Sweet Southern Heat (Magnolia Grove)

Prologue

Olivia

My ears rang with the sound of crunching metal and shattering glass. A haze of smoke surrounded me, and I blinked against the burning in my eyes. Clouds filled my vision, and my head throbbed. It was disorienting. My head swam like it used to when I rolled down the hill behind our house as a kid. I lifted a hand and pressed it to my forehead, wincing at the sting. My fingertips came away bloody, and nausea churned in my gut.

My vision cleared as I came back to myself, and memories assaulted me. Screeching tires. My desperate screams. Paralyzing fear when I realized we were headed for destruction.

We .

I looked to the passenger seat and stifled a sob. My boyfriend’s body was limp, his head hanging to the side, his seat belt the only thing holding him in place. My car was tilted on its side at an odd angle. A thick row of trees was all that kept us from plunging into the river when my car skidded off the road. They were now wedged into the side of my car, pinning the door shut.

He was trapped. They would never be able to get his door open. Panic rose in my chest, clawing its way up my throat. He wasn’t moving.

I screamed his name, but he didn’t budge. I screamed and screamed until my throat was raw. Sirens wailed in the distance, but I feared they were too late.