by CJ Murphy
Jax rested her arm on the edge of the driver-side window. “Did you text Meg that we are on our way back to the office?”
Lindsey nodded. “She’s going to pick up dinner and meet me at home. She had court today and is off for the next two days, before she moves to day shift for a week.”
“I’ll bet you’re looking forward to that. You have less than a month until your wedding.” Jax caught a quick glance in Lindsey’s direction and saw the smile.
“I know. I can’t wait. We’ve been dating since high school. Meg wouldn’t even consider us getting married until she was a trooper.” She waved a hand around. “She said something about being old-fashioned and wanting to be able to take care of me. I never needed her to do more than to love me. Meg wanted my dad to know she could support me. Pissed me off for a long time, but that’s just Meg.”
“It’s in their DNA to protect, and that means in all ways. You can’t change them.” The sky grew darker, and Jax could hear the faint whine of an off-road vehicle or maybe a dirt bike. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw headlights approaching quickly. The sight wasn’t unusual in a rural county. Much of the population enjoyed off-road activities and frequently used ATVs for farm chores. What worried Jax was the speed with which these vehicles were traveling. The narrow, blacktop road wasn’t very forgiving, and one side dropped off sharply, with guardrail only in the most dangerous spots.
Lindsey agreed. “No, you can’t. I don’t think we’d want to. Admit it…it’s kinda hot.”
Their laughter filled the truck. “Oh, yeah, in an annoying kind of way. It’s nice being able to talk with someone who understands.” Jax heard the rider getting closer, and it was obvious there was more than one.
Lindsey pushed her hair behind her ear and looked at the side mirror. “Do you hear that?”
“Yeah, it’s been coming up on us for a bit. I’ve seen lights but not the bikes.”
Jax concentrated on her driving. They still had a few miles to go on the narrow, winding road, before reaching the main route. She caught glimpses of Lindsey fidgeting and watching the side mirror. Relax, dirt bikes out here are normal. She needed to calm Lindsey’s apprehension. “So, how are the wedding plans coming? Did you settle on the reception meal?”
“We’re bringing in Hog Wild to do a pig roast and Karmen’s catering the rest of the meal.”
Jax nodded. “We’re having Karmen do our catering as well. She’s so good. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything from her I didn’t like.”
The bikes were close enough that Jax could finally see them clearly. Both riders were in all black.
“Lindsey, see if you have cell service. Send Chance a text with our location, please.”
Lindsey picked up her phone and started tapping the screen with her thumbs. “Anything else you want me to tell her?”
“Yes, tell her to come and find us. When you’re done, I want you to tighten your seatbelt.”
Lindsey whipped her head at Jax, her face full of alarm. “What’s going on, Jax?”
“I’m not sure, Lindsey. Whoever these individuals are on the bikes, they don’t seem to be trying to get past me, even though I’m giving them plenty of room to do so. I might be wrong, but I think the one on your side has a hay hook in his left hand.”
“Isn’t that what you said someone used to flatten Chance’s truck tires the other night?”
“And that’s why I need you to make sure you’re fastened in good and tight.” Jax saw Lindsey’s phone light up. “I’m assuming you don’t have enough service to make a call, if my dash display is any indication. If that’s Chance, give her a description of the bikes and landmarks where we are.”
Lindsey tapped quickly on the screen as the bike pulled up alongside. They heard a screech of metal. Jax looked in the mirror to see the rider dragging the hay hook along the side of the truck as it went past. Jax’s blood ran cold. The back of the sweatshirt was imprinted with the same skeletal hand with the middle finger extended. An incoming call rang over the integrated system, and Jax hoped there was enough service to complete the call.
“Chance, we’ve got trouble. Same sweatshirt from the vandalism the other night, and they’ve got a hay hook. Two riders.”
Jax strained to make out anything Chance said, but she was dropping in and out of service. All she could make out was “coming.” The call disconnected. “Siri, call 9-1-1.” Jax hoped that at least in attempting the call, the communication center could pinpoint their location if anything happened. She could hear the ring, but the call dropped off again before she could make voice contact. “Lindsey, keep trying 9-1-1.”
