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“Cade.” She tried to crawl. To pull herself to her hands and knees, but the weight on her head was dragging her down, hurting her.
“Marly.” She didn’t recognize this voice either, but it was frightened, concerned. “God, Marly, Cade’s gonna kill me.”
Gentle hands lowered her to the ground, a husky, worried voice sounding above her. Marly fought to see the man touching her, trying to gentle her. Her eyes were opened wide, yet all she could see was a dark gray world of shifting shapes.
“I can’t see,” she screamed, trying to claw at her face, but something kept her hands blocked, kept her from reaching her eyes. Dark and unyielding as she fought to tear it from her head.
“Easy, Marly. For God’s sake, let me get it off you.” A body straddled hers as hands, firm and resolute worked beneath her chin. Then the hard covering was jerked from her head and she was watching Dillon’s face swim above her.
“It’s okay,” he soothed her as his expression remained strained with worry. “Are you okay, Marly? Is anything broken?”
Broken? She hurt all over. How the hell was she supposed to know if anything was broken?
“Son of a bitch just ran us off the road.” He dug his cell phone from his jacket pocket, his fingers keying in numbers with shaky speed. “I think he was trying to help you till he saw me, then he just lit off. Crazy bastard.”
Marly couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. No, something evil had touched her, dragging her to the pits of hell. She blinked, fighting to clear her memory, to make sense of the pain and the swirling lights.
“Hurt…no bones broken…get here.” She heard his voice from a distance.
“Cade,” she whispered his name again. Why hadn’t he come yet? Where was he?
“He’s coming, Marly,” Dillon swore, tearing his jacket from his body and laying it over her. “It’s gonna be okay, honey. Just relax.”
His hands began running over her limbs, testing, questioning her. No, it didn’t hurt in any one particular place. Yes, she could feel her arms, her legs. “Where is Cade?”
“Cade’s coming, honey,” Dillon promised her again.
Slowly, the fuzziness receded and Marly moved sluggishly, rolling to her side, then pulling herself to her knees.
“Marly, lay back down until the paramedics get here,” Dillon urged her harshly. “You could be hurt.”
His hands touched her arms. She shrugged him away with a cry. Where was Cade? She had to get to Cade.
“Let me go.” She jerked away from him, nearly falling flat on her face as she tore from his arms. “I want to go home.”
She had to get to Cade. Dammit, he should have been here by now. Where the hell was he? She was hurt and scared, and so cold she couldn’t stop shivering.
“Dammit, Marly, stay still.” He gripped her arms again, pulling her to the ground with him, wrapping her in his arms, holding her still.
She fought him. Bucking against him, crying out against the restraint, her hair whipping around her, blinding her, her body screaming in pain. Or was that her screaming? Growling. Rage echoing through the night, and suddenly she was free.
“You bastard!” She heard his voice, rough and furious, like a demon gone mad.
“Cade.”She fought the cascade of hair raining over her face, nearly falling to her knees before hands caught her, pulled her close.
She fought to get free, screaming his name, terrified that suddenly her vision was once again darkened. The waves of hair wouldn’t move, wouldn’t be pushed aside. She pulled at the mass desperately, scared that she couldn’t remember what had happened, where she was. Why wouldn’t Cade help her?
“Marly.” It was Cade, his voice agonized, tormented. He pulled her into the warmth of his chest, his hands shaking, trembling as he gently pushed the hair back from her face, his expression streaked with tears, with rage when she blinked up at him.
“It hurts,” she whispered, her head falling to his chest, the fight going out of her, knowing Cade would keep her safe. “It hurts, Cade.”
An animalistic growl sounded beneath her ear as he swung her up in his arms. Lights were swirling again, yellow and white and blue, making her head splinter with pain. Marly buried her head against Cade’s chest, fighting the nausea welling inside her, and the fear that throbbed in her chest.
“It’s okay, baby. The ambulance is here. Everything’s okay. I promise.” His voice was husky and deep, ridden with pain.
“No ambulance.” She jerked in his arms. “No hospital, Cade. Promise me.”
Her hands dug into his shoulder and back, holding on as tightly as she could, terrified he would let go of her.
