Page 95 of Noble Neighbor
“Do it, Kathleen McKenna! Now!” Savannah pressed the buttons on the door control and the windows rolled down. Rain and wind gushed in.
God.The bend was almost here.
“The car behind us is going too fast, and Mommy needs to go faster. If” —please, God, help me not to— “Mommy crashes the car, you must get you and Mary out of the car as fast as you can. If the door won’t open, crawl out the window. Okay?”
“Okay,” Kate whispered, a sob breaking through.
Savannah called her father on the Bluetooth. The vehicle behind touched her bumper again. Prepared for it, Savannah gripped the steering wheel and applied pressure to the brakes, absorbing the shock of the bump, effectively slowing both vehicles. Then she pressed the accelerator to the floor and pulled away.
“Hey darlin’.” Her father’s deep voice competed with the roaring wind.
She took the first bend, far too fast, but the Mercedes held steady under her white-knuckled grip. Both girls were crying; sweat was pouring down her face.
The truck behind fell away, but she knew he’d speed up again.
“Daddy! Being forced from the road. At Lorimer’s Folly. Send help.”
A beat of silence preceded his gasp. “On it. Keep the line open. Aleck! Call 911. Quick. Hold steady, Sunny-girl.”
“Trying, Daddy.No!He’s coming again!” Savannah felt the jolt, far harder than the first, but she held the Mercedes steady. She knew the road. Knew her car. Knew the bend, but dammit, the road was wet, and she was going too fast.
With the next impact, the back slid. She tightened her hold on the steering wheel.
But it was futile.
The Mercedes spun and left the road, ramming into the barrier with an almighty bang. The vehicle spun again. Then they were airborne.
“Mommy!”
“Hold on tight, Kate,” she cried.
The vehicle slammed down, every bone in her body jarring from the impact. Unbelievable pain assaulted the left side of her body as the Mercedes crunched to a stop.
Sounds mingled, fading in her befuddled mind. Her girls crying in the back seat. Slam of car doors. She opened her eyes, but a curtain of white stared her in the face. Black spots swam before her eyes.
“Mommy. Mommy. Wake up.”
A small hand prodded her shoulder, and she turned her neck, biting back a cry of pain. Blinking away the wet from her eyes, she saw Kate’s face, blurry, beautiful. Unhurt. “Take Mary,” Savannah gritted between clenched teeth. “Get out … the car.”
“It’s raining, Mommy. And there’s white stuff everywhere.”
She closed her eyes. Sore. So damned sore.
Then she heard the voices.
“We must help them.”
“No!”
“But … the children … flames.”
“Fucking bitch. Let them all burn.”
“Pa, we can’t— Sirens!”
“Cops! Let’s go!”
Doors slammed. Tires screeched.
