“Toi!” Ghost screams, getting my attention. I turn to see the car speeding past us, cutting into the field. My heart flies up into my throat. She’s headed straight for those damn trees. She’s not going slow either, if she hits the trees like that… I take off running. I don’t have a hope in fuck of reaching her, but I can’t just stand there and do nothing.

Once I turn, I see him. Toi’s father is standing there with a rifle in his hand and he’s got his sites on me. He turns quickly though when he hears the car and the screaming. He aims the gun at Toi and my heart squeezes painfully in my chest. I’m terrified he’s going to shoot her, but at the last second he decides to run. He doesn’t make it a foot from where he was standing before the car hits him with a thud. His body slows the car down as she plows him over, but it still hits against the trees with a force so hard my breath nearly stops. I watch as Toi’s body is pushed upward with the impact. Then she’s at a stop. The car is still running, the engine revved up as if Toi is still giving it gas and now the horn is blaring loudly as Toi’s head is slammed against it.

She’s not moving.

I yank on the door, it doesn’t want to open because the fender has been mangled and it’s holding the door closed. It’s a miracle she wasn’t thrown from the car. If she survives this, I’m going to tan her ass so hard it will mark it permanently. When I get it open, I carefully pull her head back, not wanting to do more damage than might already be there. She falls gently against the car seat. The fucking car is an older model, from the seventies, and there’s not an airbag in view.

“How is she?” Ghost yells, almost right beside me.

“Get the fuck away,” I growl, not wanting him near her—not wanting anyone near her.

“Boss, don’t move her. Let’s make sure she’s not got anything broken,” Ride says, like I don’t have a brain in my head. Asshole.

I reach over and turn off the car. Gently bracing her neck, while doing my best to get her head off the horn.

“Dragonfly, I need you to open those pretty little eyes, darlin’,” I urge her softly, touching the side of her neck to check her pulse. It seems strong and steady, which reassures me a little.

“Oh my God! Is she okay?” Cherry says, and who the fuck let her over here is in for a world of hurt.

“Get her the fuck away from here. Ride!”

“Getting it handled, Marcum,” he says, and I hear Cherry complaining in the background, but I ignore it. All of my attention is centered on Toi.

“Toi, honey,” I whisper again.

“Boss, we got bigger problems,” I hear Topper say, but I ignore him, because Toi’s eyes start to flutter open.

“Boss…” he says again.

“That’s it, honey, open those beautiful blue eyes and look at me.”

“Boss, damn it!” Topper yells.

“Topper, I don’t—”

“The car is on fire man! You have to get her out of it!”

I jerk at his words and look at the back of the vehicle. Fuck! I didn’t even smell the smoke. Under the vehicle there’s smoke and sparks shooting. I can also smell gas.

Shit.

“Dragonfly, I don’t want to hurt you, but I have to get you out of here. I’ll try to be as gentle as I can,” I tell her. “Topper, you and the boys deal with Weasel’s body and call a fucking ambulance for Toi, and get the fire department out here.”

“Boys are already working on it, Marcum,” he answers, as I get Toi in my arms and pull her against my chest.

Her eyes open and she looks at me through shocked, dilated eyes. They slowly close again and I instantly miss them, but I concentrate on getting her far away from the car.

“I never seen anything like that, man. She ran over Weasel. Plowed the fucker down without hesitating and she did it….”

“She did it to save me,” I finish for Topper. “I know. I saw it all, man. I saw it all,” I add, finally getting Toi a comfortable distance from the car.

“Guess we were both wrong,” he says, and I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I don’t much care right now.

“Dragonfly, it’s going to be okay. I promise you, it’s all going to be okay,” I tell her.

“Marcum,” she says in a broken whisper that wraps itself all the way around my heart.

“I’m here, Toi. I’m right here, baby.”

“You’re okay,” she whispers, her eyes opening again. I pull her deeply into me then, still gentle, but some of the fear has left me. I cup the side of her face with my hand and hold her gaze.

“You made sure of that,” I tell her. She starts to close her eyes again, but I don’t let her. “You’re not getting away from me now, Dragonfly. There’s no getting away now,” I tell her.

“But—”

“I’m keeping you, Toi. You sealed our fate, honey,” I tell her. Her eyes go wide, but she doesn’t argue. Instead she stares at my lips and I find myself fighting the urge to smile.