Lethal Legacy: A Novel (Guardians of Justice)
Page 34
It didn’t stop until the side smashed into a tree, slamming her temple against the window of the door to the accompaniment of crumpling metal.
Then everything went silent.
For a full half a minute, Moira remained motionless, hands locked on the wheel, every muscle taut, heart pounding. Her head pounded in rhythm to the beat of rain against the metal roof, and she drew a shuddering breath. Blinked. The car had stopped spinning, but the world around her hadn’t.
She closed her eyes. Continued to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. When she at last risked another peek, the scene had steadied.
Better.
Peeling her fingers off the wheel, she took a quick inventory. Her arms and legs moved, and nothing except her head hurt. As far as she could tell, she hadn’t sustained any serious injuries.
But she knew the person she’d hit hadn’t been as lucky—a person who might very well be lying in the middle of the road right now.
In the path of an oncoming car.
Her pulse stuttered, and she fought against a crescendo of panic as she tried to kick-start her brain. To think through the fuzziness.
Okay. First priority—call 911. After that, she’d see what she could do to help the person she’d hit while she waited for the pros to arrive.
Plan in place, she groped for her purse. But the seat beside her was empty. Hadn’t it been there moments before?
With a Herculean effort, she coerced the left side of her brain to engage.
The floor.
Her purse must have fallen to the floor while the car was spinning.
Hands shaking, she fumbled with the clasp on her seatbelt. It took three jabs at the button before it released. Once free of the constraint, she leaned sideways and reached toward the floor—just as the car door creaked open behind her.
With a gasp, she jerked upright. A black-shrouded figure stood in the shadows, out of range of her dome light.
Her heart began to hammer again as a cold mist seeped into the car.
“I saw the accident. Are you all right, miss?”
The voice was deep. Male. And the only clue to his gender. The monk-like hood of his slicker kept most of his features in shadows.
But she didn’t care who he was. Help had arrived.
Thank you, God!
“Yes. I . . . I think so. I banged my head against the window, and I’m a little dizzy. But . . . I hit someone on the road. I need to call 911. And I need to help the other person.”
The man leaned a bit closer, and she glimpsed the outline of a square jaw. “You’ve got a nasty bump on your temple. Moving around isn’t a good idea until the paramedics check you out. I’ll help the person you hit.” He tipped his head and looked across her. “Is that blood on the passenger seat?”
As Moira shifted sideways to look, she felt a jab in her thigh. “Ow!”
“Watch the glass. Lean a little to the right.” The man restrained her with one hand on her upper arm as she complied. “Hold on a second while I brush off the seat.”
He was silent for a moment, and she shivered as the wind shifted and the rain began to pummel her through the open door, soaking through her sweater.
“Okay. I think I got most of it.”
He released her, and she collapsed back against the seat. As he retracted his hand, she caught a quick glimpse of his gold Claddagh wedding ring. The same kind her dad wore.
Somehow that comforted her.
“Stay put.” He melted back into the shadows, beyond the range of the dome light. “I’ll call 911 and check on the other person. Give me a few minutes.”
With that, he closed the door.
Alone again in the dark car, Moira tried to keep him in sight. But within seconds he disappeared into the rain.
As the minutes ticked by and the full impact of what had happened began to register, her shivering intensified and her stomach churned.
She could have been killed.
And she may have killed or seriously injured someone else.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Moira closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness swept over her.
At least help had arrived.
With that thought to sustain her, she let the darkness close in.
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