Page 48 of Twilight Tactics

“It’s Elena Thompson. I’m on Highway 14 headed back to Broken Chains, and we’re being attacked by the drivers of two black trucks at the curve right before the turnoff tothe ranch.” She was proud of her calm voice even as she watched the gap in front and the one behind them close. The taste of copper filled her mouth. She’d bitten the inside of her cheek.

“Dispatching officers now. Can you describe the trucks?”

“Hold on, Elena!”

At Sully’s shout, Elena dropped the phone and grabbed the handle above the door. Sully accelerated and aimed the sedan at the space between the truck and the tree line. The space that really wasn’t space. He cranked the wheel hard to the right, trying to squeeze through. Elena held her breath. They would have made it if the pickup hadn’t swerved in an attempt to cut them off. Metal screeched against metal.

Then the sedan spun, tires squealing. They careened toward the edge of the road. Sully fought the wheel, and all Elena could do was brace for the second impact. Instead, they hit the edge of the shoulder and went airborne. Elena bit back a scream and shut her eyes.

She didn’t want to see it.

The impact when they hit the ground snapped the seat belt taut against her from shoulder to waist. She threw an arm up just as a loud pop split the interior. The airbag slammed into her left forearm and pain radiated up into her shoulder while the smell of acrid chemicals filled the car.

“Elena! Are you okay?” Sully’s voice came through the foggy air.

“Yes.” She gasped, choked, and reached for the door handle. Maybe. “Get out, Sully. They’re probably going to be coming.”

“I know. I think my door is jammed.”

“Come this way.” Elena shoved hers open and rolled out onto the slanted forest floor. The cold seeped into her jeans and every pore as the shakes set in. Pine needles and frozen leaves crunched beneath her hands, the earthy scent of the forest floor and clean air a blessed escape from the chemicalhaze inside the car. She pushed to her feet, then scanned what she could see of the road above.

They’d shot over the edge of the asphalt and somehow landed right side up between two trees.Thank you, Jesus.She took inventory. Her chest hurt, but she figured that was from the seat belt. Her right knee throbbed and her left wrist ached, but she didn’t think she had any broken bones.

Shadows moved above and voices reached her. They were coming down to find them. Elena turned to warn Sully and found him sliding across the console toward the passenger door, Ollie’s meds clutched in one hand, his weapon in the other. She took the bag of meds in her right hand and stepped back so he could join her. Then she reached into the vehicle and grabbed her phone and the small backpack she used as a purse. “You okay?” she asked.

“Banged up, but nothing’s broken.” His gaze held hers for a moment longer than necessary, his eyes dark with concern and something deeper she wasn’t ready to name.

“Same.” She flexed her left wrist with gentle movements, and while it ached, there wasn’t anything to indicate a fracture or worse. “Just a sprain.” And most likely a bruise.

“Your wrist?”

“Yeah. The airbag got it, but it’s okay. Let’s get out of here.” Her breath formed small clouds in the frigid air between them.

“We’re almost to the ranch. Maybe a mile or so.”

“It’ll be a cold hike, but we can make it. We don’t really have a choice. They’re coming.”

Voices reached them. “...grab ... girl ... him ... dead.”

Sirens sounded in the distance and the men above paused their descent, then scrambled back up to the road and disappeared. “Think they’ll leave?” she asked, moving closer to Sully, drawn to his warmth and strength.

“Probably.”

The sounds of fading engines confirmed that.Thank you, Lord.She looked at Sully. His jaw was clenched, a muscle twitching beneath the skin. Without thinking, she reached up and brushed her fingertips against the blood on his temple. “Let’s catch a ride in a cruiser. With the heat on.”

“I’m good with that if you can climb up there.” He caught her hand before she could pull it away. The warmth of his skin against her frozen fingers sent a flutter through her stomach that had nothing to do with their narrow escape. What in the world? She was losing it. They’d almost died and she was acting lovesick over a guy.

Or maybe she was just grateful to feel alive after escaping death. She was going to go with that because she was willing to admit she’d been terrified. Still was.

“I can.” She hoped she could anyway. Her knee was protesting the idea, though. She’d have to wrap it when she got back. And the wrist that had blocked the airbag from hitting her face. She tucked the bag of meds into her shirt. No sense in risking losing that precious item.

He took her right arm and together they made their way back up to the two-lane road. The wind bit through her clothing, carrying the sharp scent of pine and the distant smell of exhaust. Officers climbed from their cruisers, including Sheriff Donovan. “Sully! Elena! I heard the call on the radio. What happened?”

“You just missed the guys that ran us off the road.” He pointed. “That way.”

“Mark, Taylor, go after them.”

The deputies took off and the sheriff turned back to them. “You two need a hospital?”