Her reputation out of court had become even worse. A man had hurt Batina when she’d been younger so she avoided relationships now, treating all men equally—as if they were dog shit.
“I saved your life,” the clueless man said, not knowing he’d probably regret it. “I covered your body with my own to protect you, Cat.”
“It’s Bat, you moron. B.A.T.” Her sister turned her head to glare at him. “Back off, asshole. I refuse to deal with you right now. Can’t you see my sister is freaked-out? I’m trying to calm her down.”
“Crazy as a bat or bat-shit crazy. It fits,” the big guy said.
Dusti saw her sister’s nostrils flare and knew she had to act quickly. Her sister had a tendency to be harsh with her words when it came to men. The spiked-haired guy was bodybuilder-size, had to be at least six feet four, towering over them. The last thing she wanted was for him to attack Bat. The full-time bodyguard that usually stuck near her sister wasn’t along on the trip to intervene.
“Let it go,” Dusti ordered. “Let’s help the injured.”
Bat’s blue gaze narrowed when she turned her head to stare at Dusti again. “He’s irritating me and he felt me up!”
“That’s the least of our worries.”
“You’re right. I’ll ignore the big ape just for you this one time because I’m in shock too. I hope I’m not as pale as you look. You’re doing a hell of a ghost impression.” Bat cringed. “I shouldn’t have said that, considering the circumstances. Sorry.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s help out. People are hurt. Just breathe and focus on that, okay?” She released Dusti to reach inside her inner jacket pocket and then whipped out her cell phone.
Dusti felt a rush of relief. Her older sister was always the one to remain coolheaded in a crisis. They needed help, and Bat was obviously thinking the same thing. “Do you think you’re going to get a cell phone signal out here?”
Bat flipped open the case. “I hope so.” Her mouth curved downward into a frown a second later. She spun suddenly to glare at Kraven.
“You broke my phone with your gorilla-sized body.” She shoved the phone upward to show him the crushed face, parts of the broken screen falling to the cabin floor. “You owe me a new one. Give me yours.”
“It’s in my bag.” He pointed up to where the overhead cabinets had once been. “Wherever that is now.”
So much for that plan.
Bat was confronting the spike-headed guy yet again, who stood way too close to Bat as he argued back. Dusti turned away from them both. Kraven was the one who had grabbed her sister before the crash, after all, so Dusti figured if anyone deserved to be a target of Bat’s anger, it was him.
She got her first glimpse of the back of the plane and her heart nearly stopped.
“Oh God.”
“I know! I can’t dial 9-1-1.”
“Shut up, Bat,” Dusti whispered. “Look. Oh my God.”
Bat moved beside her and clutched her hand, which hung limply at her side. Her warm fingers laced with Dusti’s while they both stared toward where the rear of the plane had once been.
A big, craggy hole glared at them from five rows back, the tail section just gone—along with a few rows that had contained people.
The dreadfulness of it hit Dusti full force as she stared at the line of broke trees and scarred ground the plane had created when it had been dragged along the forest floor. A body remained still strapped into a lone seat in the near distance. It had broken free from its twin and the rear of the plane. No one could have survived that. The poor victim resembled bloody hamburger wrapped in soaked red clothing. It was impossible to tell if it had been a man or a woman.
A big body suddenly stood in the aisle, blocking Dusti’s view of the dead person a good fifty yards away. Drantos’s expression looked grim when he lifted a hand to run his fingers through his shaggy mane of hair. His lips twisted into a grimace as he approached Dusti. Their gazes remained on each other until he stopped a few feet in front of her. He shifted his attention to look at his brother behind her.
“There are ten survivors besides us in the cabin. Most of them will make it but I’m doubtful about a few. One of us should go hunt up the back of the plane to see if any of those people made it. We also need to check on the pilots.”
“Fuck,” Kraven sighed. “What a damn mess. I’ll go search for the tail section of the plane.” He paused. “You watch the bitches. The one in the dress suit is a terror, so don’t turn your back on her.”
Bat squeezed Dusti’s hand painfully as she turned her head to glare at Kraven. “I’m going to rip off your nuts if you call me a bitch one more time.”
Dusti jerked on her sister’s hand. “Batina Marie Dawson, enough!” Hot tears filled her eyes when her sister met her gaze. “I know bitchiness is your defense mechanism when you’re scared or mad but please stop! I can’t deal with it right now.”
A wave of dizziness hit, making her knees go weak. She swayed on her feet.
Bat grabbed her before Dusti collapsed. Her sister struggled to hold her upright until two strong hands gripped her. She opened her eyes to see the big guy, Drantos, lifting her until she was cradled against his chest.
“Where’s my purse?” Bat asked, clearly panicked. “It’s black. I need it!”
“I’m okay,” Dusti whispered. “It’s just a dizzy spell.”