Page 120 of Valentino

The car snaps sideways. My shoulder slams into the seatbelt hard enough to knock the air out of me. Then the sound catches up. Metal folding into metal. Glass breaking. Tires screaming against pavement.

The window goes white.

Airbag. Glass. Light. I don't know.

The car spins.

The seatbelt cuts into me. My hands grab at nothing. Luca's arm locks across the steering wheel. The street flashes once through the windshield, disappears, then flashes again.

Something hits the side of my head.

White.

Black.

When I open my eyes, the car is upside down.

My hair hangs in my face. The seatbelt bites into my shoulder and collarbone, holding me against the seat. My ears ring so hard everything else sounds far away. Something warm slides down my temple.

I touch it.

Blood.

"Amanda."

Luca's voice.

"Amanda. Answer me."

I turn my head. Pain flashes behind my eyes.

He hangs upside down too, one arm braced against the roof. Blood runs from his hairline into his eyebrow, into one eye. He blinks through it and keeps looking at me.

"Luca."

"Can you move your legs?"

I try. My right knee hits the dash. My left foot moves inside my shoe. "Yes. I think so."

"Good. Leave the belt on."

"What happened?"

"Hands on the roof. Brace there first."

"Luca, your head⁠—"

"Now."

I press both palms against the roof. Petrol burns in my nose. Smoke under that. Hot plastic.

Luca reaches inside his jacket.

I know what sits there.

"When I tell you, release the belt and come out my side," he says. "Not yours. Mine. Stay low. Crawl."

"Okay."