No question existed within me on that.
“It’s not going to be like it was before.”
Too much had changed.
Hatch lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles before turning it over and kissing my palm. “The hair will grow back, luv. I promise. Not sure that’s true for the ugly bastard over there, but I’ll be my old self in no time at all.”
A laugh escaped me and I wanted to clap a hand over my mouth, but they wouldn’t let them go, and I settled for biting my lip before I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant.”
“The vain little cunt knows what you mean.” The rumble of his voice carried the essence of a chuckle. At least Hatch could make Dirk laugh. That had always been such an accomplishment. “Don’t worry, sweet beauty. We both do, and we’re not making any decisions right now, except getting you out of here. Everything else will sort itself out later.”
The absolute faith in his voice steadied me, but I still gripped his hand tighter. There were so many things unsaid between all of us. So many presumptions I’d just accepted as life truths. The work had to be done. Reparations had to be made. What was broken had to be fixed.
Even if my mother had not done all that she had been accused of, I had the knowledge, the education, the resources, but most of all, I had the will to see it through. I’d been willing to give up everything to solve the puzzle.
Yet, I nearly lost so much more than I understood…
“Captain,” Campbell’s voice snapped from the front passenger. “We may have a problem.”
The problem hovered ahead of us. A helicopter had taken up a position over the roadway above several vehicles. Men lined up in front of them.
Armed men.
“Back,” Dirk ordered.
But the large vehicle we were in was already turning, despite the blast of horns, and then we were bouncing over the embankment and down onto a road below. Hatch and Dirk put hands on me to hold me in place, even though we had safety belts.
The vibration from the engine increased as the electric gave way to the petrol, and it shot up the speed. I twisted in the seat, but Hatch damn near snarled at me, “They are right behind us. Sit back and keep forward. If we hit anything at this speed, I don’t want you risking your neck.”
“Well then I suggest we don’t hit anything.” Adrenaline flooded my system, chasing away the earlier melancholy.
“Good tip,” Hatch retorted, but there was a sparkle in his eyes. Despite the tension in the situation, a sense of elation flooded through me. A joy. An…excitement?
That wasn’t me. A distant crack of sound pulled my attention. A second followed it. Then a third. A spiderweb of impact damage began to spread over the side windows of the car.
“They’ll hold,” Campbell said. “We’ve got intercept on the way.”
An explosion rocked us sideways, and our driver must be a gift because he turned with it and then straightened us out, like we hadn’t just been hit by a firebomb.
Were they trying to kill us?
“Two minutes out,” Campbell said over his shoulder, one hand gripping the handle above his head while we bounced over the green and onto another road that sent us flying into oncoming traffic. Granted, the roadway hadn’t been packed, but my heart was in my throat as cars scattered to get out of our way. I desperately wanted to check behind us, but an impact against the rear right wheel jolted us.
More scattered popping sounds, and the spiderwebbing pattern on the windows spread.
“Head down,” Dirk ordered with a hand over my head, pushing me to bend in half, and Hatch folded over me, crowding me toward the floor boards, even as the safety belt dug into my chest and kept trying to lock with every jolt.
Glass shattered.
And the popping noise grew louder. But I couldn’t focus on that when the explosion of Dirk’s gun went off over our heads. Hatch’s hands came over my ears, and I clenched my teeth as the vehicle bounced again. Metal screamed on metal as the gun barked over and over. My ears began to ring from the sound of it, and then another explosion boomed.
The car jerked sideways, and gravity seemed to suspend along with all sound, and then we were rolling. Metal crunched.
Glass shattered.
Hatch’s arms tightened on me, and the sudden swell of heat robbed me of breath. It seemed to go on forever.
The sudden jarring stop rocked us. Hatch groaned. The heat was still intense. There was another popping noise. But it sounded so far away. Almost muffled. Blood rushed to my head, and Hatch pulled away. No, not pulled—he fell away. The world was upside down.
Metallic copper flooded my mouth. The safety belt I dangled from gave way abruptly, and instead of hitting the ceiling of the vehicle, Dirk’s arms closed around me. Blood poured from a gash down the middle of his face, but he had one arm around me and his hand on a weapon. I searched around us… There was Hatch.
He gave me a bloody grin, then reached for me. Dirk handed me off and then spun, planting both feet against what glass still remained in the window. There were jagged rips along his arms and shoulders, all oozing blood. Then Dirk wiggled out through the opening. I started to follow, but Hatch’s arms tightened around me.
When I swung my head to look at him, his mouth moved but no sound was registering. I shook my head at him. His eyes narrowed as a frown tightened his forehead. There was blood spattering his face and on one arm, but I didn’t see injuries. He cupped my face and then slid his hand to my head, and I winced at the bite of pain. Blood coated his hand when he pulled it back.
That wasn’t good.
Dizziness swept me, but I refused to give into it. I wanted to go after Dirk. But I couldn’t hear anything. Just this distant popping sound and an aggravating humming noise. The explosion or the gunfire had possibly damaged my ear drums. In most cases, the hearing returned in time. Twisting against Hatch, I looked toward the window Dirk vanished through and stared into the lifeless eyes of Campbell.
The emptiness in them, the way he hung there and the blood pooling beneath him told me everything I needed to know. Grief clenched my heart. He’d been a good man. He’d taken care of me, and I barely knew him.
All of Dirk’s men had protected me. The driver was dead, too. Dampness streaked down my face, and I couldn’t get the taste of blood out of my mouth.
A familiar, dark hand thrust through the opening, and Hatch urged me forward. I gripped Oz’s hand and let him help pull me out into a war zone.
Dark smoke plumed up from plundered and destroyed vehicles. Two more cars lay not far from our own, one burning away, the interior gutted. Heat rolled over me from the burning vehicle. There were bodies.
More than just in the car. Four men lay at awkward angles between us and the roadway where another car waited, doors open but no one inside. Oz pulled me to him, and I clung when my first steps had my legs wobbling. Focusing was getting harder.
I might have a concussion.
This was not the time for that. I forced myself to squint.
Dirk was coming toward us like some kind of vengeful angel, and he had new weapons in his hands. There were men circling us, but they weren’t hostile. They were our people, right?
The intercept was on the way.
Hatch was on his feet, and his arm curled around me to pull me back behind him, even as the first buffet of wind hit.
The helicopter angled toward us, deadly near. A streak of white exploded from behind us, and I slammed into the ground where the rocks bit into my cheek as a concussive force threatened to crush me.