Page 97 of Well Aware

The pulse of her heart was the sweetest thing I’d ever touched in my life.

“She’s alive,” I said. “We got medics on the way?”

The sound of a door creaking open behind me let me know that, unfortunately, my sister had survived.

Except the person who got out of her car wasn’t my sister, but Cain McDuff.

“What the fuck?” he slurred.

My sister got out of the passenger seat as I watched him, fury building in my veins, just as fucking drunk.

She stumbled off to the side, her hand to her head, as she looked dazedly at the accident they’d caused.

“What happened?” she garbled.

I turned my back on both of them and tried the handle of Ida Bell’s door.

It opened despite the frame being bent awkwardly at the door.

Black helped me open it completely, and I tried really hard not to look at my friend’s broken body in the front seat, the cab of the truck folded around him.

“Ida Bell, honey,” I called. “Are you awake?”

She moaned.

“Don’t move her,” the truck driver said. “9-1-1 is saying not to move her.”

I nodded. “Got it.”

“This is Sheriff Black. I need medics and a life flight to this location.”

I ignored them and caught Ida Bell’s hand in mine, talking to her about anything and everything as we waited long minutes for the medics to arrive.

Unsurprisingly, the first ones to arrive were more deputies, Gentry in particular.

“Fuck,” I heard him say. “Is she okay?”

“She’s going to make it, aren’t you, Ida Bell?” I ordered quietly.

She squeezed my hand, oh so lightly, letting me know that she heard and understood the assignment.

I heard Black and Gentry talking quietly behind me about scene control and setting up a landing zone for the helicopter but kept up my quiet diatribe of nonsensical things until the first medic showed up.

The helicopter landed in the middle of the road, and two medics made their way over to the door just as volunteer firefighters appeared. I acknowledged them all with a nod of my head as I backed away to relinquish my charge.

Black’s hand squeezed my shoulder, and I didn’t realize until right then how rigid I’d been holding myself until he squeezed.

Angrily, I turned to the two people handcuffed sitting on the ground with their backs against Black’s cruiser.

They were talking quietly, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

“Don’t,” Black warned.

Anger, resentment, pain and disgust vied for a prime spot in my heart as I stared at the woman who was supposed to be my sister.

Doors slammed behind me, and the engine of the helicopter air lifting my friend to a hospital sounded behind me as my hair whipped in the wind.

It was when I saw Seraphina smile that I snapped.