Page 17 of Summer Heatwave
A thousand thoughts ran through her mind.Is this person drunk?Where did the car come from?Why didn’t I see his car before?Have I totally lost my spatial awareness?What kind of car is it?Get the license plate number.Call this in.
She stood with her feet glued in place watching the large black Chevy Tahoe increase its speed.
She wanted to get a good look at the driver as he passed by.
Damn, he was close.
The overhead light reflected off the windshield so she couldn’t get a good look at the driver.She’d be sure to memorize his profile.
The vehicle was so close she could smell the gasoline fumes.
Something hit her and knocked her to the ground.
Kam could hardly breathe.
Something heavy was on top of her.
Had that fucking driver hit her?
She heard squealing tires but couldn’t see anything.Something was covering her head and face.
Suddenly, the streetlight above glared down at her.
The weight that had been holding her to the ground was gone.
But she still couldn’t breathe.
“Kam.Are you all right?”A warm hand touched her cheek then slid down to her neck pressing gently.“Kam.Talk to me.”
She sipped in air, inhaling a bit more with each attempt.
The fog in her brain started to clear and her eyes focused first on the large lot light straight above her head.
Then the light was gone again.
As she refocused, Mike’s face hovered above her.
“Kam.Say something.”
“Can’t.Breathe.”
“You just had the wind knocked out of you.I’m sorry I tackled you so hard, but you weren’t moving.That fucking truck was going to hit you.”He knelt beside her and helped her sit up.“Try to take deeper and deeper breaths.”
His calm voice helped smooth her ragged edges.She did as he instructed but when she was finally able to fill her lungs, they screamed in pain.Her ribs had only started to heal from the fight she had with the bouncer at the prostitution house.
“That’s good.”He swept away a few strands of hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear.“You’re doing great.”
A minute later, her head had cleared, and she was able to breathe with minimal pain.She rubbed her ribs, but the palms of her hands started to feel like they were brushing across sandpaper.She brought her hands in front of her face.They had scraped on the asphalt when she tried to catch herself from falling.Gently, she brushed off the tiny rocks.The scratches hurt but weren’t deep.
“What-the-fuck, Mike?”She refused to hold back the anger in her voice.“Why the hell did you tackle me?”
“Do you not remember the big Chevy that was coming for you?”His voice was calm and steady, but she could hear the concern.
Oh.Yeah.The truck.She jumped to her feet.“Did you get the license plate number?”
“Uhm.No.Nor did I see anyone because the fucking windows were tinted almost black.”He pulled her into his arms.“When I saw them heading straight for you, I reacted.”
He put his hand on the back of her neck and held it to his chest.“You weren’t moving.I had to get you out of their way.”
