Only We Know by Victoria Purman Read Free Book Online Page A

gaze back to the road, all she could see looming in front of her was a silver four-wheel drive, stationary across the middle of the road. She jammed her foot on the brake so hard it jarred her back and locked her arms and, as she skidded on the wet road, the back of the car closing in on her, she clenched her eyes closed with a scream on her lips.

CHAPTER
    7
    There was something pounding in the car and for a moment Calla couldn’t figure out if it was the music or her heart exploding out of her chest. She pried her eyes open and was relieved that she could. Every muscle in her body had stiffened and all she could see through the fogged-up windscreen was the red of her shunted-up bonnet and, beyond it, a smudge of silver, the four-wheel drive like a fortress in front of her.
    She breathed in, then out, her head a jumble of confusion and questions. The pounding in her head was so fierce she wanted to close her eyes and block it all out. The rush of adrenalin was like a panic attack, like 140 volts through her, and her breath quickened until she felt dizzy.
    Then there was a noise, a crunching metallic scrape, and her car engine stopped. A hand was on her shoulder and there was a deep voice in her ear.
    â€˜Can you hear me?’
    Calla moaned. ‘Yes.’ Adrenaline coursed through her until her stomach roiled.
    â€˜Are you all right? Can you open your eyes, Calla?’ Someone was leaning over her, squeezing into the car. On top of her, all around her. She heard the sound of her seatbelt unclip.
    â€˜Did you knock your head?’ A warm hand brushed back her curls and was firm on her forehead.
    â€˜I … I don’t think so.’
    Strong fingers were on her wrist, pressing down at her pulse point.
    â€˜Do you know where you are?’ The question was calm and considered, though almost drowned out by the whoosh in her ears.
    â€˜Some road. Not exactly.’ Calla turned to the voice and slowly prised open her eyes.
    And then Sam’s face was all she could see. His dark eyes stared back at her, right into her eyes, glancing from one pupil to the other and back again. His mouth was a grim line but his manner was steady and authoritative.
    â€˜You’re on Kangaroo Island.’
    â€˜I know that much. What’s happened?’ Calla’s voice sounded a long way away.
    â€˜You skidded on the wet road and ran into my car.’ Sam let go of her wrist and put her arm in her lap.
    â€˜Oh, shit.’
    â€˜Stay right here. There’s been an accident just ahead of us. I’m turning on your hazard lights. Don’t move until someone comes for you, do you understand?’
    Calla raised a hand to cover her eyes, to stop the throb. Her arm felt heavy. ‘Okay.’
    And then he was gone.
    Sam threw open the back of his four-wheel drive, grabbed his trauma pack and ran.
    When he’d come over the rise a minute before, he’d skidded to a halt in front of the accident scene. His training took over in a millisecond. He’d quickly reversed and swung his car round to block the road. First, protect the scene. He didn’t want another vehicle coming up the highway and making the whole thing worse.
    As he got closer, his breath clouding as he ran in the cold, he scanned the road. Up on the left, a white sedan had pulled over to the verge, the driver’s door already open. He could see movement in the cabin. To his right were two leather-clad bodies, lying crumpled and indistinct on the ground. Their motorbike had skidded into a gum tree, gashed it.
    He reached the motorcyclists first. Both rider and pillion had been tossed onto the grass and dirt on the side of the road. Ahead of them, the metallic shards of the motorbike had splintered and twisted beyond recognition. He could smell burnt rubber and fuel leaking from the petrol tank. Neither victim was moving. He knelt down close to the nearest one, a woman, and shouted at her helmet, ‘Can you hear me?’
    His