Page 40

KIRA’S HEAD THUMPED a steady rhythm, and it took a second to gather her awareness. And note the pain in her legs along with the rain pouring down on her, saturating her.

She shoved at the dashboard, but it wouldn’t budge. Which explained why her legs hurt so much. And the windshield was gone. She stared out of the glassless front window and saw the crumpled front end. Oh, God . . . help?

Outside her passenger window was nothing but rock.

“This is not good,” she whispered. “How—?”

Bryce!

His father’s house and the journals.

The truck that shoved them off the road.

Bryce calling her name. But she hadn’t been able to get her mouth to work to respond.

“Bryce?” Her voice croaked.

And now he wasn’t answering. She closed her eyes to try and focus on anything but the pain pumping through her. Finally, she opened her eyes and surveyed the damage. The dashboard had crumpled around them, creating a cocoon of plastic, metal, and airbag remnants.

“Bryce! Talk to me!” She moved the airbag away from her face to see Bryce facing her, eyes closed, and a deep red trickle of blood coursing down his pale face. His eyes fluttered. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

But Bryce was barely conscious, and she couldn’t move her legs.

Maybe it was time she took up prayer. Because there was nothing she could do to help free them from this mess.

God, if you are real, if you can hear me—

“Kira!”

She stilled. “God?” she whispered into the darkness.

“Kira!”

Wait, was someone there?

“Help!” Her mouth tasted like she’d eaten a hundred cotton balls. Had the person heard her cry?

She turned her head and spotted a man next to the driver’s side of the car. He seemed familiar, but it didn’t matter. She had to get Bryce out of the car, and this guy could help.

But when the man stuck his head through Bryce’s paneless window, she gasped.

Ivan Sokolov.

Where had he come from?

Ivan pulled the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. He caught Kira’s eyes. “I called 911, and I’ll get you out of here.”

“How . . . why . . .” She had so many questions, but her brain refused to form words.

“Let’s just get you both to the hospital. I’ll explain later.”

Sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer, and soon two paramedics arrived and pulled Bryce out of the car. Had Ivan run them off the road only to rescue them? The fog in her brain lingered. But one thing was clear, she was still trapped.

“Kira, you okay?” Bryce groaned his question, and she let out a breath.

“Yeah, Bryce. I’m okay. And you are too.”

Voices echoed and two more paramedics arrived. A firefighter in full gear leaned through the empty window of the driver’s side door. “Hang on. We may need to cut you out of the car. Your side is crushed against the rocks.”