Page 76 of Perfect Alpha

They need to be okay.

Nothing else matters.

Their silence is crushing me, and I can’t stand it.

I’m still screaming for them, but there’s no answer. Why the fuck isn’t anyone answering me?

I fumble for my cell phone, cursing when I drop it three times before I manage to dial 911, rambling incoherently about where we are and what just happened.

What the fuckdidhappen?

I get free from the seatbelt and lunge across the center console to take my baby sister’s limp shoulders in my hands. “Hannah!Hannah!”

She’s whimpering softly, eyes closed, and when she opens her mouth to say something, blood gurgles out.

This isreallybad.

The truck is warped and twisted after flipping multiple times and, fuck, it smells like something is burning. We need to get out.

But there’s a sharp piece of metal sticking into Hannah’s side. All the blood gushing from her tiny body with the perfect baby bump further constricts my chest as icy panic fills my veins.

I yank my jacket off and wrap it around the metal, trying to stem the blood flow, but the material is saturated in seconds.

“Aidan…” Hannah whispers weakly, her eyes trying and failing to focus on me.

Only now does it register that Aidan is screaming one blood-curdling scream after another. Decisions need to be made quickly, and I don’t have the mental or emotional capacity to handle any of them.

Fucking up means life or death – literally – and I can’t afford to guess wrong.

Oh, God.

Please take me and not either one of them.

Please, please, please.

Not sure if it’s the right move, but needing to dosomething, I get out of the truck and remove Aidan’s booster seat with him still sitting on it.

The smell of gasoline is so overwhelming that I retch. If the truck blows, this kid isn’t burning with it.

“Aidan. Aidan. Aidan!” I call his name until his tear-filled eyes look at me. “This is the most important thing I’ve ever asked you to do. Okay? You need to be the best big boy in the world and listen very closely. You need to stayright here. I’m going to get your mama, okay? Please don’t fucking move. Promise me.”

Aidan’s eyes are wide as saucers, but he nods his head while sucking on his thumb. I hope the shock combined with my urgency, tears, and swearing will be enough to scare him into keeping still.

I spare a second to kiss him and tell him I love him more than anything before running back to the truck as fast as my battered body can handle.

Fuck.

Fuck!

The gas tank is leaking, but there’s no smoke – yet.

I get back in the truck and take Hannah’s hand. More than anything, I want to pull her out to safety. But I can’t move her when I don’t know what’s broken, and I also don’t have any supplies to help her.

She’s bleeding so badly.

“Hannah. Please. Oh, God, Hannah.”

If the truck starts burning, I’ll risk getting her out, but until help arrives, I want her as immobile as possible. I can’t stop crying, my breath coming in frantic, painful gasps. I order myself to get under control so I don’t scare my sister or give her any indication of how bad it is.

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