Jax moved more to the center of the roadway that had widened out to nearly a lane and a half. They were approaching a blind spot, and she prayed no vehicle was coming in the other direction. When she rounded the curve, she jerked the wheel in reaction to the bike driving straight at her. The rear wheels broke loose in the gravel and her attempts to correct the slide were ineffective. The edge of the roadway came closer with shocking speed, and Jax could do nothing more than yell to Lindsey to brace herself.
“Hold on!”
The vehicle tilted sharply to the right as the tires dropped off the edge, sending them into a roll over the embankment. Darkness claimed the last of the light from the sky. The truck’s headlights illuminated the trees, as they rolled in a dizzying kaleidoscope. Side airbags deployed. The inertia of the truck continued to roll them, metal screeching then yielding to the solid objects around them. Finally, they stopped. Jax was disoriented and tried to clear her head as small glass pebbles from the busted rear window plinked off the vehicle’s interior and showered them both. Pain seared Jax’s body. She dangled upside down against the seatbelt.
“Lindsey? Lindsey, can you hear me?” Jax felt around the darkened cab, trying to check on Lindsey. Her hand found the warm flesh of a dangling arm, and she followed it down until she had the wrist. A strong pulse bounded under her fingers, though Lindsey still hadn’t answered.
I’ve got to get out of this seatbelt. Jax stopped moving and took several deep breaths, trying to clear the disorientation from her head as blood rushed into it from the inversion. Solve one problem at a time, Jax. She tried to release the buckle on her seatbelt, but the weight of her body seemed to bind the clip. Where’s your knife? Cargo pocket on your right leg. That would require her to pull up with her core muscles to get to the knife. Thank God for all these years holding myself up in the saddle. Using her abdominal muscles, she used her left hand to push against the roof while she located the Gerber tool and pulled out the blade.
Jax realized the only way to control her fall was to try and brace herself with her left hand on the truck’s roof. It wasn’t going to help much, but she hoped it would keep her from causing Lindsey more injury. The second the blade sliced through the webbing, Jax dropped from the seat into an incredibly awkward position that bent her neck painfully. It wasn’t until she went to push with her legs that she realized something was wrong. Apparently, the adrenaline running through her veins had masked the pain. Her left leg, below the knee, screamed in protest as she tried to push off with it. The pain was so excruciating, her mouth felt like it was filling with hot water, alerting her that she was about to throw up. Jax forced it back down, when she heard Lindsey moan. She focused all her attention on checking on Lindsey.
Think Jax, you need to see what’s going on. “Flashlight, find the flashlight.” Jax felt around for the edge of the bucket seat, knowing she had a Maglite jammed in between. Gratitude flooded over her when she felt the cool cylinder and found the button. A bright beam illuminated the cab, and she got her first look at the trouble they were in. The roof was bent into the cab, and part of Lindsey’s door protruded in and against Lindsey’s body. She moved the beam around to be able to see her assistant’s face. Her eyes were closed, her face partially covered in blood. Her arms were stretched above her head and lay on the roof.
“Lindsey! Lindsey, talk to me. Wake up,
Lindsey! Come on, wake up, honey.” Jax tried several times to get a response from Lindsey. She watched her chest press tight against the seatbelt, relieved to see she was still breathing. “Lindsey, wake up.”
Jax was trying to maneuver closer to Lindsey when she heard a siren off in the distance. Unsure as to whether emergency services would be able to tell where they went over the embankment, she did the only thing she could do to get their attention. She blew the horn.
Chapter Seventeen
CHANCE RACED UP LIMESTONE Mountain Road with Zeus, praying she would find Jax’s truck. There was only one thing on her mind, getting to Jax. Someone was threatening her happiness, and she wouldn’t let anyone take what she’d just gotten back. There had been no more texts from Lindsey pinpointing their location. All she knew was that they were on their way down the mountain, and someone was chasing them. Not just someone, possibly the same individuals who had vandalized her personal vehicle at the brewery.
“Comm Center to SD-1.”
Chance gripped the steering wheel with one hand and grabbed the mic. “This is SD-1, go ahead.”
