Page 9 of Burning Truth

“Okay, thank you. There was one guy we blocked.” She gave him the name. “But this guy showed up the next day. We assume it’s the same guy.”

Severn nodded, looking thoughtful as he glanced out through the windows. “I know this is awkward, but try to act normal. You won’t see me unless I feel there’s a need, so just do what you normally do, okay?”

She nodded, her tummy going tight with anxiety. There was so much crap going on, she was going to need a vacation when this was all said and done.

Severn surveyedthe scene of the crash, and he knew they were going to be there a while. It was late afternoon, just past rushhour, and a slew of cars were involved. At the front of the crash, it looked like there’d been a three-car fender bender on the exit-ramp. A semi had plowed into the trio, shoving them off the exit ramp and into the cars in front. One car was hanging precariously off a concrete guardrail, and he could hear a woman screaming inside.

Despite himself, his heart picked up speed at the thought of being part of the rescue. It was what he had done for years before he joined EOD. There were already cops and firetrucks on scene, though, and he had to curb the impulse to jump in.

Addie Kingston had to be his focus. Shewashis focus. Maybe a little too much. His gaze was drawn to her constantly.

She had positioned herself at the side of the highway, away from traffic, with the crash scene and rescue going on in the background of her shot. It was perfect. There was a lot of action as firefighters ran around the vehicle. Even as he watched, one of the helmeted men pulled a baby out of the back seat and ran with it to an ambulance. Footage gold.

And Addie looked perfect in the waning evening light in her pinkish-purple dress. Yes, Jake had positioned a light on her, but the setting rays of the sun highlighted her thick black curls blowing in the breeze, and made her green eyes shine like dark emeralds, the pupils tiny. She’d done a thick line of black on her top lid, with a little wing at the edges. It seemed a little edgy for the nightly news, but it seemed to work for her. The readership seemed to appreciate her humanity and realness. Even as he watched, a smile crossed her dark plum lips as she caught sight of the child being rescued.

Even from through the screen, it was very clear that she cared about people. It was there in the shine of her eyes and the softening of her face, and he understood why she had people invested in what she did and reported on. He also understood why she had a dangerous stalker.

Severn didn’t like the way she affected him, though. Yes, she had a fantastic voice that calmed him, but there was also something about her demeanor that made him want to lean in to hear more. The way she moved, and the hint of insecurity in her expression fascinated him as she looked at the scene.

Severn panned around, looking at the crowd that had gathered. People had their cell phones out and were filming, but just as many of them were recording Addie Kingston as the multi-vehicle wreck.

More and more official vehicles arrived to document the scene and take away the injured, and it was getting crowded as hell. Addie had wrapped up her segment and was now talking to an eyewitness. She was nodding as the man spoke, and she asked intelligent questions that led him into telling her the story of what happened.

It was as one of the ambulances were merging into traffic that everything went to hell.

Somebody must have been jammingto the radio or texting on their phone as they approached the accident scene. They weren’t paying attention. One minute everything was going well, and the next there was a cacophony of squealing tires and smashing metal. Without conscious thought, Severn lunged toward Addie. She was too close to the edge of the interstate, which she had her back to. Jake had wanted to get a shot of the backed-up traffic. Instead, he was going to get the secondary crash that happened as they were cleaning up the first. Assuming he didn’t get hit as well.

Severn didn’t even think as he wrapped Addie in his arms, lifted her and took a running leap toward the shoulder of theroad, away from the cacophony of sound moving closer. He took the brunt of the landing on his shoulder, his arms a cage around Addie, as they rolled down the slight bank. She cried out, but he was fairly certain he took the bulk of her weight on the landing. Jake obviously understood he’d been in mortal danger as well, because he landed beside Severn and Addie, cradling his camera, before he rolled slowly down the bank.

A black BMW spun past them wildly and crashed into the concrete guardrail directly behind the primary accident, sending first responders scrambling. There was a shower of glass and debris as the car disintegrated. For a timeless moment, there was silence as everyone caught their breath, then the cops and firefighters lunged in to help with the new scene.

Addie was cradled to his chest. He looked up into her wide, terrified eyes. Her mussed hair hung like a curtain around them. “Are you okay?”

She blinked and pushed herself up, using his chest to balance. “I think so,” she whispered.

Despite the situation, and the pain filtering through his body, Severn was very aware of the way she was laying against him. It had been a long time since he’d had any fun, and Addie was curvy in all the right places. And she smelled amazing. She seemed to realize their position at the same time, and her pale skin flushed. Again, she tried to scramble off him, but she ended up putting their lower bodies in more intimate contact. By the time she scrambled off him, a swirl of arousal had wound through him.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, reaching for his hand to pull him up.

Severn didn’t need the help, but he held her hand anyway as he pushed to his feet and looked her over. One of her pink heels was missing, as well as one long dangly earring. Her hair was mussed, and her pale skin flushed, but he didn’t think she’dbeen injured. “Don’t be sorry. I’m the one that grabbed you and yanked you off your feet. Do you have pain anywhere?”

She shook her head, glancing down at herself, then at the expanded crash scene. “Holy shit. You saved me. That car went right through where we were standing.”

Yeah, it had. And if it had hit them, it probably would have been a fatal crash.

Jake was moaning a few feet away. Addie rushed to him and leaned over.

The older man looked up at her. “Ron is going to kill me.”

The camera lay in his arms, and Severn could see that it was in several pieces. “Fuck the camera,” he growled. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Jake said, turning his arm to look at some road rash. “A little beat up, but not as beat up as when Ron gets a hold of me.”

“Oh, please,” Addie said, trying to brush dirt from her skirt. “We were about to die. There was nothing else we could do.” She turned to look at Severn. “Thank you,” she said simply.

He tipped his head to her. “All in a day’s work.”

Addie climbed the bank to the asphalt, a little lopsided. Aggravated, she ripped the other shoe off and stood barefoot, looking at the carnage. Jake had rallied and jogged past them to the news van, juggling the pieces of the camera. He returned seconds later, carrying a smaller version of the one that had just been broken.

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