Klingensmith’s big black Cadillac. Evidently, Thomas had been making a right turn into the easement road. Cory heard a screech and a horn. He saw a flash of light, then a million little white stars as his body lifted and sailed through the air.
When he landed in the ditch with a thump, he closed his eyes and remembered the sinister look in Darius’s ice cold eyes when he’d caught Cory looking through the open window earlier that morning.
Chapter Ten
When Darius came into the kitchen, Luis was finishing up an e-mail to Ben and Percy, his two older friends in New York. Jase and Luis had met Ben and Percy back when they’d first met each other and the two couples became very good friends. But when Luis and Jase bought Cider Mill Farm and started spending less time in New York, Ben and Percy seemed to take it personally, almost as a rejection of their friendship. There were times when Luis thought Ben and Percy resented Hunter for taking up so much of their time.
Then Ben and Percy became very friendly with this awful woman named Celeste who lived down on East 24th Street, a mortgage broker who hated sex with her husband because, of all things, his dick was too large, and spent her weekends watching rare birds. Ben and Percy started giving Luis and Jase the silent treatment and turning down invitations, which Luis thought was their defense mechanism because they felt left out now that Jase and Luis had a house in the country and a child.
So Luis wanted to patch things up with them and he was sending them an e-mail to let them know he still cared and still wanted to remain close. Although there was a huge age difference between the two couples, Luis regarded them as two of his best friends and he was willing to work a little harder for their friendship.
As Luis clicked “send” and the e-mail went off into cyberspace, Darius crossed into the room and said, “There’s been an accident.” His face was red and his eyes bulged; he was out of breath and perspiring everywhere. He’d only driven to the end of the easement road to get the mail. But it looked more like he’d run a marathon.
Luis knew Hunter was in the next room watching TV.
His first thought was Jase. “What happened?” He stood up and grabbed Darius by the arms.
“Thomas had an accident,” Darius said. “He was pulling into the driveway and he ran Cory over.”
“No.”
Darius nodded yes.
Luis’s stomach jumped. “How bad is it?”
Darius shook his head. “You’d better not go down there. He’s lying in a ditch. Thomas is there with him and his friend, Jasper, pulled up. They are waiting for the paramedics.”
Luis took a quick breath. He ran to the counter, grabbed his car keys, and said, “Stay here with Hunter and don’t say anything about what happened.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go,” Darius said. “It’s pretty bad. Let them take care of everything.”
Before Darius could finish his sentence, Luis was outside starting the truck. Jase had taken Luis’s car that morning because it was easier to maneuver in city traffic. Luis hit the gas and turned the wheel. The big black pick up truck fishtailed halfway down the driveway and didn’t right itself until Luis was speeding on the easement road. He had to get down there to see what had happened. He didn’t know Jasper well and he knew Thomas was older and not very quick. Luis wasn’t going to waste any time in getting help for Cory.
When he reached the end of the easement, he saw Thomas’s Cadillac parked on a slant. There was a small twenty-five-year-old Mercedes convertible parked behind it and the driver’s door was wide open. Luis hit the brakes and skidded sideways. He jumped out of the truck and ran to the end of the easement. When he reached the road and turned right, he saw Thomas looking down at the ditch with both hands pressed to his face. He mumbled something Luis couldn’t make out; he rocked and swayed, ready to tip sideways.
Thomas turned and faced Luis. His skin was pale white and his eyes filled with terror. When he found his voice, he said, “I was coming back to drop off a few healing crystals.
Cory ran into the middle of the road before I had a chance to brake. I have no idea why he was running. He looked like he was afraid of something.”
When Luis saw how Thomas was shaking, he grabbed his arm and said, “Go sit in my truck and calm down. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Then Luis looked down at the ditch. Cory’s body was twisted sideways, his eyes were closed, and his legs were stretched all the way out. There was no blood and it wasn’t as bad as Luis had expected visually. But he saw no signs of movement. Jasper kneeled beside him, running his palm across his forehead with one hand and wiping tears from his own eyes with the other. Luis climbed into the ditch and asked, “Did you call the paramedics?”
Jasper nodded. “It’s the first thing Thomas said he did. He called about fifteen minutes ago.”
Luis felt a sharp pain in his stomach, the kind of pain that hits without warning and lingers for a long time. At least he didn’t see any blood, which had to be a good sign. There was no visible damage to Cory’s face or body. So he reached down to check Cory’s pulse, then leaned over and pressed his ear to Cory’s mouth. Luis’s first partner back in Tennessee had been a medical doctor and Luis had learned a few things about how to handle an emergency by watching quietly.
When he felt a trace of Cory’s breath against his ear, he closed his eyes and exhaled. Cory was still alive. But Luis had this strong feeling in his gut they had to do something fast or they’d lose him.
“He has a pulse and he’s breathing,” Luis said, reaching for Jasper’s arm. “Has he regained consciousness?”
Jasper, clearly in shock, shook his head and said, “No. He hasn’t said a thing or moved a muscle.”
Luis leaned forward again. He patted Cory’s cheek and asked, “Can you year me? Can you open your eyes, Cory? It’s Luis. You’re going to be fine. I’m going to take care of everything. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I promise.” He felt a sting in his eyes and he sniffed back. Then he looked up at Jasper. “Where the hell are the paramedics? They should be here by now. We’re not that far from town.”
Jasper shrugged. “I don’t know. Thomas said he called them.”
That could be trouble. Luis turned and glanced up.
Thomas was still looking down at them. His hands were still shaking and his lower lip quivered. Luis clenched his fists and tried hard to maintain a smooth, even tone. He didn’t want to frighten Thomas. “What did the 911 operator say, Thomas, when you told her the address? Did she say how long it would take?” Luis didn’t even hear sirens blaring from town, which he should have heard by this time.