Chapter 33 #2
Nolan tried not to look away from Zarifa but he saw both Lucas and Talon in his peripheral vision, whispering and then breaking apart.
Garang was alive, but badly wounded and tied up as Talon grabbed his rifle and moved to the passenger back door.
The airbag hid his approach as Lucas disappeared behind the minivan.
“What do you want?” Nolan asked, keeping Zarifa’s attention on him. He noticed she was bleeding heavily on the right side of her chest. She held the gun with her left hand, but it didn’t seem stable as the gun shook.
“I’m walking out of here, alive.”
Suddenly, the back side window blew out and the butt of a rifle was shoved through, smashing into the airbag curtain, but strong enough to hit Zarifa in the side of the head.
She was flung to the side and the pistol she held went off, right as Lucas entered through the back of the minivan where the liftgate had opened on impact.
He had his arm wrapped around Zarifa’s throat and pinned her to the seat in seconds.
Talon yanked the door open, ripped the gun from her hand, and cut off her seatbelt.
The second she was free, Talon wrapped those big arms of his around her, and Lucas let go.
Talon pulled her from the car and dragged her toward Garang.
“Fire!” Lamya yelled and Nolan cursed.
The bullet had hit the hood, which sparked, and now flames were licking the hood. Thick black smoke from the engine oil threatened to smother everyone inside the minivan.
Nolan used his hatchet to cut the seatbelt. He looked across from him and saw Lamya hand a knife to Lucas, who used it to cut her seatbelt. “Can you get free?” Lucas asked Lamya as they both coughed.
“No, my foot is stuck.”
Lucas used the knife to cut the airbag at her knees just as Nolan did with Helena. “Leave me, save her,” Lamya told him.
“We’ll save you both,” Nolan swore. Thank goodness, the sound of the sirens grew closer because the heat from the fire was starting to singe his hair. They didn’t have much time and he didn’t have anything to smother the fire with.
“Lamya!” Nolan turned to see Pam with a carful of people pull up, including Kuol, who beat Abu out of the car and was racing to the burning minivan.
“I’m stuck!” Lamya called out as tears ran down her face.
“Her foot is loose, it just needs a little space to get free,” Lucas told Nolan. “What do I do?”
“Find something to use as leverage.” Nolan was looking around for something too since Helena took the brunt of the impact and was good and stuck.
“Here!” Kuol called out, racing toward them with a tree branch. “I got you, Lamya. I won’t let anything happen to you. I love you, Lamya. I love you and I won’t lose you now.”
“You love me? I thought you just saw me like I was a sister,” Lamya said as Nolan ripped off his shirt and held it over Helena’s face to try to prevent her from inhaling too much smoke.
“I have never had sisterly thoughts about you. Quite the opposite. I’m sorry, Abu.
I know I’m not good enough for your sister, but I have loved her since I met her and I won’t let anything happen to her now or ever.
Now, push!” Kuol, Lucas, and Abu pushed down on the thick branch.
The minivan creaked and Kuol reached in, grabbed Lamya, and pulled her free.
“Status!” Colton yelled as he sprang from the firetruck before it even stopped.
“Oil fire and I need Jaws!” Nolan called out.
Colton rattled off his orders. Portable respirators appeared and Nolan put one on Helena and then on himself.
Foam spray coated the hood of the minivan as the team brought out the jaws of life.
It took work to cut the door open. Nolan pulled it aside and got a good look at Helena’s legs.
“The hydraulic lift will work better now that I can see it,” Nolan told Colton, who agreed.
“Can you move your toes?” Flint asked Helena.
“Yes,” she said, their voices modulated through the respirators.
“Is there any pain?”
“Just on my knees. They feel like they’re being squeezed.”
Nolan tried not to be too relieved until she was free.
Wiggling her toes and having no leg pain was good.
Nolan worked with Colton to get the jack in place.
Then, with a press of the button, it began to work.
It slowly lifted the collapsed dash from her legs.
She let out a cry of pain as blood rushed back into her legs.
“Get her out,” Colton ordered from the now empty passenger seat.
Nolan placed his hands under Helena’s thighs and behind her back and gently lifted her from the minivan.
Flint had the gurney ready for her. He pulled off her shoes and placed his finger on her ankle.
“Strong pulse, good. Now let me see you wiggle those toes,” Flint ordered even as Nolan was pushing the gurney from the fire.
Helena wiggled her toes and sighed. “The pain is getting better. Look, I can move my legs.”
Flint pushed up her dress and looked at the chafed skin on her knees. “You got lucky. It’s going to bruise, but I think you escaped major injury.”
“Thank Christ,” Nolan said before kissing her.
“Not Christ, but Christ’s bride. Do they always have trouble with this?” Sister Bernadette asked Father Ben from where she was administering first aid to Lamya. Kuol was by her side, holding her hand, and standing guard. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight probably for the rest of his life.
“Sister Bernadette? Is that you or am I concussed?” Helena asked.
“Oh, you’re definitely concussed, but yes, it’s me. And by the way that man is holding on to you, I got here right in time for the wedding.”
“I reserved the church for them for three days from now,” Father Ben told her.
“We need more priests like you,” Sister Bernadette told him.
“He’s ours, and you can’t have him,” Greer said dryly. “Helena, can you and Lamya tell us what happened?”
“Now?” Nolan challenged, but Helena squeezed his hand.
“It’s okay. I want this over with. How is the town?”
“Taken care of,” Cy told her, joining them. “All the live ones are divided between the jail and Desert Sun Farm. I’m sorry we didn’t put more men on the back. It’s our fault you were taken.”
“You had men there.” Helena wiped the tears that began to fall. “They died trying to protect us. How is Zinnia?”
“She and the baby are cleared. She has a concussion, but will fully recover,” Cy told her.
“Baby! Oh gosh, we put her child at risk. No wonder Talon tossed Garang like that. I’m surprised he’s still alive.”
“For now,” Talon called out, clearly overhearing her. “Unless he doesn’t talk. Then I’m going to slowly skin him alive.” Sister Bernadette made a sign of the cross. “Do you have a problem with that, sister?”
“Oh, no. I was just blessing the knife you’re going to use. Let me tell you everything I know about that devil there.”
Greer listened to Helena, Lamya, and then Sister Bernadette. “Sister, have you ever thought of joining an off-the-books black ops team?”
The sister smiled serenely. “How do you know I’m not already a part of one?”
Cy burst out laughing at Greer’s look. “Oh, sister, I think you’re in the right place.”
“Maybe you’re right because there are clearly two weddings I need to help with.” She glanced at Kuol and Lamya now locked in a kiss. “How fast can we make that happen? I have a plane to catch in four days.”
“Four days? I thought you wanted fast,” Miss Lily said as she, her sisters, and Marcy Davies emerged from Aniyah’s car.