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I pull harder.

“Get the fuck off me!”

“No!”

The SUV veers across the road.

Mercer claws at the rope around my wrists.

I tighten my arms around him.

He slams an elbow backward.

Pain explodes through my head. I scream, but I don't let go.

The SUV hits something. Hard.

Everything happens at once.

Metal screams.

Glass shatters.

My body flies backward.

Then sideways.

Something slams into my shoulder.

My head snaps back.

And the world explodes.

A high-pitched ringing fills my ears.

That's all I hear.

I don't know how long I was out. A second. Ten. Who knows?

I open my eyes.

Nothing makes sense.

The vehicle is tilted.

Smoke hangs in the air.

Or dust.

My chest and shoulder hurt. My head really fucking hurts now.

I blink.

The windshield is cracked. Branches scrape against it.

Tree. We hit a tree.

Mercer.