Page 22 of Her Honorable Hero

She shone the light on Jeremy. His little face was streaked with tears. He didn’t seem to be bleeding anywhere, thank the Lord. Miranda was pretty sure she had some loose teeth and her jaw hurt like a son of a bitch. She shone the light on her leg. It looked like part of a luggage rack was wedged on top of her thigh. She tried to lift it, but the seat was on top of it.

“Miranda?” She heard a weak cry.

“Scarlett?”

Nothing.

“Scarlett.”

“Please. Mira. I want my Mom.” The little boy sounded desolate. He was killing her. Miranda had to get her leg free so that she could go look for the two women and baby Hope. If Jeremy wriggled free he would go wandering, she just knew it.

“We’ll find your mommy, I promise, Jeremy.”

How was she going to get free?

“Does anybody need help?” A man’s voice yelled from a distance.

Miranda almost shouted out Griff’s name, until her brain clued into the fact it wasn’t his voice.

“Me! Help me.” Another man cried out.

She heard glass breaking.

“Holy fuck! We’re going to fall onto the beach.” A different man’s voice said.

Miranda vaguely remembered that she had been staring at a beautiful view of the ocean and that they had been near a good-sized drop-off. Please say they weren’t near that spot.

The screech of steel vibrated down her spine. Fear pierced her brain.

“Don’t move!” the same man’s voice yelled out.

Screams shattered the darkness.

She had to get her leg unstuck. She had to. Miranda yanked, then bit her lip in excruciating pain. Teeth. Jaw. Lip. Leg. She let out a watery sob.

Keep it together, Slade. There’s no crying in baseball. Think. Think.

She needed leverage to lift the luggage rack. Finally, her brain kicked into gear. She dragged her computer case over to her, and turned it so that the wheels faced her. She positioned the edge under the rack. Using the case as a wedge and shoving with all her strength, the rack eventually began to lift. Miranda pulled her leg out, ignoring the pain. At least this time, she didn’t bite her lip.

As soon as her leg came free, so did Jeremy.

Dammit.

He was up like a shot. “Wait!” Her chin hit the floor as she lunged uselessly. He was slippery as an eel, and now she tasted blood and snot.

“Come back,” she choked. Miranda dragged herself out from under the seat. At long last, she was back out into the very dim light of the train car. She saw the light of her phone and snatched it up. She shone it around and gasped at the devastation surrounding her.

The train was on its side. Seats were torn from their moorings and scattered against the shattered windows on the floor. No, wait, that was the side of the train. She shook her head, trying to orient herself. The side of the train was now the floor. She was standing on glass. She needed her shoes, fast. When she whipped her head around to look, she got dizzy and her head hurt.

Suck it up.

She saw one pump on the floor, and then the other. She slipped them on.

“Lady?” She saw a man sitting, holding his arm that had an obvious compound fracture. He was bleeding heavily from his scalp.

“I have to find the little boy who must have just run by you. Did you see which way he went?”

He tipped his head, indicating he went behind her.