“You were going to say something earlier,” Cooper prodded, his fingers laced with hers as they stood at an intersection. He didn’t plan to wander too far away from his truck, but the night was too nice to ignore.
“When?” Hannah was genuinely baffled.
“Right after we ordered drinks and appetizers. You said you didn’t want to be high-maintenance and then we went off on a tangent.”
“Oh, right.” Hannah chuckled. “I was just going to point out that the waitress had a crush on you and the wink could be construed as flirting.”
He was taken aback. “I wasn’t flirting with her. Why would you think that?”
“I said the wink could be construed as flirting,” she repeated. “I know you weren’t flirting with her. I thought maybe I could pick a fake little fight so we could make up later. We enjoy doing that sometimes.”
“Ah.” He nodded in agreement. “I do like a good fake fight if it leads to some robust making up.”
“We don’t really need a fight, though. We can just jump straight to the making up.”
“I love the way your mind works.”
She laughed as he lavishly grabbed her around the waist and dipped her low so he could kiss her. She was focused on the exchange and yet a hint of bright energy caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and she couldn’t stop herself from looking to the east.
There, slowly, a bolt of what looked like blue lightning spread across the sky. The air crackled, and the few people out on the sidewalk looked in that direction, too. That’s how Hannah knew she wasn’t imagining it.
“What is that?” Cooper asked, confused. He instinctively pulled Hannah flush against his chest as a protective measure, even as the lightning disappeared.
“Is it going to storm?” Hannah asked, glancing around. The humidity was high for this late in the night but not so high it felt like an incoming storm.
“I don’t think so. I ....”
The lightning crackled again, this time going directly toward the streetlight in front of them. Cooper yanked Hannah away from the sparks, pulling her toward a group of bushes to serve as protection.
Just at that moment, the light turned to green from all angles and the traffic started moving ... from every single direction.
The night air filled with sickening crunch after sickening crunch, the whine of metal echoing as Cooper shaded Hannah’s head and used his body as a shield behind the bush.
Helpless, they listened until the crashes stopped ... and the screaming began.
3
Three
As soon as the noise stopped, Cooper swung into action.
“Stay here,” he ordered Hannah as he cleared the bushes and raced toward the crammed intersection. He wasn’t certain where to start, but when Hannah appeared at his side despite his order to the contrary, his temper bubbled up. “I told you to stay over there.”
“You need help.” She was matter-of-fact, and the obstinate tilt of her chin — something Cooper found adorable under different circumstances — told him she meant business. “You can’t do this by yourself.”
“How do you even know what I’m going to do?”
“Triage,” she replied simply on a shrug. “You’re going to see who is in the most dire need of help for when the paramedics get here.”
“Maybe you should call the paramedics instead.”
She extended her finger to a group of women on the other side of the street. They were panicked, talking a mile a minute, but one was clearly on the phone barking out instructions for the emergency responders.
“Fine.” He threw up his hands. “Be very careful, though. More cars could join this mess if they don’t realize what has happened.” And that was what he was most fearful of. “Don’t pull anyone out of the vehicles unless you’re certain they don’t have a back injury ... or you smell gas and think it’s likely cars could start blowing up.”
“Are you serious?” Hannah’s face was immovable.
“Yes, I’m serious. You could blow up.”
“Not that. I’m talking about the gas smell. Take a whiff. It’s all over the place.”
She was right, he realized. When he took a moment to inhale, all he could smell was gas ... and oil ... and blood. It was the last one that had him grimacing. “Be very careful. If you find someone who looks like they’re in real trouble ....” He trailed off. What was she supposed to do under those circumstances? There was nothing. She wasn’t a doctor or nurse.
“It won’t take the paramedics long to get here,” she reassured him. “Until then, we’ll do what we can.”
“Okay.” He pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. “Stay safe.”
Hannah moved to the right and he moved to the left. She poked her head inside the shattered window of the nearest vehicle and met the grim gaze of the woman inside. She had dark hair and eyes and what looked to be a nasty cut across her forehead.
“Are you okay?”
The woman nodded. “I think so. I was just doing a mental inventory. All my toes and fingers work. My back hurts a little bit but ... otherwise I think I’m okay.”
“You have a cut,” Hannah countered, glancing around the car for something to use to stem the blood. “Here.” She retrieved what looked to be fast food napkins from the passenger seat and reached in. “Keep these on your forehead. Paramedics are on the way. I have to check on the other vehicles.”
“How many people were hurt?” the woman queried, hissing out a breath as she made contact with the cut.
“I have no idea. I think it’s ten vehicles.”
The injured woman was dumbfounded. “No way.”
“It’s bad. People are coming, though. Just sit tight.”
Hannah moved to the next vehicle, bracing herself for more carnage. Instead she found a mother and her teenage daughter fighting. Both looked relatively unscathed, although the teenager was crying.
“This is not my fault,” the
