***
She came to, blinking rapidly.
The world was upside down.
“Ow,” she said woozily, slowly realizing that she was still stuck in the car. “How long was I out?” She hoped the words were intelligible to Josh.
“Thirty seconds, perhaps,” he said, his voice stiff with pain.
She twisted her neck to look at him, muscles screaming in pain from just that little movement.
Her eyes widened as the big man pressed his hands against the door that was pinning him to his seat, and then began to push. His incredible strength bent the metal frame out and away from him. She gasped in horror when it pulled a chunk of metal from his side, covered in blood. Almost immediately she heard the sound of dripping as more of it began to spatter against the top of the vehicle below.
“Are you okay?” she said, still reeling from being hit by her own door.
“I’ll live,” he said with a grunt. His seatbelt snapped and he fell to the ground, the last of the metal removing itself from his side with a meaty thwack that set her stomach rumbling with disgust and horror.
“Maybe,” he finished a second later, grimacing in pain, both from the fall and the gaping wound in his side. “You, on the other hand,” he said with a look out her window, or what remained of it, “you should be dead.”
“What do you mean?” she asked as he inched his way over to her.
“That,” he said with a nod at something outside her field of view, “is a telephone pole that we seem to have wrapped ourselves around. Or a light pole, maybe. I can’t tell from in here. Either way, you’re lucky it didn’t crush you.”
He reached up, wincing as the movement pulled at his wound, and repeated the same feat of strength with the door on her side. Then he ripped her seatbelt off and caught her as she fell into his arms.
Hannah very, very carefully didn’t tremble at the power contained in his arms, the thick muscle bulging as he set her down, hands as gentle as could be. He waited to see that she could stand before he turned and kicked his door free, giving them an exit from the vehicle.
She followed behind him, gratefully taking his hand as he helped her up once she ducked out from the wreck.
“The driver!” she said, suddenly remembering the other man.
“You get him,” Josh said, looking over the top of the vehicle. “I need to go see to your brother.”
Hannah followed his gaze just as the first flames burst into appearance. “Chad!” she shouted and started to run to the car, intent on ensuring he got out safely.
“You stay here,” Josh said, grabbing both her shoulders and jamming his face in front of her, his eyes harder than steel as he gave her a gentle shake so she focused on him. “You help our driver. Stay safe, I’ll get your brother. I promise,” he added, then turned and vaulted himself over the car and made a beeline for the other one.
Hannah cursed and moved to help her driver down from his seat and out of the vehicle. He yelped and held his arm. He was bleeding from a dozen cuts, but otherwise, like her, he was mostly unharmed.
With him safe and in the hands of nearby bystanders, she turned and ran for the other vehicle as she saw Josh dragging two people free, his face a mask of pain. She ran up to him and grabbed the driver by the armpits, dragging him away from the burning wreck.
In the distance, sirens began to ring out.
She had taken no more than four or five steps before several more bystanders came and took over, forcing themselves between her and the driver, urging her to go sit down. One of them also went to help Josh, noticing the blood-stained shirt he was wearing.
“I’m okay,” he rasped, not letting go of her brother. His arm was bent at a weird angle, but besides that, he also seemed okay. Even now, he blinked and regained consciousness as they moved far enough away from the burning car to be safe.
A pair of broken arms and some cuts and bruises out of all this?
Hannah wasn’t complaining.
“Shit,” Josh said.
“What?”
“He didn’t make it,” the big shifter said, pointing to the driver of the first car.
It was only then that she noticed the way his head was twisted, and the blank, empty stare on his face. How had she not seen that when she first tried to haul him away?
Hannah felt her legs wobble, and she saw the ground rush up at her.
Then Josh was there, once more his strength providing her support when she needed it. He lowered her gently to the ground, then sat down next to her, his arms around her shoulders as tears sprang to her eyes at such a senseless death.
She pulled herself tight, pressing her face into his neck before what she was doing registered, but by then, it was too late. His arms had wrapped around her back, holding her close as he rubbed one hand up and down, slowly caressing her.
“Why?” she asked as the tears began to dry up several minutes later.
“I don’t know,” he responded as the sirens grew louder. Seconds later the first police car and ambulance arrived on the scene, followed by a firetruck moments later that immediately set to work extinguishing the blaze.
Paramedics ran over to them, but Josh waved them off. He pointed at the driver who was still alive, and her brother, who was now holding his leg and growling in pain.
“Chad?” she asked, getting his attention. “Are you okay?” she gave him a knowing look, glancing at his leg, then at everyone around them.
He gritted his teeth, understanding what she meant, and nodded. “I think I broke my leg. It hurts like hell, though it doesn’t seem badly bent out of shape.”
Hannah cursed to herself, realizing everything had just become more difficult, though she couldn’t tell anyone. This was not how everything was supposed to go.
It wasn’t until the paramedics insisted that she and Josh go to the hospital as well that she realized they had been holding each other the entire time they observed the chaos unfolding around them.
Be careful, Hannah. You know how it will end up.