Page 16 of Emily's Escape

Then it stops.

Everyone sighs with relief.

“You’ll have to unbuckle your seatbelt,” I tell Kylie as I hold out my hand. “Try to use your legs to brace yourself, so you don’t fall. Then I want you to inch your way to me. Don’t rush. Nice and slow.”

Kylie looks at me solemnly. “You’ll hang on to me?”

“I will,” I tell her. “I promise.”

She has no reason to believe me. I’m just some random guy who showed up on what’s probably the worst day of her life. But she knows Emily trusts me, and I hope that’s enough.

It takes her close to a minute to get close enough for me to grab her hand.

Just as I’m wrapping my fingers around hers, the car lurches again.

A lightning-fast glimpse of Emily’s face shows she’s biting her lip so hard it’s bleeding.

Urgency has me saying, “Start moving, Em. I’m going to tie Kylie to me. By the time you’re close, I’ll be ready for you.”

“Tie me to you?” Kylie asks, her voice pitching up. “Does that mean you’re going to let mego?”

“I have to have my hands free for Emily,” I tell her. As I wrap the long end of the rope around Kylie’s waist, I add, “The rope is secure. You’re not going anywhere.”

Without waiting for her to respond, I quickly bind the two of us together, with Kylie tucked safely at my side. Her arms and legs come around me like a koala’s, and she buries her face into my shirt. If the situation were different, I’d take more time to reassure her. But right now, my focus needs to be on rescuing Em.

Em, who’s miraculously made it into the backseat without causing the car to move again.

Still. She’s not close enough. Not yet.

“You can do it,” I tell her. “You’ve got it, Em. You’re almost there.”

“I’m trying,” she replies. Her voice wobbles a little. “I don’t want to fall.”

“I know. Just a little further.”

It feels like an eternity, waiting for Emily to reach me.

I desperately want to lunge forward to snatch her out of the car. Screw caution. Just get her the fuck out of there. But logic stops me. It reminds me that such a move could be deadly, not just for Emily, but for all three of us.

So I wait. And wait.

Until finally?—

Her hand is inches from mine.

I stretch forward, willing the distance to close.

Almost there.

Almost.

And then I have her.

As soon as my hand is wrapped around hers, I lift her out of the car and clasp her one-armed to my chest. She’s trembling all over, and her breath comes in quick bursts against my neck.

“Derek,” she whispers. Her voice is scratchy from crying. “You came.”

Emotion surges, so overwhelming I can’t speak for a second. Instead, I just press my lips to the top of her head, comforting myself by the silken feel of her hair and its soft, vanilla scent. Then I reply roughly, “I’ll always come for you, Em.”