Page 118 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“Serenity? Are you okay?”

“I think so.” She coughed. “I might need help getting out, though. It’s pretty cramped back here.”

“Yeah… we’re cramped up here, too.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be okay. It’s going to take a few minutes to get help, but we’ll all walk out of here.”

I licked my lips. “How do you know that?”

“Brandon’s back here. I… saw it when I got in and touched him. He’s kind of… pinned beneath me.”

“Shit.” Imagining her lying on top of that bastard curdled my stomach. I found the door handle and pushed against the door. It opened but hardly budged. I kept working at it, grateful that some light came in through the windshield, proving that we weren’t completely buried. Shouting sounded from outside, and my heart jumped.

“Stone! Ricky? Where are you?”

“We’re here.” I yelled. “We’re okay, but we need help getting out.”

Slater stepped into view. “I see you. Give me a minute.” He began clearing a space to the door, but it was slow going. He finally got the rubble cleared away from my side of the door, and I shoved it open enough to slither out.

As I stood, I took in the rest of the car, finding the whole back end totally smashed, the rear window gone, and thecar roof dented inward. The damage ended abruptly at the back door, and I quickly cleared the debris away and wrenched it open. “Sen?”

She lay on the floor, level with the seat, her legs and feet close to the door. “I’m going to have to pull you out.”

She rose onto her elbows, and a sharp yelp came from Brandon beneath her. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Crouching, I tugged her toward me, my hand coming to a blood-soaked bandage around her thigh. “You’re hurt.” I pulled her close enough that I could wrap my arm around her waist and finish pulling her out.

As she gained her freedom, her arms snaked around my neck, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. I rose, gently gathering her in my arms to carry her away from the car.

“What happened to your leg?”

“Aubree shot me. But it’s not bad. Just a nick.”

From all the blood, it looked a lot worse than that.

“Hey… don’t leave me here!” Brandon’s voice was muffled. “Help! I can’t move.”

Serenity met my gaze. “Oh… Brandon’s still tied up, so he can’t get out.”

I arched a brow. “Too bad for him, but I’m not lifting a finger for that bastard.”

Her lips twisted. “I get it, but we can’t leave him there.”

“Yes we can. Someone else will have to do it.”

She let out a sigh and dropped her face against my neck. “You made it. I wasn’t sure, for a minute there… you got shot… right in the chest. Thank God you had on a vest.”

Out of the blast zone, I set her down before claiming her lips. It had scared me, too, and relief spread over me in a powerful wave. Relief and something deeper I hadn’t expected to feel… love. I loved her. Ithad happened so fast, it was hard to believe. But I’d never felt this way. Not for anyone else in all my life. “Sen… I think I… I…”

I closed my eyes. Why was it so hard to say the words? My mom and I used to say them to each other all the time, but it had been so long. I wasn’t sure I knew how to say them anymore. Opening my eyes, I met her gaze, finding tenderness in the blue depths of her soul. Her smile broke my heart wide open. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. I was so scared I’d never get to tell you.”

My lips twisted into a lop-sided grin, and I kissed her again and again. Our world narrowed down to just the two of us, and I couldn’t get enough of her.

“Uh… you guys? Sorry to interrupt, but the police are on their way.”

The sound of sirens pulled me back to reality, and I reluctantly ended the kiss, but kept her firmly in my arms. Slater stood in front of his car, with Ricky and Brandon already inside.

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