“Laura?”
No response.
“Myers?”
Silence.
Luc fumbled to release his seat belt. The clip had become shoved down into the seat and it took him several minutes to undo the clasp. The quietness of the scene made his heart skip a beat. Priscilla. In the milieu of coordinated attacks on the SUVs, he’d lost sight of Priscilla’s SUV. He had to find her, but he couldn’t leave Laura and Myers without checking them first. Lord, please be with Priscilla, let her be okay. Get her the help she needs.
He moved closer to Laura and placed his fingertips on her neck. A faint but steady heartbeat pulsed. Luc tried to assess her injuries, but his first-aid training had been years ago, and in his fuzzy state of mind, he couldn’t dredge up what he was supposed to do first. He couldn’t see any obvious injuries, but she might have internal bleeding. What did you do for shock? Keep them warm. He shrugged off the hoodie jacket he wore and draped it over her still form.
A siren wailed in the distance.
“Hey, buddy.”
Luc glanced over his shoulder, his hands shaking from delayed shock himself.
A bearded man with a shaved head stood beside the vehicle. “I called 911 after seeing what those trucks did to the SUVs. Medical help’s on the way. You okay?”
“I think so, but she’s unconscious. I can’t see the driver clearly. I don’t know about him.”
“You stay put, and I’ll see if I can get to the driver through the front passenger door.” The burly man wrestled with the door for a few moments before it gave with a screech that set Luc’s teeth on edge. The SUV shifted as the man added his weight to the vehicle.
Lord, please be with Priscilla, Luc prayed again as the man in the front punched down the airbag in front of Myers.
“What’s his name?” The Good Samaritan whipped out a bandanna.
“Myers. He’s a US marshal.” From Luc’s position near Laura, Luc could see only the back of Myers and the man beside him.
“Marshal?” the man called, his voice loud and insistent. “Can you hear me?”
Beside him, Laura stirred. Luc directed his attention to her face as her eyes fluttered open. “Laura, it’s Luc. Try not to move until we can assess your injuries.”
In the front of the vehicle, the man again tried to rouse Myers.
Laura blinked as if trying to focus her vision. “What happened?”
“A pickup truck rammed us into the dumpster.” Luc kept his attention focused on Laura. “How’s your head?”
Laura grimaced. “Hurts.” She moved her arms cautiously.
“What about your limbs? Are your legs okay?” Luc kept his focus on Laura’s pale face as she slowly touched her legs.
“I feel like someone walloped me hard, but I don’t think anything’s broken.” Laura’s eyelids flickered down, but she managed to open them wide again. “What about Myers?”
“He’s unconscious but breathing,” the man in the front seat replied. “His pulse appears steady.”
The sirens suddenly sounded much louder, and through the shattered back window of the SUV, Luc counted three fire trucks and two ambulances racing into the parking lot, followed by a couple of sheriff cruisers. “Help’s here.”
Laura groaned. “Is Steven okay? Priscilla?”
“I can’t see the other vehicles, but I’ll check as soon as someone comes to take care of you.” Luc ached to find Priscilla, to see if she was okay. His stomach twisted into knots at not knowing what had happened to her. The attack had been coordinated, which meant that someone, probably Culvert, had a plan beyond disabling the SUVs.
Three firefighters ran up to their vehicle.
The man in the front seat quickly moved out of the way and one of the firefighters took his place beside Myers.
“Sir, are you okay?” a firewoman called from outside the vehicle.
“I think so,” Luc said as two other firefighters used a crowbar to open the back passenger-side door.
The firewoman leaned in to assess Luc, reaching for his pulse. “Good and steady.”
“I’m fine, but she was unconscious.” He pointed to Laura.
The firefighter reached across Luc to take Laura’s pulse. Then she turned to speak to the third firefighter. Returning her attention to Luc, she said, “We’re going to get a collar around you and get you onto a board.”