Page 116 of Strangers She Knows

“Really? I got the truck running? It was fixed?” Max laughed. He laughed! “I fixed the F-100.”

She smiled at him. He was so cute. “You did. Congratulations.”

He stopped laughing. “And you blew it up.”

Oops.“Yes. I was hoping you wouldn’t give me any trouble about that.”

“I won’t.” He waited a beat. “Not right now.”

Kellen looked around at the sky, so blue the storm might have been their imagination, at the wide green oaks, the damp grasses already regaining their green—and the smoldering trail of ruin where the truck had driven. “Someone shot Mara. From the helicopter.”

“I shot at the truck, trying to kill her, or ignite the gas tank. That wasn’t what took her out. It was you.”

“You, too. You hit her. In the face. You got her. I saw.”

“If you insist on giving me credit, okay, I helped. But you made sure she wouldn’t go back to prison and pull another amazing escape.”

“All right, then. All right.” Kellen leaned back on the grass. “Rae’s safe. Really now. Forever and ever.”

“We would have protected her from Mara, no matter what.”

“No.” The adrenaline rush was fading. “Mara said… Mara said Rae was her best friend. She would have come after her forever.”

Max grew pale.

“It’s okay now.” She leaned against him, wanting comfort, giving comfort. “Is my hair all burned off? Is it?” She lifted her hands to feel her head. This was a small thing, and stupid, but no hair? Again? “The scars from my surgery will show again. I’m so tired of not having hair.”

No answer.

She looked at him.

He was staring at her left hand, at her poor, tortured hand.

Hastily, she lowered it.

Gently, Max took it between both of his and examined it.

Stars swam as she stared at the wound, puckered red and oozing.

In a low, furious voice, Max asked, “What happened?”

“What you said would happen. Mara didn’t fight fair.” All the pains grabbed Kellen at once. She winced and moaned.

“Your arm. Your back. Blisters are coming up now. We’ve got to get you to a hospital.” Max wrapped his arm around Kellen’s waist, and lifted her to her feet. He started her toward the helicopter.

“No.” Her knees collapsed.

He held her, kept her from hitting the ground.

“Not yet. I have to go to the house. I have to tell her…” The world spun.

He picked Kellen up and ran with her to the Coast Guard helicopter. “Stay with me. Hang in there.”

“Not the helicopter. We’ve got to go back to the house and tell her…” Pain took Kellen’s breath away.

The helicopter had come prepped for medical emergencies.

As gently as he could, Max placed her on the stretcher the Coastie had pulled out.

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