Page 24 of In Hiding

Fuck.

Laying twisted on her back and side, her left leg was caught in a tree. Or rather, on it. A snapped branch, an inch or so in diameter poked through the meat of her thigh, effectively catching her, and stopping her from flying off into the abyss. But the relief was short-lived, not when one considered the blood pumping out of the wound.

Jake skidded to his knees beside her, unzipping his jacket and laying it over her shivering body. The ghostly white skin and closed eyes scared the life out of him, but she jerked awake when he touched her cheek. Blue tinged her lips while confusion clouded her eyes.

“It’s me, Jake. Stay with me, Sarah.”

Her mouth moved but no sound came out. He turned to look around them, finding Will looking more like a lost child than a teen. “Will, grab a saw.”

The kid blinked. “Huh?”

“I need to cut off the branch.”

With a nod, the boy scrambled, returning a moment later with a single bladed handsaw. Jake patted him on the shoulder, swallowing at the sight of bloodied hands. “Good. Go up to the house and call triple zero. We need an ambulance.”

“There’s not enough time. We should take her.”

Jake shook his head. “I need to cut her free. By then, the ambulance will be here.”

The kid’s scared wide eyes pleaded with him. “You can’t let her die.”

Jake forced a smile. “No one’s going to die, kid. Go.” He turned the teen and gave him a push. “Run.”

With a start, Will bolted, disappearing up the slope like a jackrabbit. Jake turned back to see Sarah staring at him. Kneeling beside her again, he touched her pale cheek. “This is going to hurt.”

Shaking, she nodded. “Hurry.”

Positioning himself by her leg, he set the saw against the base of the branch, where it jutted out from the tree. It was thicker at the join and while it meant he had more work to do, he suspected its strength might have saved her life. Feeling the rain soaking through his clothing, he began sawing through the fibrous wood. Sarah groaned. He glanced over his shoulder.

“Talk to me, Sarah.”

“I’m cold,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. The rain threatened to drown her out. “Where’s William?”

“He went up to the house to call emergency. You’ll be fine.”

Something touched his hip and he stopped sawing. When he turned, he found she’d reached for him. The desperation in her eyes pulled him toward her. Grabbing her hand, he tucked it under his jacket and leaned down to her.

“You need to keep him safe,” she insisted. Her entire body quaked with cold. “From his father.”

Jake smoothed her hair away from her forehead, wincing at the size of the egg forming there. He wiped away a trickle of blood where the skin had split open. “You’re going to be okay, Sarah. Save your strength.”

Her head lifted. “If I die—”

Jake pressed a finger to her lips and stared into her eyes. Fear gazed back at him. “You won’t. I promise.”

Her eyelids closed slowly, and it took everything he had not to shake her. A long moment later, she opened them. “He’s a good kid. Make sure he knows that.”

Jake swallowed. The resignation in her expression spurred him to action and he turned to resume his sawing. Frantically moving the blade back and forth, he lost track of time as he focused on freeing her. When the branch was completely severed, he glanced back to find her unconscious.

In the distance, he heard the wail of a siren. Unwilling to wait for them to come to Sarah, Jake threw the saw toward the woodpile and scooped her into his arms. Light as a feather, she posed no hinderance as he climbed the stone steps toward the drive. Emerging from the incline, he met the ambulance at the top of the hill.

Both doors of the ambulance swung open and a familiar face greeted him. He blinked, trying to recall a name but the cold working its way through his body turned his brain to mush. Instead, he followed both paramedics toward the rear of the vehicle and climbed inside to place Sarah on the gurney.

He backed out as the older paramedic, a woman with short brown curly hair took his place and got to work stabilizing the wound. The other woman, the one he remembered, touched his arm.

“Jake?”

He nodded.

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