Slade Read online

  “Mine won’t have one either if you don’t have a signal.”

  “You never know. We might have different carriers. Where is it? I don’t want to sit here debating. I’d rather try.”

  She reached for her purse but it wasn’t where she’d placed it. She peered down and realized it had fallen to the floor. She pointed. Slade lunged for her purse. His hand practically crushed the bag as he yanked it up. In a heartbeat he’d flipped her purse over, emptying all the contents out on the seat between them with a few rough shakes.

  Trisha had to fight the urge to yell at him when her mouth dropped open in shock. Those were her things he’d just strewn all over the seat as thought it were garbage. He shoved his hand into the mess he’d created to find her cell then he flipped it open.

  “Damn it,” he growled. He threw it to the floor.

  “That is my phone! Don’t break it.”

  Her temper flared. She was also scared and really, really angry. She unfastened her belt to reach forward to lean down to check on her cell phone. Slade shoved her back against her seat with his hand.

  “It doesn’t work anyway,” he snarled, glaring at her.

  “Throw your phone but not mine. That’s rude.”

  “I’m sorry. I would hate to be impolite when someone just tried to kill us.”

  “Hello?” Bart shouted. “There’s another truck. Could you guys stop fighting? I think we have another problem. It looks as if they weren’t alone!”

  Trisha turned her head to stare in horror out the back of the SUV. A second truck came at them fast, this one a blue pickup that had a metal grill, almost the twin of the red one. She watched as a man stood up in the back of the truck bed, one arm gripping the roll bar over the cab of the truck to keep on his feet, and lifted his other arm to try to point a gun at them. Her mouth opened to scream out a warning.

  Slade reached over, grabbed Trisha’s shirt with his fist and yanked her down over the seat. His body crushed down on top of hers, causing her purse and its contents to dig into her stomach. Slade’s hand shoved in between the seat and her. He grabbed her breast, squeezed it, and his hand turned. He found his gun and yanked it out from under her none too gently. A loud noise sounded but it was muffled for Trisha since Slade’s thighs were against her ears.

  My head is between Slade’s thighs. That meant the lump at the back of her neck… She gritted her teeth. How can Slade be aroused when someone is shooting at us? She struggled to get out from between his legs but his massive, bulky weight kept her down. His muscles suddenly squeezed, nearly crushing Trisha’s head in the process.

  “Stay still,” he demanded. “Those are my nuts you’re pushing back against.”

  “Screw you. Get off me,” she yelled.

  A large hand suddenly slapped Trisha’s ass hard, sending a jolt of pain from it to her brain, stunning her.

  “My face is right here, Doc. You don’t hurt me and I won’t hurt you.”

  Trisha just screamed. She was angry, terrified, and her butt stung from where he’d struck her with his big palm. Something rammed hard into the SUV and it caused Slade to topple onto Trisha. They were thrown forward and Trisha’s body slid with his. They both slammed into the back of the front seats together.

  “Drive,” Slade ordered Bart harshly. “One more hit that bad and— SHIT!”

  Shit? Trisha felt alarmed by Slade’s tone. A second later the SUV bounced wildly. She and Slade were actually lifted completely off the seat. She heard a male scream. Bart. Then she was slammed hard back down onto the seat with all Slade’s weight coming down on her.

  She heard a horrible noise as everything rattled, bounced and shook so hard Trisha wondered if she would be shaken apart too. A loud boom rent the air suddenly a second before the truck tilted crazily and she was thrown again. She screamed in pure terror.

  She didn’t know what was up or down. She knew nothing but pain, fear, and the feeling of motion. Hands grabbed her thighs, she bumped into Slade’s body roughly, then something unforgiving. Glass sounded as if it were exploding. Metal groaned and smashed loudly, in deafening volume. Trisha continued to scream but everything stopped moving suddenly.

  She panted, laying on something hard. Her shoulder, ear and hand hurt. She tried to calm down as she opened her eyes but instantly wished she hadn’t. She discovered her body sprawled on the roof of the SUV. The broken-out back window was to her immediate right, telling her that somehow she’d been tossed into the back luggage area. She stared at dirt and grass on the ground, just an arm’s length away. Close to the back of the SUV stood a thick tree trunk. It finally settled into her mind that the SUV had landed upside down.

  Trisha moved and it caused pain to shoot up her leg from her knee. She groaned. She put her hands down and tried to push herself up even though her shoulder ached but only managed to lift her head a little. She turned it to the left to stare at Slade a few inches from her. He lay sprawled on his side with his back to her, his head resting by her hip. His arm moved as he touched his face.

  “Shit,” Slade groaned. “Doc?” His voice deepened as his entire body jerked. “DOC?” Alarm deepened his tone.

  “I’m here behind you. Are you all right?” Trisha cleared her throat. Her voice had broken as she spoke.

  Slade twisted his head to look her over. “Fine. Are you injured badly?”

  “Hurt but alive. Can you see Bart? All I can glimpse from here is the back of the seats and you.”

  Slade moved slightly and groaned as he lifted his head. “I see him. He’s belted in upside down but moving. I can hear him breathing.”

  A pained moan came from the front of the SUV. Trisha licked her dry lips, instantly tasting blood. She started to inch toward the dirt, intent on climbing out of the wreckage.

  A hand gripped her thigh. “Don’t,” Slade ordered. “They had guns. I don’t know how far we rolled but they could be up there. You crawling out of here could make you an easy target.”

  “Oh God,” Bart sobbed softly.

  “I have to help him.” Trisha met Slade’s gaze.

  His nostrils flared. “Fine. Crawl over me to get to him. There’s a lot of broken glass under me and I don’t want you getting cut up. You stay inside the cover of the vehicle. If you can’t reach him through the seats, forget about it until I go out there and scout first. I need to find out if we’re safe from them shooting down at us.”

  “You want me to crawl over you? But—”

  “Do it, Doc. I’m not kidding about the broken glass. The windows shattered. Safety-glass my ass. This wasn’t one of our security vehicles that have been specially built for us. This is tempered glass but some of it is sharp. Crawl over my body to him first and I’ll inch out there to take a look at where we stand once you do. Hopefully we rolled far enough down the hill that they don’t have a bead on us but they might be coming down on foot to finish us off. Either way, I don’t want to stick around here for long. They know where we are or can find us easily enough. I’m sure we left an easy trail of debris for them to follow.”

  Trisha turned onto her side. She had just enough space to wiggle under the back seat before she met Slade’s gaze. He gave her a grin but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  “You know you want to crawl on top of me, Doc. Here’s your chance.”

  Trisha frowned at him. “You’re such an ass.”

  He winked. “It’s not my ass I’m worried about when you’re on top of me. Watch your elbows and knees, sweet thing.”

  Her mouth opened to tell him that now wasn’t the time for him to start his crap but Bart sobbed from the front. Slade’s smile faded.

  “Move it, Doc. They could be climbing down to search for us and I don’t feel like being shot at like fish in a barrel.”

  Trisha carefully reached to put her hands next to Slade’s head. He suddenly moved, holding out his hands to her.

  “Put your hands inside mine. There’s glass. I’ll lift you over as much of me as I can. Then keep your hands on my legs.