Page 171 of Loving the Tormentor

I tap her driver's window, but she's unconscious, upside down, blood dripping from her head.

"Nyx!" I slam my hand on the window before pulling the door. Itisstuck, and I hit harder. The noise of metal groaning must make her come back to consciousness because her eyes blink open.

"Stay awake for me. Grab the door handle. Open so I can get you out of here."

She's completely lost, unaware of the danger she's in as lethal smoke fills up her car.

"Nyx, stay with me. Come on, baby. Pull the handle."

She finally tries, but it's not working. She's stuck in this awful position with her body pressing on her neck, and more black smoke is filling up the car, the engine still running.

"Move as far back as you can."

She tries, but she can't. Fuck it. What's a few cuts for her life? She can survive a few cuts.

I take off my t-shirt, wrap it around my fist, and punch the window.

"No!" she screams. "Your hand! We have to find another way."

"It's okay. Cover your mouth and nose. I'm getting you out."

I hit, and I hit, and I hit. At first, the material around my hand helps, but I keep having to strike harder. I've barely fissured it when she starts to lose consciousness from the smoke.

"Your hand," she coughs desperately. "Not your hand. You have to play."

I keep punching the glass. My skin breaks, my bones are crushed to dust, but I keep hitting. I don't even see my dreams disappearing before my eyes.

Because what are dreams for if I can't share them with the person who makes me believe in them?

All that matters is her voice I hear in my head from the first time she said it to me.

I'm a dreamer. You should try it sometime.

The sentence that changed my life.

The window finally shatters, and I use my foot to break more shards away and make a bigger hole.

"I got you." Panic grips me when I realize she's unconscious again as I pull her out. "I'm getting you out. Hold on."

I land on my back before turning us around and putting her on the ground, protecting her with my body.

"Breathe now," I say as I push her hair out of her face. I didn't fight to come back to her just so she'd leave me behind.

"Breathe!"

Her eyes blink open, and a smile breaks through. "God, so bossy," she croaks.

I burst into a relieved laugh, pressing a kiss to her mouth.

"You scared the hell out of me," I pant, heart pounding in my ears.

"Welcome to the club."

The ambulance is here not long after. We're both driven to the hospital, and it's only when she's in a room, hooked to some oxygen, and that the doctors tell me she'll be fine that I start to feel the pain.

"Your hand," Nyx whimpers. "Oh my God, your hand…"

Her eyes fill with tears, guilt ripping through her voice.