“Lilly!” The storm swallows my shout as I spring into action.
The wind slams into me as I slip and ride my way down the embankment, grabbing at branches to help me keep my footing.
All my military training kicks in automatically. Years of physical and mental conditioning take over my body with muscle memory before my mind can even catch up.
Control your breathing. Stay focused. One step at a time.
Panicking in a crisis will get you killed.
I know this. I’ve lived it. More than once.
But this…
This isn’t in a mission. This is the woman I love. This is Lilly.
The second I see the outline of her car crumpled against the tree, all the training in the world isn’t enough for me to keep my control.
“Fuck.”
The word tears out of me as I close the distance, treading through the snow with impressive speed, slipping down the last few feet before catching myself on the car frame. My hands are already moving, alreadyreaching for the door handle that’s mercifully exposed.
“Lilly.”
She’s slumped forward, unmoving.
She’s too still.
I wrench the door open, snow and wind blasting inside as I reach for her, brushing hair back from her face with shaking hands. “Come on, sweetheart...wake up.”
There’s blood on my glove when I pull it away.
But there’s no time to let it register.
Breathe, Luke. Focus.
I yank my glove off and press two fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse.
It’s weak.
But there.
Thank God.
But she’s still not waking up.
“Stay with me,” I rasp, cupping her face, trying to stay steady when everything inside me is threatening to spiral.“Lilly, you need to wake up now. Come on, sweetheart.”
Nothing.
The fear starts to creep up through my carefully controlled walls. This is different than combat. This isLilly.
“I can’t lose you,” my voice is raw with the truth of the words. “I won’t.”
I reach around her for the seatbelt and fumble with the clasp before reaching into my pocket for the utility knife I always have on me.
There’s no time. I need to get her out of here before…well, I won’t let myself think about what could happen if I don’t.
I make quick work of the seatbelt and, as carefully as I can, pull her out of the car and into my arms. The embankment is steep, and the snow is going to make my task anything but easy, but I have to try. There’s no other option.
