Page 123 of The Heart We Guard

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But the timing couldn’t be worse.

Another slam.

More metal shrieking,

A curve in the road.

Heart-stopping speed.

Then, my head hits the side window as the truck tilts, weight shifting.

Gravity abandons us.

“No—”

We roll.

Once.

Twice.

Glass shatters around me, like the pieces of a kaleidoscope as the world turns.

The life I could have had with Butcher flashes before me. One where we make it work and are happy. A family. He’s still in his leather cut. Older. More handsome.

Until…

Silence.

I’m lodged upside down, my breath stuck somewhere between my lungs and my throat. Blood trickles down Ember’s temple. She’s trapped in the seat by her seatbelt and airbag, and her hands hang.

“Ember?” I croak. “Em?”

Everything hurts.

Everything smells like gasoline.

And somewhere, just beyond the reach of the ringing in my ears, I hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps crunching through dirt.

36

BUTCHER

Ihear the screaming before I see the source, but Quinn throws open the doors to church, like Aragorn entering the Golden Hall of King Théoden in that movie Ember watched over and over and over. I wonder what the fuck is going on until?—

“I—Smoke.Smoke!It’s Ember and Greer. They need help.”

I’m on my feet before anyone else can react.

Smoke’s second. And leaps across the table to get to his woman.

Then, the rest of the room explodes. Men run. To get arms. To get bikes.

I’d just been readying myself to tell them about my decision to step down, but all thoughts of that vanish.

“What happened?” we both ask at the same time, as Atom comes to stand next to me.

Quinn hands me the phone, then points down the road. “They’re being chased. Greer said someone tried to abduct her. I don’t know how she ended up getting away or why she’s with Ember. But they couldn’t get a hold of you. She says it’s Gauge.”

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