Page 6 of His Darkest Desire

She was going to die here.

My phone!

She opened her eyes and looked at the passenger seat. Her purse was gone, replaced by broken safety glass, forest debris, and gathering fog. She swung her gaze to the floor. Just visible in the shadows there was her overturned purse. With fumbling fingers, she unlatched her seatbelt. The branch prevented it from fully retracting, but it left her shoulder unrestricted.

Kinsley reached for her purse, and a cry spilled from her lips as her body shifted on the branch. Warm liquid ran down her belly.

You’re not supposed to move!

But what choice did she have? She had no other means of calling for help.

With harsh breaths, Kinsley searched her surroundings for anything of use, anything at all.

Movement to her right drew her attention to the driver’s window. Only jagged fragments of cracked glass remained around its edges. The glowing blue orb circled a small, thin stick dangling just outside.

Was it…helping her?

She reached through the opening, grasped the stick, and broke it free. Drawing it into the vehicle, she turned back toward her purse, extending her arm as far as she could. But the stick wasn’t long enough.

Gritting her teeth, she leaned a little farther. Searing pain engulfed her as the branch resisted her movement. It stole her breath, and black spots danced in her vision, nearly causing her to lose hold of the stick in her battle to remain conscious. She let out an anguished growl and forced herself to shift upon the branch just a little more.

The stick hooked under the strap of her bag, and Kinsley released a sob as she carefully drew it toward herself.

But as soon as the bag’s weight pulled the strap taut, the stick bent with tension.

“Please… Don’t…”

It snapped. Kinsley’s heart ceased beating, and time froze.

“No! No, no, no, no!” She threw the broken stick and grasped the branch impaling her with both hands. Nails digging into the wood, she attempted to pull it out while simultaneously pushing back against the seat. Her tormented wail overpowered the pelting rain. A dizzying wave of agony ripped through her, and a gush of hot blood spilled from her belly as her body slid back along the branch.

But the limb itself did not budge, and she was only doing more damage to herself.

She was speeding the inevitable.

Stop, stop, stop!

Defeated, Kinsley let her hands fall away and dropped her head against the headrest. Tears ran down her cheeks as her shoulders quaked with her painful cries. But her pain was lost to the storm. She was trapped, and no one was coming. There would be no help.

And she was dying.

The orb of light drew closer to her. It dimmed, and its indecipherable whispers took on an undeniably sorrowful tone. Even this close, she couldn’t tell what it was, couldn’t tell if there was something casting the light, or if it was the light. Regardless, it was all she had. Her last hope.

“Please,” she whispered. “Help me.”

It zipped away, leaving Kinsley alone in the darkness.

She closed her eyes. “I don’t want to die.”

More tears fell, trickling down her cheeks and chin. She thought of her family, of how distressed they would be when they couldn’t reach her, of their devastation when they would eventually discover what had happened. She thought of the places she still longed to see, the things she still wanted to do. She thought of Liam and the life of which they’d dreamed. Of the life they’d tried to make.

She thought of the life that had been taken from her again and again and again.

She thought of the life she would never have.

Ice spread within Kinsley, creeping through every vein, seizing every muscle, pervading every bone. It chased away all memories of warmth and comfort. The time between each thumping beat of her heart stretched, pushing toward eternity. She felt herself fading. Felt herself falling into the darkness that enveloped her.

The sound of the rain dulled as though it too were being swallowed up in that darkness.

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