When the car hit the guardrail, it felt as though her entire body took the impact. Her head smacked the side passenger window, making her see stars for a moment, then she felt the car sliding over the berm and very real terror scrabbled through the angry haze that had encompassed her.
If they rolled, she didn’t know if she would survive. Only her tangled grip on the seat belt kept her from bouncing from one end of the car to the other.
Delbert wasn’t so lucky.
Her thigh jammed against something sharp, and her elbow hit the dash. He landed against her. She screamed, as much out of dread as pain.
When the car came to a jolting stop, they were at an odd angle, with her passenger door against the ground.
Delbert O’Neil, his face covered in blood, slumped against her, pinning her down. She clenched her teeth as she tried to move.
Please let Reyes be okay. Let Jodi be safe.
Delbert moaned, but otherwise didn’t move.
Her situation couldn’t be more dire. How far had they traveled? Her head split with pain, thanks to how he’d clunked her before they’d wrecked. Her wrist burned and ached, likely from how she’d held the seat belt.
Pressing a hand to her heart, she felt the rapid thump, thump, thump of her terror, but she also knew she was alive—and she intended to stay that way.
Looking around, she realized she saw two of everything. She also felt like puking. That couldn’t stop her, though. She had to move, right now, before Delbert came to.
If she passed out, who would send help for Reyes?
She assessed the situation as best she could and determined that first she had to get out from under his deadweight.
Easier said than done.
Little by little, she freed her trapped left arm and then her legs. Every small movement hurt, but she used the pain as an impetus. If she could escape, then she could get someone to go back to help Reyes and Jodi. That, as much as her own safety, spurred her to haste.
Getting out of the car required her climbing over Delbert. She literally held her breath and was thankful when he remained out.
As she was maneuvering, she spotted his gun jammed up between the dash and the badly cracked windshield. Getting it meant climbing over him again, but she couldn’t leave him armed.
Unlike Reyes, she wasn’t comfortable putting the thing in her pants, but the windows were shattered, so she tossed it out the driver’s side where she’d have to exit. It landed on the snow-covered ground with a thud.
She was levering up and out, prayers on her lips, when suddenly Reyes was there, scrambling down the ravine in a hazardous race, his face covered in blood, rage in his eyes.
Hurt, but alive, and the relief nearly did her in.
He slid in the snow, recovered, then bellowed her name.
Tears welled up, blurring her vision. Damn it, she’d held it together so far, and by God she wouldn’t fall apart now.
“I’m okay,” she said more softly, glancing back at Delbert, hoping Reyes hadn’t roused him.
She screamed when she saw his eyes open. He stared right at her.
Reyes reached in, caught her under the arms, and easily lifted her out. Standing her behind him, he withdrew his own weapon and looked in at Delbert.
Whatever he saw took some of the tension from his body. “Should I fucking kill you now?”
Unable to help herself, Kennedy peered around Reyes.
Delbert tried a laugh that mixed with a groan. Blood and spit seeped from his lips. “Might as well, because I’m dead either way.”
“I have his gun,” Kennedy whispered, touching Reyes’s arm. “I threw it out the window.”
Giving up on Delbert for the moment, he turned to her, glanced over her body, and his mouth flattened. “Come here.” Sweeping her up into his arms, he took a few steps until he reached a jutting, snow-covered rock. Carefully, he set her down and brushed back her hair with a shaking hand. “If his legs weren’t already broken, I’d break them slowly and with pleasure.”
“What?” Delbert had broken legs? “How do you know—”
“You didn’t notice the bones?”
When she quailed, he muttered, “Never mind.”
Dear God. Delbert’s bones were showing? A convulsive gag shook her, making her head ache even more.
Keeping his voice soft, Reyes supported her. “Do you need to be sick?”
“No.” If she puked, her head would likely roll right off her shoulders. “No, I’m okay.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Where are you hurt, baby?”
She started to say, Pretty much everywhere, but he looked so stricken, she whispered instead, “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing. My face hit the pavement when they tried to run me over.”
“Reyes.” The tears suddenly overflowed. “I didn’t know if you were—”
“I’m all right. Jodi is okay, too. I left her with Sterling. Cade is right behind us.”
“Actually, I’m here now,” Cade said.
Kennedy jumped, felt the startle everywhere, and scowled. “Where did you come from?”
Gently Cade tipped up her face, staring intently into her eyes. “Pretty sure you have a concussion.”
She was pretty sure she did, too. “I think Delbert hit me with his gun. It feels like he knocked something loose. Didn’t help that I made him wreck—”
“Made him?” Reyes asked, while nudging Cade aside.
Remembering how she’d attacked him, she started shivering uncontrollably. The cold wind didn’t help, sending icy snow to continually pelt her face. Tears filled her eyes again, making her madder than hell—at herself. Her lips trembled, too, and her voice emerged in an agonized whisper. “I thought you were badly hurt. I wanted to get back to you, but he was driving away... I couldn’t let him do that, so I started kicking and hitting him.”
“Jesus,” Reyes murmured. “He might have killed you.”
“That was his intent anyway, right?”
Cade’s gaze swept the area, then settled on the car. “So it is Delbert O’Neil?”
Reyes nodded. “He’s banged up pretty badly. Broken legs, looks like a dislocated shoulder, too. Face is scratched to hell and back.”
“The last was me,” Kennedy said, wanting her due. “I also punched him in the nuts.”
Both men stared at her.
“That’s when he completely lost control of the car.”