pain immediately followed.
“Stop,” Serena called out. “Stay still.”
The man’s confused gaze met hers. “Why? Is there something the matter with me?”
She could feel the panic swelling between them. “I’m not sure.” She drew in a calming breath. Getting worked up wouldn’t help either of them. She drew on her lifetime of acting. “I don’t know the extent of your injuries. Until we know more, you shouldn’t move.” Which was all well and good until the car caught fire. But she could only deal with one catastrophe at a time. “I’m going to call for help.”
“You already tried that. It didn’t work.” His voice was less frantic and more matter-of-fact.
She swallowed hard. So he’d seen that. Okay. Don’t freak out or he’ll panic. Without a cell signal, their choices were diminishing. And the car was still popping and fizzing. She didn’t want to tell this injured man any of this. Nor did she want to admit that the dog that created this horrific event was hers. The backs of her eyes burned with unshed tears. And that her poor sweet puppy could very well be—
No. Don’t go there. Focus on getting this man help.
The man released his seat belt. The only way out for him was to crawl over the passenger seat. But he shouldn’t be moving around until a professional looked at him.
“Don’t move,” she said as he pushed aside the seat belt. “I’ll go and get help.”
“I’m fine.” His voice took on a firm tone.
He was sounding better, but it could just be shock. What if he got out of the car and collapsed in the middle of the road? She certainly couldn’t lift him, much less carry him. Even with him being seated, she could see that he was over six feet tall and solidly built. Why did he have to be so stubborn?
The man leaned toward the passenger seat.
“I’m serious. You shouldn’t be moving.” She swiped her hair out of her face. It was wet from melting snowflakes. It was coming down so hard that she couldn’t see much past the other side of the road. “You could make your injuries worse.”
As though transforming her concerns into reality, he groaned in pain. Serena’s heart lurched. She automatically leaned forward, placing a hand against the man’s biceps, helping to support him.
“What is it? What hurts?” Her gaze scanned his body looking for blood or any possible injury, but she didn’t spot any.
His breathing was labored. “It’s my leg.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“I can’t move it.”
Not good. Not good at all.
And as if matters weren’t bad enough, a white cloud billowed out from under the hood. Her heart pounded. What was she supposed to do now?
SERENA CRAWLED OVER the passenger seat, making her way to the driver’s side. “We have to get you out of here. Quickly.”
“Don’t worry,” the man said. “It’s just steam.”
She wanted to believe him. She really did. But she wasn’t sure if the man was totally lucid. For all she knew, he could have a head injury or be in shock or both.
She refused to abandon him. She prayed the car didn’t explode into flames before she freed him. With the man slouched over, he was in her way.
With her hand still on his shoulder, she pushed with all her might. He didn’t budge. The man was built like a solid rock wall.
“I need you to sit up,” she said.
“What?” His voice was a bit groggy. His gaze zeroed in on her. “What are you doing?”
“I need you to move so I can see what’s going on with your leg.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re going to make it worse. Go away!”
His harsh words propelled her back out of the car. What was up with this guy? Maybe it was the shock talking.
“I’m trying to help you. Now quit being difficult.” She took a calming breath and knelt down again. “Move! Now!”
The man’s dark brows rose.
It appeared her brusque words had finally gained his full attention. The man muttered something under his breath. At last, he started to move. He was almost upright when he let out a grunt of pain.
“Is it your leg?”
He nodded as he drew in one deep breath after the other.
She glanced between him and the dash. There just might be enough room for her to wiggle in there. It’d help if she had a flashlight. And then remembering her cell phone, she grabbed it from her pocket and turned on the light.
Her gaze met his. “I’m going to try not to hurt you, but we have to free your leg. Can you work with me on this?”
The man’s eyes reflected his uncertainty, but then he relented with a curt nod. “Just do it. And quickly. I smell gas.”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. On her stomach, she moved across the butter-soft leather upholstery. When she got to the man’s body, she did her best to focus on the task at hand and not the fact that when she placed a hand on his thigh, it was rock hard. The man was all muscle and—and she had work to do. At last, she was wedged between him and the dashboard with barely any room for her to move her arms.
“Can you move the seat back?”
His body shifted. “It’s not working. The electrical system must have shorted out.”
“Okay. I’ve got this.”
She had to get this man free of the car and then find out what had happened to Gizmo. Her poor sweet furbaby could be hurt or worse—
Stop. Deal with one problem at a time.
Hands first, she repositioned herself. She flashed the light around. The side of the car had been smashed inward. His ankle was pinned between the car door and the brake pedal. It looked bad—real bad.
Serena drew in an unsteady breath, willing herself to remain calm when all she wanted to do was run away and find someone else to help this man. But there wasn’t time for that. She could do this. She could. Serena placed her hand gently on his leg and paused. When he didn’t cry out in pain, she proceeded to examine the situation. She ran her hand down his leg, checking for any major injuries. She didn’t feel any. There was no wiggle room on either side. The brake pedal was digging into his flesh.
Knowing that she was going to need two hands, she held up the phone to him. “Can you hold this for me?”
He took the phone. The light was angled too high.
“Tilt it a little lower. I’m going to try to move the brake pedal. Are you ready?”
“Yes. Just do what you need to do.”
Serena pressed on the brake. The pedal became stuck on his black leather dress shoe. She tried moving his foot, but it wouldn’t budge.
She felt his body stiffen. Serena released his foot. He was really pinned in there. And it frightened her to know that she might not be able to free him before the car went up in flames.
She swallowed hard. “I’m going to take off your shoe and see if that will help.”
“Do what you need to do. You don’t have to keep updating me.”
Just then she inhaled the scent of smoke. Her pulse quickened. They were almost out of time. And this wasn’t the way she planned to leave this world.
Her