Page 70 of Silent Threat
The sun dipped below the horizon.
Bam.
One hundred feet.
BAM!
Annie’s Prius flew off the road.
The car rolled. Her purse slammed into her temple a split second before the airbag slammed into her face. Then the side airbag slammed into her shoulder.
She was still screaming when suddenly everything stopped.
For a moment, she was too stunned and shocked to move. Then a whole new wave of panic hit.Oh God, the water.Was she in water? She scrambled to see.
Dark sky. A stand of trees up ahead. The car was right side up, having done a full roll. But she was still on solid ground. An overwhelming sense of gratitude filled her even as her heart still madly pounded.
She beat the airbags back and scanned the twilight as she sobbed for breath, desperate to see who was out there.
What did he want?
Would he come now to finish her?
Chapter Sixteen
ANNIE PEERED THROUGHthe windshield and caught movement by the road. Fear screamed,Get out! Run!
She turned off the engine with a shaky hand. The locks popped. Then common sense returned.Nonono.She grabbed to lock the doors again. She needed to just sit tight until the police came.
Phone.
She released the seat belt and swept around for her purse with her right hand, searching the passenger-side foot well.
The sharp knock on the driver’s-side window had her jerking forward so hard she smacked her head into the console. She turned, caught sight of a shadowy face, but then recognition hit before she could scream.
“Are you OK?” Pete the mailman shouted from the other side of the glass.
Breathe.
Annie straightened in her seat and pushed the door open. “I think so.”Breathe.“Did you see a dark SUV?”
“I saw taillights. Nothing else.”
As she moved to get out, Pete put a hand to her shoulder. “You might have injuries you don’t realize. Let me call an ambulance.”
“And the cops.” She lay back against her seat, every inch of her sore. “Ask for Harper Finnegan.”
Pete sat on the grass. “My knees are shaking. Sorry.” He dialed. “Are you sure you’re OK?”
Before Annie could answer, the other end picked up, and Pete reported the crash.
Annie closed her eyes, willing her heart into a normal, steady rhythm instead of weak, panicked flutters.It’s over. I’m safe.
She could move everything—she tested herself limb by limb. A few spots seriously hurt, but nothing was broken.
She raised her fingers to the place on her neck that burned, but she felt no wetness, no blood, thank God. She turned her head to look in the askew rearview mirror. With the door open, the dome light was on.
Just an abrasion.She flinched at her reflection, reached up, then dropped her hand. She was too far gone to fix. Her hair was a mess, wide-eyed shock on her face. She looked as if she’d been tumbled in a dryer.