“We had a 9-1-1 call from your half unit. We couldn’t make a connection, but we’ve triangulated the signal to Limestone Mountain Road.”
“I’m headed up the road now, I’ll advise as soon as I find them. What other units do you have coming this way?”
“State Police Unit 207 is en route from the Clover Run area.”
Zeus started to bark, and Chance squinted as she rounded a corner. Lights showing where there shouldn’t be any. Over the hill! She saw yaw marks on the blacktop and disturbed gravel at the roadway edge. Silencing the siren, she watched Zeus’ head turn in the direction of the embankment and heard him whine. She rolled down the window and heard a car horn. Short bursts followed by a long one, repeating over and over. “That’s our girl, Zeus.” She grabbed the mic and relayed information to the comm center to alert fire and EMS to her location. “Put the helicopter on standby, the vehicle is over the hill and is going to take some effort to reach.” Chance flipped her radio to act as a portable repeater for herself and incoming units. Communications in this area could be sketchy.
Zeus jumped across her and headed over the hill the second she opened his door. “Find Jax, Zeus. I’m right behind you.” She pulled on a rescue helmet and clicked on its bright headlamp before grabbing her trauma bag out of the back.
The horn continued to blast in intermediate bursts as she clambered down over the hill through brambles, laurel bushes, and trees. She could see the headlights below her and could smell gasoline and hot brakes. Heart pounding, she stumbled and felt her pants snag on the briars that impaled her knees and hands. Righting herself, she continued over the hill, making her way to the overturned vehicle. Zeus was already there and barking. The horn stopped.
“Chance!”
“I’m coming, Jax! Hang on!”
Chance fell again and felt the scrape of rough bark against her cheek. The overwhelming drive to get to Jax pushed her forward, as she gained her footing again and turned sideways to control her descent. Twenty more feet.
“Chance, Lindsey’s out cold!”
“I’m coming, baby. Almost there.” She climbed over several saplings that had been bent over as the truck rolled. Pieces and parts of the vehicle were strewn from the top to where the truck rested on its roof. Chance stumbled the last few feet and dropped to her knees at the side of the truck. She grabbed her knife from her side and cut away the airbag hanging limply in the doorframe, obstructing her view. Zeus was half in the vehicle and she gently pushed him aside. “Let me in, boy.” He whined but backed out and lay at the entrance. Her headlamp illuminated a terrifying sight. Jax’s left leg below the knee lay at an odd angle. When Jax’s face turned to her, there were tiny rivulets of blood on her face. “Your leg’s broken, Jax. Try not to move around. You could be more seriously injured. I’m coming around to Lindsey’s side to check on her. Sit still. Help is on the way.”
“Help Lindsey. I’m fine.” Jax grimaced as she tried to readjust her position.
“Like hell, you are. Sit still.” Chance scrambled around the vehicle and tried to work her way around the tree the truck was pinned against to get to Lindsey. She cut away the airbag but still couldn’t get access to Lindsey. The rear window was completely gone. The missing glass gave Chance ample room to scramble inside. She threw her bag inside and felt small pieces of the shattered window cutting through her uniform pants as she followed it in. Chance ordered Zeus not to follow her. “Blijf.” He whined, as she disappeared inside the cab.
“Chance, how are we going to get her down? She hasn’t done more than moan since we came to a stop.”
Chance could hear approaching sirens and prayed they’d get there soon. Her Suburban would mark the location for those incoming units. I’ve got to try and cradle her head and protect her spinal integrity. Let me grab a cervical collar out of my bag.” Chance felt around on the floor and found the light attached to the vehicle’s headliner. She also pushed the overheads near the windshield to illuminate the cab. Now that she could see, she could better assess both women and give a report. She felt for Lindsey’s carotid pulse, pounding but steady. There was a gash on the side of her face, along with a significant cut to her right arm.
Chance pulled the cervical collar from her trauma bag, deftly fitting it around Lindsey’s neck, as she assessed her breathing for rate and quality. “Lindsey, can you hear me?” Chance listened, as the young woman groaned but did not offer a response. With the collar in place, Chance looked over Lindsey’s body, trying to locate any other injuries. It was possible they were internal. Zeus barked, and Chance turned to see Harley in her olive-green uniform, the agony on her face clear.
