road? They could climb down here and kill us. You need to work with me. I can help you better if we can get you free. I can’t do much for you right now since there’s not enough room to treat you where you are. I have to assess your injures but I need you out of that seat to do it.”

“Okay,” he hissed softly, “I’ll try.”

36

Slade

Trisha strained to listen for any sign of Slade but she hadn’t heard any gunshots.

Where is he? She experienced a little fear suddenly. She and Bart weren’t New Species.

Would Slade just leave them behind to save his own ass? She really hoped not. Maybe he’s gone for help but wouldn’t he tell me first? She just didn’t know and that really bothered her.

“I can move them.” Pain sounded in Bart’s voice.

“Terrific. I know you only have one usable hand but you need to use your good arm to try the door. See if it will open.”

“I can’t.”

Trisha twisted, looking at the passenger side. The glove box had snapped open and things had fallen out. She inched her way to the small area under the passenger seat.

The window remained intact on the passenger side but it was cracked and spider-webbed. She used the paper that had spilled out of the glove box to cover the broken glass that had flown around the interior when the SUV had rolled to protect her body.

She reached for the door handle. It moved but the door didn’t.

“Crap,” she sighed. She looked, realized the door was still locked, and reached up.

She had to work to get the push-button lock to release. She tried the door handle again and this time she heard a click. She twisted until she rested on her back and pushed with one hand while gripping the door handle. The door moved open a few inches before it jammed into the ground outside. “Double crap.”

“Hey, Doc.” Slade leaned down to peer inside the wreckage at her from the passenger window. “Do you want out? I don’t see any of those assholes coming down here after us so far.”

“Can you get the door open?”

Slade lifted his head to study it instead of her. “I don’t know. I’m going to have to push against the side to see if I can lift it a few inches because the dirt is loose here and it’s stuck on it.” He paused. “Maybe. Get ready to feel some movement.”

It sunk in what he meant to do when she saw him turn around and plant his feet by the back passenger door. His back pressed against the side of the SUV. She opened her mouth to tell him he wasn’t strong enough to move the SUV even an inch but then the vehicle shifted a little under her. He pushed back enough to tip the SUV away from the ground.

“Push the door,” Slade groaned. “This bitch is heavy.”

Trisha used both hands to shove hard on the door that was a good half inch off the ground. It skidded on the grass and dirt to open another foot. She pushed harder and got another inch maybe. The ground inclined higher. Slade groaned and the SUV

shifted again. The door dug hard into the earth under it.

Slade crouched next to the opening and put his head inside between the door and the frame.

“Give me your hands and I’ll pull you out.”

37

Laurann Dohner

It was only just over a foot of space, maybe sixteen inches at most. She cursed. “I don’t think I’ll fit.”

“I was kidding about thinking you need a diet. Let’s try, sweet thing. I think you can make it. You women always think you are bigger than you really are. It’s more space than you think. Go out sideways.”

Trisha grasped both of Slade’s hands. He slowly started to pull her toward him with her twisting onto her side. Her knees hung up on the front seats but when she bucked a little, it moved her lower legs. Slade pulled on her again. Her head fit through the tight space as she turned it sideways and then her breasts and back were squeezed.

She realized she was stuck. Her breasts were hanging her up.

“This wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t have such nice boobs,” Slade chuckled.

“A flat-chested woman would have slid right through there.”

Trisha shot him a dirty look as she stared at him. “Just pull me out! This isn’t comfy.”

“Take a deep breath and exhale all your air. On the count of three. One. Two.

Three.”

Trisha exhaled until her lungs felt as though they were being crushed inside her chest. Slade pulled her free. She gasped in a gulp of air as Slade dragged her a few feet from the SUV.

Slade released her hands before he reached for her again as she lay on the ground.

He grabbed her arms just above her elbows and slowly helped her to her feet. He studied her critically before his gaze met hers.

“Can you stand on your own?”

Testing her legs, Trisha nodded. “I’m good.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t say that if you had a mirror. Stay here and let me see if I can get Mouth over there free.”

“His left hand is crushed and his wrist is broken,” Trisha warned. “Try not to touch it or have him put weight on it.”

Trisha looked down since her knee throbbed and saw a tear in her slacks. She bent, fought a moment of dizziness, but it passed. She touched the torn material, stained with blood. She gripped her pants with her fingers and pulled the hole bigger. The material splitting sounded loud to Trisha.

She looked closely at her knee, finding redness and a small laceration that her fingers probed. It was a little bloody but it didn’t need stitches. She straightened to limp around the SUV and knew she would suffer from deep bruising.

The SUV appeared in really bad shape. She assessed the crushed side panels and the dented-down roof. The back of the SUV had taken the worst of it on the crushed roof. There was a large tear near the front driver’s side door and the engine compartment in the front corner had been mangled badly.