Page 119 of Treacherous

Without thinking I grabbed Noah's shoulders and forced his head down, causing him to lose control of the car just as the deafening sound of a gun shooting off floated over our heads.

There was no sign of JD or his bike…all I could see was the rocky mountain wall we were heading straight for.

"Jesus Christ," I heard Noah hiss as he made a frantic grab for the wheel, but we were swerving out of control. "Teagan, I can't….hold on, baby." Noah's upper body was suddenly covering my face and I clenched my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact we were sure to feel.

When it came the pain that ricocheted through my body was like nothing I'd ever felt before and then there was darkness. Darkness and the overwhelming smell of gasoline.

"Noah, are you okay?" My head was thumping so hard it felt like a stampede of elephants had participated in a game of chicken limbo on my skull and the fat one lost…"Noah?" I croaked out as I twisted my body around to face him.

A rush of raw unadulterated fear shot through me when I saw him. His face was covered in blood, he was twisted at an obscure angle and his eyes were closed, but…his chest was moving.Oh thank god…

I tried to unfasten my seatbelt and get to Noah but like some twisted case of Déjà vu the belt wouldn’t budge.

And that's when the panic truly set in.

"No," I cried as I pulled at the clasp. "Dammit, no."

The darkness…

The smell of the fumes…

The fire blinding me...wait, what?

"Noah," I screamed when the first pillow of smoke and flames erupted in front of my eyes. "Wake up." I frantically tried to free myself and then Noah but the stupid belts were jammed. "Noah, I love you," I sobbed in case I didn’t get another chance.

"Don’t panic, Thorn," I heard Noah say. His tone was commanding and in that moment I couldn’t have been more relived. Opening his eyes slowly, he turned his face to look at me. "I fucked my car, baby."

"We're stuck inside a car that's on fire and you're worried about your car?" A wave of hysteria flooded through me and I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. "You're unbelievable."

"You really wanna pick a fight?" Noah husked as he leaned forward and grabbed a pocketknife out of his glove compartment. "Really, Thorn?"

"Okay, good point." I closed my eyes and tried to stay calm. I could feel Noah pulling at my seat-belt, sawing through the straps, trying to free me from the carnage.

Tears slipped from my eyes, trailing down my cheeks, mixing with smoke and dried blood. "I don’t blame you," I added quietly. Noah's hand stilled briefly before starting up again. "For winning the fight," I explained. "I…I'm glad."

"I don’t want to think about the fight, Teagan," Noah said quietly. "I need to focus on getting you out of here."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. It needed to be said. "This is my fault."

"No," he shook his head. His fingers worked frantically as he cut through the harness. "This is all on me, baby."

"I shouldn’t have come here… I forced you into leaving with me…"

"Teagan, look at me.Lookat me." Noah's eyes were red and pained. "This isnotyour fault. Do you understand me? This ismyfault, baby, and you're not going down for it."

The sound of sirens blasted through my ears and panic tore through me. Noah hissed out a sharp breath. "The second this belt cracks, I want you to get out of this car and run." He caught my chin between his fingers. "Donotstop running. Donotwait for me."

He kissed me hard and I felt the belt give way.

"Do it," he hissed. "Run."

****

Chapter 24

Logan

Deep down inside of me I'd always known this would all end in a ball of flames.

---