“Chance, is she okay?” Harley clambered in beside Chance.
“Head wound, unresponsive to anything other than painful or verbal stimuli. If you think you can support her head and neck, I’ll cut her seatbelt so we can get her on the ground back here. Being upside down with a concussion has to be causing her pain.”
Tears streaked down Jax’s face. “Harley, I’m so sorry. I don’t know who ran us off the road.”
“Jax, this isn’t your fault. Whoever did this will be held accountable. Let’s concentrate on getting you two out of here and to the hospital. After that, Katy bar the door.”
Chance found a way to squeeze into the front cab between the bucket seats. She stopped for a few seconds to kiss Jax on the forehead. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to get you out of here.”
Harley put her hands on Lindsey’s shoulders while using her forearms to cradle Lindsey’s head and the cervical collar. “I’m ready.”
Chance braced her shoulders up against Lindsey’s thighs and wrapped one arm around them in preparation to control her descent. “Here we go.” Chance used her knife to slice through the seatbelt that held Lindsey in the air. Once they’d guided Lindsey down, they used the lever to lay the seat back and maneuver her into the back seat. “Harley, you’re going to have to stay where you are and keep her neck in line. I need to give an update.”
Harley nodded. “I’m not going anywhere. I may not have given birth to her, but she’s as much my daughter as Meg is.”
“She knows that too. Keep talking to her.” Chance keyed her radio. “SD-1 to Comm Center.”
“SD-1, go ahead.”
“I’ve made access to the patients. There are two cruisers where the vehicle went over. Two patients, one with an obvious tib-fib fracture. Second victim has a facial laceration and is unconscious. Advise the incoming units they will need to set up a haul system to bring them up over the hill. Both patients will need to be carried up out of here in rescue baskets.”
“10-4, Sheriff. You have units from Thomas and Parsons coming your way along with SR-5 and an ambulance out of Thomas.”
“Thanks, Willa.”
“SR-5 to SD-1.”
A wash of relief flooded over Chance as Sarah’s voice came acr
oss the radio. Chance was so very grateful her best friend was coming on the rescue unit.
“Sarah, I’m probably thirty feet down a steep embankment. The terrain is rough. They aren’t trapped but getting them out of here is going to be a bear. Who do you have with you?”
Sarah rattled off names, further relieving Chance’s building anxiety. “Okay, bleeding is controlled on patient one. I’m going to splint patient two now.” Chance could hear sirens a bit closer. “Jax, can you describe anything about the bikes or riders?”
Jax gritted her teeth and nodded. “Dirt bikes. One of the guys had the same sweatshirt from the other night. I can’t give you much detail other than one of them had a hay hook.”
Chance leaned in and kissed her softly. “Hang in there. I’m going to get you out of here. Then cocoon you in bubble wrap and put you in my pocket until we get married.”
Jax somehow managed a smile. “I might just take you up on that. I was so scared I’d never see you again.”
Chance ran her fingertips over Jax’s jaw. “Not ever going to happen. Let’s get that leg stabilized. Sarah and the rest of the gang will be here soon.” Chance watched, as Jax closed her eyes.
***
Chance paced the hallway, Zeus at her heel. She tapped her cellphone against her chin, willing it to vibrate with a text from Taylor. Her deputies and several state troopers were out searching the area of the scene for the bike and riders that Jax described. Lindsey had regained consciousness in the emergency room, with Meg at her side. Harley had gone back out to lead the search with a promise to both her and Meg to find who did it.
Dr. Amy Halston stepped to her side. “Chance, we’re spending too much time together lately.”
“I really wish it was under different circumstances, though I am extremely grateful you are on duty. How is she?”
Amy put her hands in her lab coat. “The orthopedist is looking at the MRI now. If it’s a simple break, he’ll set it and put a cast on it. If it’s more complicated, it may require surgery. Fingers crossed.” She pulled her hand from her pocket and crossed her middle finger over her index.