Page 91 of Branded

I feel around her, trying to see if I can just unhook the seat belt and get her out, but the angle of everything and the state of the car itself makes it impossible.

“Isaac, we’ve got a lot of water coming down this hill. The rain is picking up. We gotta move it!” Graham warns me, as I reach down and pull the seat belt cutter from my belt.

“Get down. Get ready to pull her out!”

I yank the belt away from her skin and line the blade up with the material and try to yank the slice through in one motion, because doing it more than once becomes a game of Russian roulette. I know when I finally get her free; her entire body weight is going to shift. I have to be able to brace her on top of me to keep from jostling the car too much.

“Are you ready?” I ask out to Graham, and he confirms he is.

“I won’t let you die out here, baby… I promise,” I tell her, even though she can’t hear me, then I slice into the seat belt across her lap, cutting it into two pieces.

As expected, her body begins to slide down from the seat, but I grab her, as best I can, guiding her down until she’s lying on top of me.

Cradling the back of her head, I roll us to the side so I can help Graham get her out.

“Grab her legs!” I tell him, trying my best to protect her head and body because I just don’t know how extensive her injuries are.

“I’ve got her, I’ve got her!” he shouts back, as he begins to pull her free.

I don’t want to move, not even a little, until I can see she is completely out of harm’s way.

The moment her feet clear the window and Graham confirms she’s clear; I begin the slow process of extracting myself from the car with careful precision.

A crack of thunder sounds through the air and lightning flashes with the loudest snap I’ve ever heard in my life, just as my legs clear the window frame.

“Isaac! Look out!”

Snap.

Crash.

Chapter 25

Sawyer

Beep.

Turn it down.

Beep.

It’s so loud. My head is killing me.

Beep.

Wake up,babe.

That voice. It sounds so distant in my head. So far away it’s like it didn’t even happen, like I’m imagining it.

I swear I can feel him. Whenever he’s close by, my heart races and my skin heats, like they know he’s around... like they’re waiting for his touch or attention.

Beep.

I just want to talk to you.

There are muffled sounds, movement, whispers... a door.

I blink my eyes open, but close them just as quickly because the light over my head is so bright that it’s shocking.

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