Page 164 of Whispers and Wildfire
“He goes from chaining me to a wall so he can keep me forever to trying to kill me.”
“If he can’t have you, no one can.”
Luke was right. I could almost hear the words as if Roswell were whispering in my ear:You’re mine.
A shudder ran down my spine.
“Shit,” Luke said under his breath.
“What?”
“Hold on to something.”
I braced myself again as he took a sudden turn, then glanced behind us again.
“He’s still there.”
“I know. But if I went straight, we’d have to cross an old bridge with no sides or railings.”
My stomach dropped. And Roswell could have hit us from behind again and sent us careening over the edge.
No thanks.
“But there’s a problem with this road,” Luke said.
“Other than the man trying to kill us?”
“Yeah. I think we’re heading straight for the fire.”
“Get pushed off a bridge or drive into a wildfire. I don’t like these options.”
He cast a glance at me. “I’ll get us through.”
I nodded. “I trust you.”
Adjusting his grip on the steering wheel, he pushed on the gas, and we surged forward.
The smoke thickened, turning a darker gray, and the road curved, winding through trees and up and over hills. I’d lost all sense of direction, but I meant what I’d said. I trusted Luke to get us through.
Roswell hit us again. I jerked in my seat, but Luke maintained control. Another bump threw me forward, the seat belt digging into my collarbone.
“Fucker,” Luke muttered. “Hold on again.”
I braced myself as he took a hard right. Looking backward, I was hoping to at least see some distance between us and Roswell, but he was right there, bearing down on us through the dust and smoke.
The world seemed to go dark, as if the sun had set. The smell of smoke was intense, and my eyes felt the sting of it.When we rounded the next corner, it looked like we were heading straight into hell itself.
Massive clouds of black smoke billowed into the air, and the entire forest on both sides of the road glowed red. Flames licked the sky from the tops of trees in the distance, and the ground all around was scorched.
“Can we get through?” I asked.
“We can make it.”
Roswell bumped us from behind, and the car jerked to one side before Luke regained control.
“Asshole!” I yelled. Not that he could hear me. But I’d played the part of the damsel in distress for too long. I had a lot of pent-up rage. “I hate you and your stupid face!”
“There’s my girl.”
