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“Oh God, no. No, please be alive. Lori!” Charlie yelled down. Trevor and Dante joined him by the side.

“Wait, let’s get some rope or something. It might cave in,” the sheriff yelled as he and Gunner joined them.

“No, she needs us,” Trevor said then jumped down into the hole, rolled and landed a foot away from Lori.

He felt the dirt falling in slightly around them. They didn’t have much time.

He placed his hand against her cheek, the sight of all the bruises, the blood, the gash on her head and broken arm angered him and scared the living hell out of him.

“She’s unconscious, barely breathing, and in bad shape.”

“The ambulance is here!” Charlie yelled down.

“How bad is she, son?” Tom Cantrell asked.

Trevor looked up at the gathering crowd. He locked gazes with Charlie and Dante then Ben and Maggie.

“Bad,” he whispered and felt the tears reach his eyes. He loved Lori so much and he thought his heart was stone and could never feel so much for anyone. She changed all that. She was a hero, a strong person, and a fighter. But now she needed them. She needed her family and friends, and they were all above them, moving into action.

“Trevor, did you hear me? I’m coming. We need to tie her down to the flat board,” Charlie yelled to him.

Dante helped the paramedics as Charlie jumped down into the hole and immediately looked over Lori’s injuries.

“Fuck, this is bad,” he whispered to Trevor.

“I know. If she doesn’t make it, Charlie—”

“She’ll make it. This is Lori we’re talking about here. Come on. Let’s do this.”

Dante and the paramedic slowly lowered the flat board and the ropes. They took their time gently moving Lori onto the stretcher. As she lay on her back, Trevor absorbed the sight of bruising to her throat, her face, and chest. He clenched his teeth.

“They fucking touched her. Look.”

“We can’t focus on that now. The stranger is dead. Gunner shot him as he took shots at him and the deputies. Henshaw is in cuffs. She’s safe.” Charlie clipped the attachments on the board, strapping her in tightly.

It was an effort pulling her up and then pulling up Charlie and Trevor.

Just as they watched Lori being placed into the ambulance, they heard the sound of dirt falling and the hole collapsed. They had just made it in the nick of time. Trevor ran a hand over his mouth as he felt his chest tighten and his body shake in fear as the adrenaline rush began to diminish.

Lori could have been buried alive. I could have lost her forever.

Chapter 20

Lori had a tough road ahead of her. She felt tired, weak, would get dizzy every once in a while, and had blurred vision. The doctors said it was normal after sustaining multiple hits to the head and then landing on that rock in the dirt ditch. Her arm was still in a cast but in another two weeks it would be off and right in time to start school. She hadn’t been able to work, but Charlie, Dante, and Trevor insisted that they were going to take care of her and that she no longer had to worry about money. She came upstairs about an hour ago to lie down and she felt that fear and bit of anxiety about being alone. She was trying her hardest to not let the fear control her as Andrew had explained during one of their therapy sessions. She felt comfortable with him and found his counseling techniques helpful.

But it seemed that she couldn’t last more than an hour alone. Which was better than three weeks ago when she couldn’t stand to be alone for more than a few minutes.

As if knowing she was getting panicky, Trevor came upstairs and joined her.

“Hey, sexy, how are you doing?”

She opened her arms to him and felt the tears reach them, but they wouldn’t fall. She was gaining control of that, too. No more crying at the drop of a hat or hiding out, shaking in fear. The nightmares continued but her men were always there to take care of her. It was part of the PTSS she suffered from, just as Charlie, Dante, and Trevor suffered from it, too. But they told her, since she had become part of their lives, their nightmares had lessened and their focus was solely on loving her.

He climbed onto the bed and hugged her. He lay down and she snuggled against him.

“You’re shaking, honey. How long before it started this time?” he asked as he caressed her chin.

“An hour. I’m getting better.” She squeezed him tightly.