he touched the brakes and there was nothing, no response. He was fucked. This wasn’t a small problem—this was serious. His speed climbed. Twenty, thirty, forty. There was no way he was going to make bends at this speed. He pressed and released on the brakes, his eyes going from speedometer to the road. Nothing was working. Instinct had him wanting to engage the handbrake but he knew if he did that he could lock the whole truck up and lose control. The next bend had a softer run off into the stream. There was nothing for it. He had to deliberately crash his truck. Chapter Six Max was just getting out of the shower and pulling on clothes when his cell rang. He answered and listened as the chief gave him the lowdown. A car was off the highway into the stream that followed Valley Road and any available volunteers should attend if at all possible. There wasn’t the incredible urgency with a more serious situation, but still Max knew he would be going. He tried Finn’s cell but it went to voicemail so he left a message then placed a sticky note on his door with the message that Finn should try calling. As he drove to the scene, more details came over his radio. There were no casualties but the driver was trapped and they needed to get some equipment to get him out. Paramedics were en route. The CB crackled. “Victim’s name is Finn Ryan…” Max didn’t hear the rest of the dispatch as panic and fear hit him mid-chest. Max put his foot down to get to where Finn had come off the road. He felt responsible for the sexy cop and pushed aside all feelings of fear that coiled inside him thinking about what he could find at the scene. He had to treat this scene as he would any other, and losing himself in the role of ‘wannabe lover’ was exactly what he shouldn’t be doing. Hell, he wanted to see how in blazes Finn had managed to crash. He knew these roads. Everyone told Max that Finn was one of the locals who had lived here forever. If anyone knew the road it should be him. How had he crashed? What had happened? Surely Finn was going to be okay. When he came on the scene a couple of the guys had already arrived with the rig and were standing knee-deep in water carrying on a conversation with Finn inside the truck. The paramedics were on site as well, effectively blocking the road. “You’re not cutting my damn truck,” Max heard Finn shouting from inside the truck. Max wasn’t dressed for this but it didn’t stop him from jumping the bank and into the clear mountain water. Wading to the truck, he could see that somehow the whole thing had made it down the mountain fairly much in one piece and looked like it had been parked deliberately in the water. One of Max’s fellow firemen was pleading with Finn. “Don’t be stupid, you can’t get out unless we release the door.” Max confirmed this opinion with a quick glance at the truck. The height of the truck had been compacted. Damn, the landing must have been brutal. Coming round to the other window, he stayed back where Finn wouldn’t catch sight of him in his peripheral vision and glanced in and down. He felt sick. This was way worse than a parked truck. All they appeared to need to do was cut the doors and Finn could climb out, but it was obvious from the state of the cabin that wasn’t happening any time soon. Windows free or not, Finn wasn’t going anywhere, and by the amount of blood darkening Finn’s jeans, this was way more serious than just being stuck. Finn’s legs were twisted under the engine and dash and he couldn’t move. Pushing back fear, Max took charge of the scene. It would be up to him to calm Finn down then get him out of the truck so that the paramedics could deal with him. “Is his blood pressure okay?” Max asked quietly of the two men he recognised from the town. One of them nodded. Decision made to try to get this stubborn man to see what was happening, Max walked around the front of the truck. The whole thing had come to rest against