“I’ve got to take my jacket off.”
“Okay, be careful.”
She unhooked the belt and was sliding the jacket off when the car was jerked to the side.
She cried out, slamming against the front of the car.
“Shit, fuck!”
“What’s happening?”
“Get your seatbelt on. Someone’s tailing us.” He growled each word out as he pushed his foot hard on the accelerator. “Call Bear. I need backup.”
In the first jolt her phone was thrown to the floor. The second, she hit her head, and she couldn’t find her phone and there was no way she could reach it if she had her seatbelt on.
“Preacher, what do I do?”
He didn’t get to answer. They were hit hard, the car hitting a dirt patch and before either of them knew it, the car flipped over, and down the dirt embankment where the bushes and trees swallowed them up.
Their car kept on moving, and as it came to a step, Robin screamed as she was thrown through the windshield.
Pain rushed over her unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
They had been pushed off the road on purpose, but she didn’t have time to think about someone purposefully trying to kill them.
Pain in her abdomen was so acute, she saw black.
****
Dazed from the impact, Preacher came to, trying to clear his senses. His vision blurred, but he heard the whimper.
“Robin!” She wasn’t in the car with him. The windshield was completely smashed, but he saw something moving outside.
He opened his seatbelt.
A tree had stopped their descent further down the hill.
Another scream captured his attention, and he rushed toward the sound. It was dark, but he knew they’d been forced off the road, and he had to get to her to be quiet. He waited for a whimper and then he was there.
She was rolled over, holding her stomach.
“Robin, I’m here,” he said.
“It hurts. Something’s not right.” She tilted her head to the sky, breathing in deeply like he’d seen her do, copying the birthing videos.
Rain poured all around them, and he looked around only to stop when he heard voices.
“Did you see them?” someone said.
“There’s no way they survived that.”
He moved behind Robin, covering her mouth, and taking hold of her hand. “You are not allowed to make a fucking sound. I know it hurts, but they are still out there and they are going to hurt us if we let them. You can’t let them find us.”
She nodded her head, but tears fell from her eyes, dropping down his hands.
He didn’t let her go, but it broke his heart to see her like this. He held her still, keeping her cries locked in her mouth as he held her tightly, not letting her give into the pain he could only just imagine she was going through.
“No, they didn’t survive this. I can’t see for shit. We’ll come back in the morning. It’s done. Let O’Klaren know it has been taken care of.”
Rage filled every single part of Preacher.
O’Klaren had ordered this, which had to mean he was getting desperate or he was just plain fucking stupid. None of this made any sense. O’Klaren was out of control.
He expected a hit on him but not with Robin in the car. How fucking dare he put her in danger? He figured O’Klaren would be on his best behavior, especially with learning how messed-up the asshole was and this being a small town. No matter what O’Klaren thought about taking the big chief desk, he had to keep it clean. Mistakes were much easier to spot in a small town. Now, O’Klaren had taken this to the next fucking level, and Preacher was pissed he’d underestimated his enemy.
He listened for the unmistakable sound of a car engine, and then he let her go.
Robin’s scream filled the air, echoing around him, breaking his heart.
“I’m … I … I think I’m losing the baby, Preacher,” she said.
He knew she was. She’d hit the front of the car. The impact alone was going to hurt her and the baby, but he’d also seen the glass protruding from her stomach.
The baby was lost to the both of them, but her body, it was trying to expel their baby.
She sobbed and cried. “No, no, I don’t want this, Preacher. Please, help me.”
“I don’t have my phone, baby. I need to go and get my phone.” He went to move, but she grabbed his hand.
“Please, don’t leave me. Please.” She sobbed out each word. “I don’t … I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this.” She screamed, and he heard the pain in her voice.
He had to get help.
They were surrounded by rain and dirt. This wasn’t going to go away. They were in danger. The tree branch could snap and the car would take them out without too much trouble. They were in such a fucking state. He looked around him, hoping to find something to help him deal with what the fuck was going on, but there was nothing.