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“Excuse me?”
“You snore, big guy.”
“I do not.” He shook his head and scanned the scenery flashing by. Nothing but fields and farms as far as the eye could see. Homesickness pinched his chest. It had been too long since he’d seen his folks. After this mess was done, he should take a couple weeks and head back to Virginia. Spend some time helping his dad tend the crops, milk the cows, clean some stalls. In his experience, there weren’t many problems a few hours mucking out dirty barn floors wouldn’t put into perspective. “I’ve never had any complaints before.”
“About your snoring?” She gave him some serious side-eye and a grin. “It sounded like a tuba and a foghorn had a baby together. Seriously, you should get that checked out. I hear they have machines to help with that n—”
Bang!
Kyle rocked in his seat as the car lurched.
“What the—” Kyle gripped the dashboard tight as the vehicle skidded and Natalie frantically turned the steering wheel, sending them swerving into the other lane of traffic before she was able to correct their trajectory. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know.”
Kyle peered into the side mirror. The rear of the vehicle was encased in a sea of dust, making it impossible to see behind them.
“Something hit us,” Natalie said. “I’ll just pull over here and—”
Wham!
Their bodies jerked again in response to the impact.
Scowling, Kyle shifted in his seat, trying to see out the back window. “Okay, whatever that was, it most definitely was not something random.”
“Did you see the other car?”
“No.” He narrowed his gaze as two headlights emerged from the dust cloud behind them. “Hang on, they’re going to ram us again.”
“What is going on?” Natalie gripped the steering wheel tight, bracing for the jarring smash of the other vehicle.
Adrenaline pumped hot and fast through his system. Time seemed to slow. The larger black car caught the compact rental in the back rear corner and shoved hard, sending Kyle and Natalie’s vehicle careening off the otherwise deserted highway and down an embankment. Natalie’s scream pierced the air. Kyle reached out to grab the wheel, hoping to help her regain control, but it was too little too late. They were already airborne. All they could do now was brace for impact and pray they’d still be alive at the end of it all.
Everything around him blurred as they smashed into a wooded area and slammed into a tree. The airbags deployed. The next thing he knew, Natalie was slumped against him.
Dread oozed through him like toxic sludge.
Please don’t let her be dead. Please, God. Please don’t take another person I love.
Kyle pressed shaky fingers to the side of her neck and felt her pulse, still strong beneath his fingertips. Relief washed over him like a tsunami. It took a few moments before the sounds around him registered. Birds chirped, and he could hear the still-running engine, along with the occasional drip-hiss of the radiator as the antifreeze drained out. The car was upside down, his shoulder ached, and his neck felt like it had been whipped around one too many times.
Something warm and sticky trickled down his stinging cheek. Natalie moaned, and Kyle fought the quicksand pull of unconsciousness. He needed to get them out of the wrecked vehicle, needed to get Natalie to safety and away from whoever the hell had run them off the road. He also needed to contact his team and let them know what had happened so they wouldn’t freak when he and Duchess didn’t rendezvous with them in Atlanta like they’d planned.
Except his eyelids refused to stay open, and his thoughts grew fuzzy. All he wanted to do at that moment was rest. Just for a minute. Just one second and then he’d be back to normal, back to being the guy everyone depended on…
* * *
“Kyle!” Natalie smacked him across the face, her heart in her throat. He couldn’t be dead, dammit. She’d lost one man too soon already. She sure as hell wasn’t willing to lose another.
She shook him hard and slapped him again. “Kyle Matthews, wake up!”
He groaned and frowned, then mumbled something.
Natalie checked his pulse and his breathing. Both were steady and strong.
Relief made her weak all over. Given that, plus her own aching body from the car crash, she was ready to conk right out here in the middle of the woods and sleep for days. Except that wasn’t allowed. They were on a mission, and those guys in that black sedan didn’t want them to finish it. In fact, they could be on their way down here right now to finish what they’d started back on the road.
She eyed the surrounding landscape. How long had they been here? She had no idea.
