“It went that way!” someone was yelling, pointing in the opposite direction.
“Travis!” Jessie sobbed uncontrollably. “Oh, God, Travis! She … she’s…”
Stumbling forward, Travis fell to his knees. She wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be dead.
“Kylie. Kylie, baby.” His voice was so rough, little more than a rasp of sound as he gathered her in his arms, rocking her against him.
He knew he shouldn’t move her in the event of a spinal injury, but Travis’s brain wasn’t processing what he should or shouldn’t do. It merely relayed what he had to do and that was hold her close, ensure she knew he was there.
“Oh, God,” he whispered. “It’s gonna be all right. Open your eyes, Kylie. Open ’em for me, darlin’.”
There was blood. So much blood. Her face was bruised and bloody, her arm contorted at the wrong angle.
“Oh, shit! No!”
He heard Gage’s voice, then felt his presence when he fell down at Travis’s side, cradling Kylie’s head. Across from them, Jessie was on her knees, sobbing and trembling as she held Kylie’s other hand.
“It came outta nowhere,” Jessie said, her voice hysterical. She waved her free hand. “Kylie stepped out … then it was there…” Tears streamed down her face. “Help her,” Jessie pleaded. “Please … please help her.”
“The ambulance is on its way,” someone called out. “Is there a doctor here? A nurse?”
Travis was unable to move. His entire world felt as though it was caving in and he was at the center, suffocating beneath the weight.
Instinct had Travis cradling Kylie tighter to him, rocking her gently as the rage and the fear coalesced inside him, churning into a storm that would soon erupt, a storm so powerful it would plow down anyone in its path.
“Kylie,” he rasped. “Open your eyes, baby.”
She didn’t move, didn’t respond in any way.
A sob tore from his chest. He was absolutely helpless.
Then someone else was there, kneeling down, touching Kylie, urging everyone to move back.
“She’s got a pulse, but it’s weak.”
Who was this guy? And who was he talking to?
“We’ve got to clear this road for the ambulance. ETA is two minutes.”
Two minutes? That was a fucking eternity. Travis huffed in a breath, pushed it out. He didn’t move as someone rallied help, got the others to clear the area, giving them room. Gage remained at his side, the two of them holding Kylie, protecting her from everyone around them.
“It’s okay, baby,” Gage whispered, his voice rough with tears. “Hang on, Kylie. Help’s comin’.”
It took tremendous effort to swallow past the lump in his throat, but Travis managed even as the tears choked him. His wife looked so battered and broken.
From a few feet away, he could hear the sheriff asking witnesses to tell him what happened. Every so often, he would get bits and pieces.
“The car came from down there…”
“The engine revved…”
“…crossing the street.”
“…no time to react.”
“I think it was aimin’ for her.”
“…crashed into that car after it hit her.”
“Blue Mustang…”
“A woman behind the wheel.”
“Travis, they need you to move back,” someone said, gently touching his shoulder.
“They’re gonna take her, son,” his father said, that familiar voice near his ear. “They need you to let her go.”
With gentle movements, he eased her back to the ground, fire burning in his lungs as he released her. He didn’t want to let her go. Didn’t want to leave her.
“Come on, Trav,” Curtis said. “It’s all right. They’ll take good care of her.”
It wasn’t all right. None of it was.
He was aware of someone tugging on his arm, pulling him to his feet. He was pushed and pulled out of the way, making room for the EMTs to do their job.
Again there were bits and pieces of conversation that drifted into his ears, barely heard over the pounding of his own heart.
“Pulse thready…”
“Secure her head.”
“Call ahead, tell them to have a trauma team ready.”
“Fractured … broken … unconscious.”
“Only one of you can go,” someone said firmly.
Travis managed to focus, saw the EMT was talking to him and Gage.
Because he had no idea what good he would do in the back of that ambulance, Travis nodded to Gage, urging him to go with her. Gage didn’t say a word, walking off immediately, as though not to hold things up any longer.
As the sirens split the air, the ambulance taking his wife to the hospital, Travis was consumed by cold.
“Come on, boy,” Curtis stated firmly. “I’ll drive you.”
Travis looked at his father. “Where are…?”
“Iris and Frank are with your mother and Arlene. They’ve got the kids. They’re takin’ ’em back to my house.”
Iris and Frank. His aunt and uncle. Brantley’s parents. They would help. His mom would have help.
Good. That was good. “Someone should…”
Curtis’s big, firm hand slid over his shoulder, a gentle, calming touch. “Two deputies are with them, Travis. As are Kaden, Keegan, Jared, and Hope.”
Travis found his feet were moving as he let his father lead him to the Escalade still parked at the bed-and-breakfast.
He was vaguely aware of his father speaking every so often, but his mind was already miles ahead of them, in the back of that ambulance.
*
Juliet’s heart was pounding so hard she thought it would burst right out of her chest. Adrenaline-laced fear made her hyperalert, her foot on the gas as she sought a safe place.
She’d hit her with her car. Kylie.
Everything that had happened was still a blur, but Juliet recalled seeing Travis’s wife as she walked down the street, laughing at something the other woman said. Juliet had felt the rage boil up. How could that bitch be so happy? How could they go on with their lives like nothing had ever happened? Like Juliet hadn’t lost every damn thing she’d ever had?
And then it hit her. This was her chance. It wasn’t coincidence that Kylie had been put directly in her path. It was a sign from God.
The next thing Juliet knew, she was backing her car out of the spot. Once she put it in drive, she slammed her foot on the gas pedal, aiming the car for Kylie just as she stepped out into the street.
Her timing had been impeccable. Another sign, she figured.
It had happened so fast, she hadn’t had time to really process it, even after she’d rammed the other car, pinning Kylie between the two. Juliet’s fight-or-flight instinct had kicked in and she’d managed to untangle the car from the wreckage and speed away. It surprised her she hadn’t taken anyone else down in the process.
Now as she parked her wrecked car behind the cheap motel she’d gotten a room in earlier, Juliet knew she had to make a run for it. Only she couldn’t drive that car, which pained her. She had come to love that Mustang. Unfortunately, it was too noticeable. Someone would see it. There had been police at that park. Surely they weren’t far behind.