He batted the deflated airbag out of his way. No wonder his head was thundering in beat with his heart—it had probably gotten an up close and personal meeting with the bag. Which, granted, was better than the windshield, so he really couldn’t complain.
Sage appeared at the door again and gripped his hand, helping him out of the wreck with a surprising amount of strength. She was no weak, wilting flower. She was strong and capable, and there was zero chance he’d ever break her.
That was sexy as hell.
He landed in the mud beside her, and for a long moment, neither of them moved. The car slid another few feet, and he finally sat up, though it was a chore.
“My bag.” He shoved himself upright, staggered. “We’ll need it. Supplies—”
Sage gripped his arm. “No, you’re injured. You don’t have to play Superman. I’ll get it.”
He sank back down, partially relieved, but mostly annoyed that she was right. He was more injured than he wanted to admit. His body was still healing from the bomb blast, and he’d put it through hell since getting the cast off his leg a few weeks ago, trying to prove…he didn’t know what. His masculinity? His badassness? His immortality? But all he’d proven was his stupidity, and he was paying for it now.
Oh Christ, he hurt.
He’d had a lot of internal injuries after the bomb, and it’d be just his luck if the car accident had screwed up his insides again. He should probably haul his ass to a hospital and make sure he wasn’t bleeding out.
Except if he suggested the hospital, Sage would run again. He’d been pretty doped up on pain medication the last time they were in a hospital together, but he distinctly recalled how twitchy it had made her.
All right. No hospital.
He was fairly certain he wasn’t seriously injured, just really fucking bruised and battered. He’d live. And with that thought, he gathered his strength and shoved himself to his feet again as Sage returned to his side.
“Now what?” she asked, shouldering the bag.
Vaughn glanced around, orienting himself to their surroundings. “The SUV’s gone?”
“Yeah, they took off. Didn’t even bother to check to see if we were dead.”
“They didn’t want us dead. There are easier ways to kill a person.”
In the glow of the headlights, he saw her go pale.
She gripped the strap of the bag tighter. “So they were…what? Sending a message?”
“I think so.” He nodded and immediately regretted it as pain sliced through his temple. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. “We need a place to lay low. The motel in town is our best option.”
Sage eyed him up and down. “But it’s probably still a good three-mile walk. Can you do it?”
It irked that she had to ask. Irked more that, yes, in his current state, a three-mile hike was going to be a struggle. “We’ll go up to the road. It’ll be smoother, faster.”
“What if we see the cop again?”
“We’ll see him before he sees us. If he shows up again, we’ll duck into the trees. C’mon.” He turned and looked up the embankment at the road overhead and tried not to groan. “Let’s move.”
Chapter Nine
The road was endless, with no town in sight. Nothing but empty asphalt, towering pines, and the silence of the night broken by the rushing water of the river as it snaked through the ravine alongside the road.
Sage paused and stared ahead at another hill. Her feet hurt, her head hurt, and every muscle in her body ached, threatening to lock up with every step she took. “We should have reached the town by now.”
Vaughn released an explosive sigh and kept moving. “Is this your version of ‘are we there yet?’ Because, yeah, it’s just as annoying.”
He was limping. He was trying not to show it, but Sage saw the slight hitch in his usually smooth gait. He was hurting just as much as she was, probably more, and she feared his injuries were worse than he wanted to let on.
In an instant, she flashed back to November and saw him lying so still in a hospital bed, wrapped in a cast from ankle to hip. All the tubes and monitors and bandages…
Her stomach twisted at the memory. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said through his teeth and glanced over his shoulder at her. “But if you keep asking me that, I might just jump into that ravine and put myself out of my misery.”
She snorted. “And let me get away with all of my crimes? Have you gone soft on me, Vaughn Wilde?”
He said nothing more and continued trudging along the deserted road with a single-mindedness that was maddening.
Fine. If he wanted to do this the hard way, she’d just have to call him out on his bull. Hands on her hips, she planted her feet and made her voice into a whip. “Vaughn. You’re limping.”
His shoulders tightened, but he still didn’t stop, didn’t glance back. “If the cop was telling us the truth, we should be reaching the motel soon.”