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“Hang on!” Ryker roars as he jerks the wheel.

But not far enough.

The truck slams into the front driver’s side of Ryker’s truck. Glass shatters, metal crunches, and everything switches to slow motion as the truck begins to flip.

My stomach somersaults.

A scream fills my ears, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s coming from me.

Pain explodes behind my eyes as my head slams into the window.

Airbags deploy, sending white powder all over my face.

The truck hits the ground, then rolls again and again.

It keeps going for what feels like forever until, finally, it settles.

There’s a moment where I’m sure it must be a nightmare…right?

But the pain.

My body radiates with it even through the adrenaline. Vision blurry, I search for my glasses only to find them tangled in my hair. With trembling hands, I put them up on my face.

“Ryker?” I choke out.

But there’s no sound.

I turn my head, but he’s not in the truck.

“Ryker!” I scream. Tears stream down my face. Please, God. Please let him be okay. Please don’t leave me here alone.

“I’m right here, Dahlia.”

He’s beside me, kneeling just outside my broken window. “I’m going to cut you out of the truck, okay? But to keep from falling, I need you to brace both hands on the roof. Can you do that?” He reaches inside and brushes glass from the roof, so I stretch my hands down.

My arms are jelly. “I don’t know if I can.”

“I only need you to hold yourself up for a second, and then I can get you out, okay?”

Tires screech to a halt, and a man yells.

Ryker’s gaze darkens. “Quick, okay?”

I nod and close my eyes, focusing all of my attention on keeping my body upright.

The seatbelt jerks then releases, and despite my best efforts, I fall. Ryker’s there, though, ripping me out and against his body.

I whimper, the pain so intense I can’t focus on anything else.

“Can you walk?” he asks, frantically running both hands down my legs, checking for broken bones.

“I don’t know.”

“I need you to try,” he says. “Get to the trees, and hide, okay?”

“Ryker—”

He grips both sides of my face and forces me to look at him. Blood trickles down his temple, but his eyes are focused. “I’m coming behind you. Get to the trees. Don’t come out for anyone but me, okay?”