Page 46 of Tracing Her Stolen Identity
Doing what she asked was easier said than done, but he finally managed to shift himself into the space between Sky’s head and the back of the driver’s seat. “Come on, angel. Wake up.” He heard an ambulance in the distance, and a little of the tension in his belly was released. As if on command, her eyes fluttered open, and she gazed into his with a blank stare for several seconds.
After she blinked twice, she gasped. “Land.”
“It’s okay, Skylar,” Selina said, holding her shoulder so she didn’t try to move. “The ambulance is on its way, and they’ll take you to the hospital to assess you. Does your neck hurt?”
“No,” Skylar said, staring at him with big, round blue eyes. “My neck is fine. I swear the guy who pulled me into the van sounded just like Miles, but he’s dead!”
“He’s not,” Reece said quickly. “His identification was planted on the body, but it wasn’t him. We got him. He’s cuffed and waiting for the cops.”
Sky moaned when Selina pressed on her side. “Something hurts, but I can’t tell you what.” Selina lifted her hands off her body. “There were two guys. Miles was the one who tossed me inside, but there was a driver. The driver never spoke.”
“I’m going to get the EMTs,” Selina said, ducking out of the van and leaving Reece to hold Sky steady.
“How did the van crash?” he asked, holding her gaze. He couldn’t help but notice her eyes were displaying signs of a concussion.
“I couldn’t let them take me, Land. I was afraid if they got too far away, you’d never find me alive. Miles left me on the floor, thinking I couldn’t move, and got in the front seat. I pulled myself forward with my arms and grabbed the wheel. We weren’t going fast yet, so I thought it would be safe. I didn’t realize we’d roll the way we did. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t listen when you told me not to trust them. I should have trusted you.”
“Shh,” he soothed, kissing her forehead. “You’re okay. We’ve got Miles. As soon as you’re in the ambulance, I’ll tell Cal about the driver and then meet you at the hospital. Okay? Just stay calm.”
Shouting ensued as the EMTs arrived to transport her a few blocks to the hospital. Reece moved aside to give them room to work and pulled Cal aside.
“How’s Skylar?”
“She’s hurting, but she doesn’t know where. It’s probably her ribs, but she doesn’t have full innervation, so that’s making it easier for her to tolerate the pain. She was able to wrestle the wheel from them and crash the van, but the driver somehow got away before I got there.”
“That girl has moxie,” Cal said with a grin. “Do you think it was Camille?”
“She’s the only player left in the game,” he agreed. “I have to go to the hospital with her. She’s a sitting duck if Camille shows up.”
“Go. Don’t let Skylar out of your sight. I’ll update you about Camille once Miles squeals on his partner.”
“If he squeals on her.”
“He will,” Cal assured him with a wink.
Motioning behind him, Reece sighed. “I hate to leave you with this mess to sort out.”
“Go,” he said, pointing to the ambulance with his robotic finger. You didn’t argue with Cal when he gave a direct order with that finger. “This is child’s play compared to the messes I’ve cleaned up over the last few years. I’ll send some guys to the hospital once I can spare them. Keep me updated on your location.”
“You got it, boss.” He saluted and took off for the van, where they were pulling out the woman he loved on a backboard. He wanted to crumple at the memory of the same scene repeating itself from fourteen years ago, and he tripped, putting his arms out to break his fall when a strong hand grabbed him instead.
“Head in the game, Riker,” Cal whispered. “She needs you to keep her calm and be her advocate right now. It’ll be hard, but you can fall apart later. Push everything else aside and concentrate on the second chance you’ve been given.”
He took a deep breath in and exhaled on four. “Thanks, Charlie.”
Cal slapped him on the back and returned to the team while he headed toward his second chance.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The machines beeped in alternating rhythms and reminded Skylar of all the days and nights she’d spent in the hospital over the years. Today, though, they reminded her that she was a survivor and had saved herself.
She’d been paralyzed with fear when he threw her against the side of the van, but terror had ripped through her when she recognized Miles’s voice. He was supposed to be dead, but there he was, taking her only God knew where, and she was the only person who could stop it. She’d used the momentum to slide forward on the cargo van floor toward the driver’s seat as they flew down the hill. She’d had one chance to push herself up and grab the wheel. It was a risk and she could have died, but she’d hadn’t known Reece was right behind her then, so she’d had no choice. Even lying in a hospital bed with broken ribs and a fractured pelvis, she didn’t regret it. She was alive because she took a chance.
If only she could find the same courage to take a chance with Land. Until a few moments ago, he hadn’t left her side since they’d pulled her from the van nearly six hours ago. He’d kept in contact with Cal and the team as they tried to find the driver, but so far, nothing. It didn’t help thatMiles wasn’t talking about the identity of his companion. Even when the cops read the list of charges against him, including first-degree murder, he’d refused to answer any of their questions. That was his right, but it wouldn’t end well for him. Then again, as far as she was concerned, that was fitting for a man like Miles Bradshaw.
Now that Land had stepped out of the room to take a call from Mina, she thought back to the first few moments in the van when she’d started to come around after the crash. He’d been begging her to wake up by telling her he loved her. He hadn’t said it since she opened her eyes, and she wondered if it had just been a ploy to get her to wake up. The thing was, it had sounded sincere to her concussed ears. He’d also looked sincere when she opened her eyes and gazed into his, filled with worry and fear. That emotion she could never name before was also there, and that was the moment she’d realized she could name it. Love. It was love. Somehow, she had to find the courage to open up her soul and say the words back. Let him know she’d heard him and felt the same way.
Skylar had accepted one thing on the short ambulance ride to the hospital with Land holding her hand the whole way. She wanted a chance with him—deserved a chance with him—and nothing else mattered.
