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Rex curses and strains to reach across his body. “Fuck, get me out. Get me out, so I can check on him! My shoulder’s too fucked to pop the belt.”
“I’ll check on him,” I say, deciding against freeing a man who wants to pound my face in. I close the door enough to swing around and climb out on top of the smoking hood.
Only then do I realize how hot the metal is.
It feels like there’s more than smoke under here.
It feels like the engine’s on fire…
Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly see it, the hint of flames licking at the crumpled metal near the front of the semi. I’m not sure where the fuel tank is on one of these things, but there’s probably enough oil under the hood for the makings of a decent explosion.
“Matty, catch!”
I look up to see Nora standing in front of the truck, in the hole created in the side of the warehouse when the semi slammed into the structure and rebounded from impact. She’s holding a fire extinguisher and is soaking wet, but otherwise seems to be in one piece.
And I intend to keep her that way.
“Throw it fast and get away from the truck, Nora,” I shout. “There’s a fire.”
“That’s why you need this!” she says, winding up and throwing the extinguisher with all her might.
Unfortunately, upper body strength isn’t one of my girl’s many gifts. The cannister only goes a foot or two before it collides with the pavement, making Nora flinch and her hands fly up to cover her face.
But the extinguisher doesn’t explode. It only rolls across the ground.
Nora chases after it, bringing her precious head closer to the front of the truck.
My heart catapulting into my throat, I shout in a booming God-on-high-voice I’ve never heard come from my mouth in all my twenty-nine years, “Get away from the truck right now, Nora, I love you!”
Her head pops up, just visible above the steaming edge of the engine. “I love you, too. Andyouget away from the truck! I’m not getting away until you’re away. I’m a fucking hero, dammit, and I’m going to save you.”
Cursing, I cut a glance toward Wimpy, who is still unconscious, but appears to be breathing. Deciding that gently removing this asshole from danger isn’t worth putting Nora at risk for one more second, I curl my knees into my chest and shove his limp, but very heavy body, off the hood.
As soon as he starts to fall, I turn and slide off the other side of the truck. My feet hit the asphalt, and I stumble, but find my balance a second later. I’m on my way to drag Nora out of danger—and kiss her and promise her I’m never going to let anyone even think about hurting her again—when something heavy lands on me from behind, knocking me flat.
I hear, “That’s what you get, traitor,” and then misery slams into my skull, making lights flash behind my eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
NORA
Cursing our failing public school systems and the patriarchy and Cassie Ann Sweetwater for employing stone-cold idiots and everything else that could have possibly contributed to creating Rex and Wimpy, I snatch the fire extinguisher off the ground with a growl.
I slosh through several inches of water, past the flaming engine that’s probably going to explode and send pieces of me and the man I love splattering all over the place before I’ve even had the chance to hear him say he loves me more than once.
When I reach where Rex is punching Matty in the back of the head like the dirty-fighting jerk he is, I shout, “Stop being a dick!”
When Rex turns my way, I swing the canister, striking him on the side of the head hard enough to send him falling off Matty with a groan.
But he’s not unconscious, just stunned. After a moment or two, he staggers to his feet, reeling toward us as Matty pushes himself up onto his hands and knees.
“May I?” Matty asks, reaching for the fire extinguisher.
“Please, do,” I say, releasing it.
A beat later, he’s in motion, spiraling up from the ground as he swings the bright red tube up between Rex’s legs so hard, evenIwince on impact, and I have no idea what being punched in the nuts feels like.
But clearly, it’s no fun. Rex emits a strangled, “Fucking shit,” and his eyes go comically wide before he sags slowly back to the ground, clutching his wounded family jewels.
