A garbage truck that hadbeen waiting at the far curb of Forty-Ninth raced into the intersection, straight toward Stone’s Bentley.
Fred seemed to know that if they continued forward, there would be no way to escape a collision. Instead, he swiftly whipped the steering wheel to the left so that they instead might drive by the side of the truck, like a pair of fast ships passing in the night.
When the front end of the truck zoomed by just inches from the Bentley’s front fender on the passenger side, it seemed as if the ploy had worked. But then the truck driver yanked his vehicle to the right, smacking hard into the Bentley’s rear fender.
The sedan spun out of control toward the vehicles waiting on Forty-Ninth for the light to change and smashed into the front of a package delivery van before careening into the BMW 530i at the front of the other lane, where it finally stopped.
As the airbags, which had deployed during the crash, began to deflate, Stone took stock of himself. He seemed to be unhurt.
He turned to Tamlyn. She was tilted toward him, her seat belt keeping her from falling. He unbuckled his own belt and turned so he could touch her shoulder.
“Tamlyn?”
She groaned and her eyes fluttered open. “Stone?”
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“I…I don’t know.”
After he helped her sit up, she wiggled her fingers and stretched her torso. “I think I’m just a little shaken up.”
“That makes two of us,” he said. “I’m going to check Fred, okay?”
“All right.”
Stone leaned into the front. Fred was slumped against the steering wheel, a now deflated airbag between him and it.
“Fred?”
When Stone received no response, he put a couple fingers against Fred’s throat and checked for a pulse.
“How is he?” Tamlyn asked.
“Alive, but we need to get him help.”
Stone tried to open his door, but his was the side that had slammed into the delivery van.
“It’s jammed shut,” he said. “How’s yours?”
Tamlyn pulled the door handle, and the door swung open a few inches, then stopped. She pushed against it, but it refused to move any farther.
Stone was about to ask her to switch places, so he could try kicking it open with his feet, when several sets of fingers wrapped around the door from the outside and started pulling.
A metallic groan was followed by a loudpop, then the door swung all the way open. Two guys wearing vests with the logo of a delivery company on them peered inside.
“You two okay?” one of the men asked.
“Okay enough to want out,” Tamlyn said.
The other guy held out a hand. “Grab on and I’ll help you.”
Tamlyn took it and carefully extricated herself from the back seat.
As soon as Stone was out of the car, he said, “Has anyone called nine-one-one?”
The first guy nodded. “Police and ambulance are on the way.”
Stone moved around to Fred’s door, but while it had avoided serious damage, it wouldn’t open.
