Hot Zone. Elle James

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      A groan from the man next to her brought her out of the fog and back to the front seat of the pickup. She blinked several times and turned her head.

      A sharp stab of pain slashed through her forehead and warm thick liquid dripped from her forehead into her eyes. She wiped the fluid away only to discover it was blood. Her blood.

      Another moan took her mind off her own injuries.

      She blinked to clear her vision and noticed Abe hunched over the steering wheel, the front of the truck pushed into the cab pressing in around his legs.

      The pungent scent of gasoline stung her nostrils, sending warning signals through her stunned brain. “Abe?” She touched his shoulder.

      His head lolled back, his eyes closed.

      “Abe!” Liv struggled with her seat belt, the buckle refusing to release when she pressed the button. “Abe!” She gave up for a moment and shook her foreman. “We have to get out of the truck. I smell gas.”

      He moaned again, but his eyes fluttered open. “I can’t move,” he said, his voice weak. “I think my leg is broken.”

      “I don’t care if both of your legs are broken—we have to get you out of the truck. Now!” She punched at her own safety belt, this time managing to disengage the locking mechanism. Flinging it aside, she reached for Abe’s and released it. Then she pushed open her door and slid out of the front seat.

      When her feet touched the ground, her knees buckled. She grabbed hold of the door and held on to steady herself. The scent of gasoline was so strong now it was overpowering, and smoke rose from beneath the crumpled hood.

      Straightening, Liv willed herself to be strong and get her foreman out of the truck before the vehicle burst into flames. She’d already lost her father. Abe was the only family she had left. She’d be damned if she lost him, too.

      With tears threatening, she staggered around the rear of the truck, her feet slipping on loose gravel and stones. When she tried to open the driver’s door, it wouldn’t budge.

      She pounded on it, getting more desperate by the minute. “Abe, you have to help me. Unlock the door. I have to get you out.”

      Rather than dissipating, the cloud of smoke grew. The wind shifted, sending the smoke into Liv’s face. “Damn it, Abe. Unlock the door!”

      A loud click sounded and Liv pulled the door handle, willing it to open. It didn’t.

      Her eyes stinging and the smoke scratching at her throat with every breath she took, Liv realized she didn’t have much time.

      She braced her foot on the side panel of the truck and pulled hard on the door handle. Metal scraped on metal and the door budged, but hung, having been damaged when the truck wrapped around the tree.

      Hands curled around her shoulders, lifted her off her feet and set her to the side.

      Then a hulk of a man with broad shoulders, big hands and a strong back ripped the door open, grabbed Abe beneath the arms, hauled him out of the smoldering cab and carried him all of the way up the hill to the paved road.

      Her tears falling in earnest now, Liv followed, stumbling over the uneven ground, dropping to her knees every other step. When she reached the top, she sagged to the ground beside Abe on the shoulder of the road. “Abe? Please tell me you’re okay. Please.”

      With his eyes still closed, he moaned. Then he lifted his eyelids and opened his mouth. “I’m okay,” he muttered. “But I think my leg’s broken.”

      “Oh, jeez, Abe.” She laughed, albeit shakily. “A leg we can get fixed. I’m just glad you’re alive.”

      “Take a lot more than a tree to do me in.” Abe grabbed her arm. “I’m sorry, Liv. If it’s messed up, I won’t be able to take care of the place until it’s healed.”

      “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Abe. Working for me is the last thing you should be worrying about. I’ll manage fine on my own.” She rested her hand on her foreman’s shoulder, amazed that the man could worry about her when his face was gray with pain. “What’s more important is getting you to a hospital.” She glanced around, looking for the man who’d pulled Abe from the wreckage.

      He stood on the pavement, waving at a passing truck.

      The truck slowed to a stop, and her rescuer rounded to the driver’s door and spoke with the man behind the wheel. The driver pulled to the side of the road, got out and hurried down to where Liv waited with Abe.

      “Jonah? That you?” Abe glanced up, shading his eyes from the sun.

      “Yup.” Jonah dropped to his haunches beside Abe. “How’d you end up in a ditch?”

      Abe shook his head and winced. “A man on a four-wheeler darted out in front of me. I swerved to miss him.” He nodded toward Liv. “You remember Olivia Dawson?”

      Jonah squinted, staring across Abe to Liv. “I remember a much smaller version of the Dawson girl.” He held out his hand. “Sorry to hear about your father’s accident.”

      Liv took the man’s hand, stunned that they were making introductions when Abe was in pain. “Thank you. Seems accidents are going around.” Liv stared from Abe to Jonah’s vehicle above. “Think between the three of us we could get Abe up to your truck? He won’t admit it, but I’ll bet he’s hurting pretty badly.”

      “It’s just a little sore,” Abe countered and then grimaced.

      Liv snorted. “Liar.”

      “We can get him up there,” the stranger said.

      “Yes, we can,” Jonah agreed. “But should we? I could drive back to town and notify the fire department. They could have an ambulance out here in no time.”

      “I don’t need an ambulance to get me to town.” Abe tried to get up. The movement made him cry out and his face turn white. He sagged back against the ground.

      “If you don’t want an ambulance, then you’ll have to put up with us jostling you around getting you up the hill,” the stranger said.

      “Better than being paraded through Grizzly Pass in the back of an ambulance.” Abe gritted his teeth. “Everyone knows ambulances are for sick folk.”

      “Or injured people,” Liv said. “And you have a major injury.”

      “Probably just a bruise. Give me a minute and I’ll be up and running circles around all of you.” Abe caught Liv’s stare and sighed. “Okay, okay. I could use a hand getting up the hill.”

      The stranger shot a glance at Jonah. “Let’s do this.”

      Jonah looped one of Abe’s arms around his neck, bent and slid an arm beneath one of Abe’s legs.

      The stranger stepped between Liv and Abe, draped one of Abe’s arms over his shoulder and glanced across at Jonah. “On three.” He slipped his hand beneath Abe.

      Jonah nodded. “One. Two. Three.”

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