Colters' Gift (Colters' Legacy #5)(71)

Lauren hastily fumbled with her phone, shoving it over the seat toward Liam.

They got to the second switchback, and Noah spun out as he rounded the sharp curve. Liam was punching the button to connect the call to the Colters, when Noah swore a blistering streak that singed Lauren’s ears.

When she stared ahead and realized what Noah was reacting to, cold fear paralyzed her.

“Noah, look out!” Liam yelled, dropping Lauren’s phone.

Hurtling down the mountain road on a direct collision with them was a Hummer with a reinforced steel grille.

Lauren recognized the direness of the situation. She knew they were going to be pulverized between the two vehicles. Neither had any intention of avoiding the inevitable collision.

“Hold on,” Noah said tightly. “There’s only one way to avoid this, and I have to hope to hell we survive it.”

When she realized his intention, her pulse exploded in her veins. She squeezed her eyes shut just as he turned the SUV and dove right over the edge of the mountain.

For less than a second, but what seemed like an eternity, they were airborne, and then they landed with a jolt that shook Lauren to her bones. She heard shattering glass, the crunch and groan of metal giving way.

And then they were rolling. Over and over until the world was a crazy Tilt-A-Whirl flashing before her eyes. They bounced and slid and then rolled some more, until finally the SUV landed hard on its wheels and the front smashed into a huge pine.

It was instinctive to throw her arms in front of her face to shield her from the air bag, but it never deployed. Glass sprayed her, and she screamed when a branch shot through the windshield and drove itself into the seat a mere inch from where her shoulder rested.

Oh God, just a few inches over and it would have impaled her.

She took mental stock, trying to determine if she had any injuries. But she felt no pain. She couldn’t feel anything. She was numb from head to toe. For all she knew she’d broken every bone in her body, but she had no way of knowing.

She looked down and then over at Noah. Her cry of horror was muffled by her hand as it flew to cover her mouth. The dash had caved in, pinning him in his seat.

Liam. She had to see about Liam. Her hands fumbled with her seat belt, but it wouldn’t come lose. She yanked and pulled, nearly screaming with frustration. Finally it came free and she awkwardly tried to maneuver in the much smaller space.

She managed to hoist herself high enough to see that Liam was sprawled in his seat, his head resting against a shattered window. Blood streamed down his cheek and he wasn’t conscious.

Then she heard a sound from Noah.

Her gaze flew to him and she pulled herself above the limb that was embedded in her seat.

“Noah? Noah? Can you hear me? Please talk to me. Oh God, I’m so scared. Liam’s unconscious. I don’t know how badly he’s hurt.”

“Listen to me,” Noah said hoarsely. “Can you reach Liam’s gun?”

She froze, staring at Noah in confusion.

“Get the gun, Lauren. We only have a few minutes before they arrive. They’ll drive back down the mountain and they’ll come looking for us. They’ll kill us. Do you understand? They’re after you.”

“Can you move?” Lauren asked anxiously. “Can you get out on your side? We could take Liam with us. We have the time.”

“Listen to me, honey,” Noah said, his voice calm, a direct contradiction to the screams echoing inside Lauren’s head. “I can’t move. I don’t think I’m badly injured, but I can’t tell. I’m probably in shock and can’t feel pain. But my legs are trapped. There’s no way I can get out.”

“They want me,” she whispered.

“Yes,” he said bluntly.

The haze lifted and suddenly she was sharply focused on the matter at hand. These ass**les were after her, and if they found her with Noah and Liam, they’d kill them. But if they thought Noah and Liam were already dead and she was nowhere in the vicinity . . .

They’d come looking for her and not waste the time on Noah and Liam.

She hauled herself over the seat and fumbled with Liam’s jacket. She grasped the stock of the gun and yanked it out of the holster.

“Good girl,” Noah praised. “Now listen to me—”

“No, you listen to me,” she said fiercely. “I’ve got a lot to say and not much time. I love you. I love you and Liam so damn much and I’m not giving either of you up without a fight. I’m sorry I haven’t told you before now. It just never seemed like the right time. Not saying now is either, but I’m not going to die without you knowing how much I love you.”

“I love you too, honey,” Noah said. “Now please, listen to me.”

She shook her head. “This is what’s going to happen, Noah, and I swear to God if you argue with me or if you don’t do exactly as I say and you end up dead, I’ll kill you all over again.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“Can you reach your gun?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Okay take it out and keep it hidden. Don’t use it unless you absolutely have to. I’m taking Liam’s gun and I’m taking off. These ass**les want me. If you pretend to be dead and Liam is unconscious and seems dead and I’m not here, they’re not going to waste a lot of time with either of you because neither of you are any good to them. It’s me they want.”