unForgivable (An inCapable World Novel Book 2) by Sara Hubbard Read Free Book Online Page A

car tips sideways. Down, down, down we roll over the edge of an embankment and land in a brook.
    The water pours in.
    And the world fades to black.

    * * *
    T he car is right side up, water flowing in through the crevices and broken glass. It’s so cold; I’m shivering. I lose my breath and my teeth start to chatter. My eyes flutter open and my hands spring to my throbbing head. Wet sticky liquid covers my hands and my palms are stained crimson. It takes me a moment to orient myself and realize what’s happening. I need to act. Now.
    Mickey? Where is Mickey? I pull on the door handle and try to force it open, but it won’t budge. There’s a hole in the window and Mickey’s body lies outside of the car on the water’s edge, his work boots sticking out through the tall weeds.
    “Mickey!” I cry, hoping he’ll at least respond and I’ll know he’s safe. “Mickey?”
    But I hear nothing. I push and shove and when it’s clear the door won’t open I remove the seatbelt biting into my chest and waist and crawl over the seats to get out of Mickey’s door. After poking my head out of the window, I crawl out. It takes seconds for my clothes to swell and grow heavy with water. My body tenses, but the cold helps numb the pain from my wounds and so does fear for my uncle. I stumble through the muck and weeds in the water and I fall forward, gasping with the chill. Crawling, the water to my chin, I close the distance.
    “Mickey? Mickey? Answer me?” I reach his body and his whole abdomen is covered in blood. Too much blood. I know how bad this situation is, but I also know it’s about to get a hell of a lot worse.
    “Don’t leave me,” I cry.
    Mickey stirs, mumbling incoherently.
    “Tell me what to do. Please, I can’t do this on my own.”
    “No hospital,” he says, sputtering.
    “What? You can’t be serious.”
    “I’m as good as dead,” he says. “Docs on payroll…” His eyes roll back in his head and he lays limp. My heart pounds in my chest and the world slows, the wind whipping my hair around my face. I’m sure I’ve lost him until I press my fingers to his neck and find a weak pulse. I know Mickey. If I call the hospital he’ll lose his mind. He’ll never forgive me. Never. Plus, even if he survives, the Dantes will find us. There are few people in this city who can’t be bought. It wouldn’t take long for someone to talk and for his men to come into the hospital, ready to fire another bullet, this one aimed at his head.
    I reach into my back pocket and find my phone. I thought the waterproof case wasn’t necessary when my aunt suggested it and here I am, being proven wrong again. My finger hovers over the 9.
    Life or death.
    Now or later.
    I know I should call 911. I know this is the right decision but I can’t push the buttons. Mickey always knows what’s best and I can’t ignore that fact right now, even if it seems completely foolish. So I call the only other person I can trust.
    “Hello?” Carrie’s soft voice echoes through my cell phone. The service out here sucks and the line crackles for a minute before I find my own voice.
    “Carrie, I need help.”
    “What time is it?”
    I ignore her. “Please tell me you know a doctor or a nurse or something. We were in an accident.” I sniff away tears and wipe my forearm across my nose, noting the streak of blood it leaves on my flesh. I wipe again and there’s less this time. “Oh, God. I don’t think Mickey’s going to make it. There’s so much blood.”
    “Call 911,” she says, her voice firm.
    “It’s not safe. He’ll find us. He said no hospital.”
    “Who’ll find you?”
    “I have so much to tell you, but not now. I need help. Just please, come and help me,” I say, my voice pleading.
    “Where are you?”
    “Um…,” I look around and focus on the sign I can still see a few yards ahead. “Just before the turn off to Seabright.”
    “Hang tight, Beth. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    Hang tight? I’m not