I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,19
The limo flipped. I need to get you out of here. I'm going to unbuckle you, but I need you to hold onto me. Can you do that?"
I lick my parched lips and nod. His words sound like they're coming from underwater, but I think I understand.
He reaches for me, one hand wrapping behind my back, the other hand over my waist. "Are you ready?" he asks.
I nod, then mumble, “Yes.”
My heart quickens - in fear? anticipation? - as he unlatches the seatbelt. Gravity takes over and I fall unceremoniously into his arms. The removal of pressure causes blood to rush into my extremities, leading to pain.
A whole lot of pain.
I look down and see a metal rod sticking out of my right leg. "Holy shit!" I scream, as my leg spasms.
I reach to pull the rod out, but Sebastian stops me.
"It's safer to leave it for now."
I’m fighting to breathe, my ribs aching with the effort to move oxygen through my body.
I bury my face in his chest, closing my eyes against whatever is happening outside his embrace. Fear pulses through me, tainting my body with the sour smell of it.
Everything slows, and there's an unearthly quiet outside for a moment, before a loud WHUMP comes from somewhere behind us and heat begins penetrating the back seat, filling it with smoke.
For a moment I contemplate my own death, that this might be my last moment on earth. I find I'm not as scared as I always expected I would be. I will be with my parents and my brother. With my family.
But I don't die. Not now, anyways.
Sebastian holds me close to him, crouching in the ruined limo.
“I need you to trust me,” he says, his mouth pressed against my ear.
I nod.
“Good. I'm going to set you down so I can pry the door open. Stay close to me.”
I nod, ignoring the panic rising in my chest and the pain spreading through me.
My lungs fill with smoke and I choke as he puts me on the floor – actually, the ceiling since we're upside down - beside him, my head pounding, my vision dancing with specks of light.
I glance toward the front of the limo, where Lily was, but she's not there. Did she get thrown out of the car when we crashed?
Sebastian grunts, pulling my attention back to him, as he uses his muscular legs to kick the door. I'm about to tell him that's not going to work, but my mouth clamps shut when the door flies off the hinges and into the street.
I stare in confused wonder and awe, the pain from my injuries subsiding at the distraction of seeing Sebastian perform superhuman feats of strength. I’ve read stories about this. About the adrenaline surge that can happen during a life or death crisis. How it can give ordinary people extraordinary strength for a few moments to accomplish the impossible. And Sebastian certainly isn’t ordinary. He’s anything but.
Before I can process much more, he’s lifting me up into his arms. I grab my bag and clutch it to my chest as he extracts us from the wreckage of the burning limo. And then he runs. I expect to be jolted around like a sack of potatoes, but the motion is smooth, seemingly effortless, which is mind-boggling.
“Wait! Lily! We can’t leave her. We have to go back!”
“Lily got away," he says, showing no sign of weariness. "She knows what to do. We have to get out of here.” His pace does not slow, and I'm beginning to worry he's going to try to run all the way to our final destination.
Whereas his adrenaline may be everlasting, mine, alas, is not. It crashes, leaving me writhing in pain.
I scream as I feel the deep wound of the metal bar plunged into my leg.
Sebastian glances down at me, his brow furrowed. “You are not dying. I know it hurts, but you will live. Help is coming.”
As if on cue, I hear the sound of an approaching vehicle and glance around to see a black sedan pull up beside us. Sebastian nods to it and somehow opens the back door, laying me gently in the backseat. I expect him to take the front seat, but he surprises me by scooting in next to me, careful not to bump my injured leg.
I’m shocked to see that Lily is the driver. She somehow got away completely unscathed and found us a new car. There’s definitely more to her than meets the eye.