Page 54 of Walking in Darkness

“Hudson?”

“I’m okay too. I’m calling 911,” Hudson said from the back seat.

“Oh shit,oh shit, we’re about to be hit—”

Connie glanced into the rearview mirror. Bearing down on them was a pickup truck. “Hold on!”

He barely got the words out of his mouth before the truck rear-ended them. There was a sickening crunch of metal as the impact drove their SUV forward a few feet. They must’ve also tried to get off the interstate but couldn’t get stopped before they hit them.

Kit’s airbag deployed, as did Connie’s.

“Son of a—” Kit yelped.

“Fuck, are you okay?” Connie asked.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Connie checked the rearview mirror. Hudson appeared to be fine, but he was frantically hunting for his phone now. He could hear him muttering under his breath about how he had dropped it.

“Are you okay?” Connie asked Hudson. He could see Hudson but also see the several wrecked cars behind them.

“I am. You?”

Connie rolled his shoulders. “I’m okay.”

“Kit?” Hudson asked.

“Yeah. I—oh fuck!”

Connie watched as several more vehicles darted onto the shoulder, trying to get out of the way of the other drivers. As he watched, a pickup truck went airborne.

“Dragon gods,” Connie whispered. What the hell had happened in front of them to cause such a chain reaction?

Connie dragged his gaze away from the catastrophe when he heard Kit groan. “Kit? Are yousureyou’re okay?”

“I’m fine. I just bounced my face off the airbag.” Kit gently rubbed his nose.

Connie quickly assessed his mate. There was no blood, at least, but Kit’s heart was rabbiting. Hudson’s was a little elevated too, but that was probably more from his other mate being aggravated.

“Found it!” Hudson exclaimed, sitting up with his phone. “Connie, I’m going to call 911. You contact Torres and Nelson. Tell them what’s happened and to get here, and to get as close as possible. I don’t like this.”

“What?” Kit asked, turning around. “What do you mean?”

Since Hudson was talking to 911, Connie answered. “If this was arranged, we’re at a disadvantage.”

“Wait. Arranged? What are you saying? Are you implying somebody deliberately caused this wreck? Just to involve us? Why?”

Connie was fiercely tapping on his phone. “Sure. Why not?”

“But what’d be the point? We’re surrounded by humans. If you’re suggesting Lennox did this, there are witnesses everywhere.” Kit waved at the numerous wrecked vehicles around them.

“And it’s complete chaos. People are hurt, there’s smoke coming from several vehicles, and it’s going to be a clusterfuck just trying to get ambulances and fire engines in here,” Connie said. “Like I said, complete chaos.”

“God.”

“There’s no telling how far up the interstate this went.” Connie finished texting. “Or how far behind us. We’re stuck here.”

Connie glanced in the rearview mirror again. At least it looked as if people had figured out something was happening and slowed the hell down. As best as he could tell, it didn’t appear as if more cars were wrecking. Then he glanced out the driver-side window.

---