“She drove straight for them!”
“Christy!” I screamed, but I couldn’t find her. My stomach was a ball of dread. I ducked, checking under both cars. Thankfully she wasn’t there. I dashed around the back of Amber’s car, not giving one crap if she was dead or alive.
And then I saw her, laid out on the blacktop, ten feet away, a woman kneeling by her head.
“Christy!” I yelled again, a sob choking in my throat. But as soon as I knelt, relief flooded me. Her hand was in the woman’s and she was trying to sit up.
“I’m okay, I’m okay.” She waved us both back like we were making a big deal out of nothing.
I completely ignored that and pulled her against my chest, sobbing. Didn’t even care who saw. “Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you’re all right.”
Then she had the gall to laugh. “You threw me out of the way full-on Superman style. Of course I’m all right. I’m just gladyou’reokay.” She inspected me. “Oh, babe. Your leg.”
I looked down, barely able to see it through my tears. My pants were ripped from knee to hem. Gnarly road rash covered the entire outside of my right calf. The second I acknowledged it, it burned like fire. Gah!
“She’s alive!” Someone shouted over by Amber. I felt no relief at that knowledge. With what she’d just tried to do, I’d kind of hoped she was already in hell, getting comfy with her eternal stay. No worries. I’d make sure she paid. There was no lack of evidence now. Witnesses were everywhere.
I looked over at Tessie who…well…she wasn’t Tessie anymore. More like a big pile of scrap metal.
“Uh, ma’am?” The woman kneeling on the other side of Christy said. “I don’t think you are okay.” She pointed to Christy’s right arm. And she was right. The bone was protruding like it was about to pop out of her skin.
I swore. “You’ve got a compound fracture.” I looked at the woman. “Can you get help?” I was not leaving Christy. She nodded, hopped up, and hurried away. “Does it hurt?” I choked on another sob.
“No. I don’t feel anything.” Christy looked down at her arm and giggled. Yes. Giggled. “I guess that’s one way to get out of a Spartan Race.” Then she snorted. What in the world? She studied the break for a few seconds, then nodded like shewas pleased. “This is kind of cool. I’ve never had a broken bone. Will you be the first to sign my cast?” She had to be going into shock. Or she had a concussion. There was no other explanation after what had just happened. She grabbed my arm with her good hand, trying to stand.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I ordered. “You’re staying put until the ambulance gets here. There’s no telling if anything else is broken.”
“But my butt hurts,” she whined and laughed again.
So I pulled her carefully onto my lap and cradled her against my chest, still crying like a little boy.
She gave me a sad smile and wiped my tears away. “Don’t cry, Epstein.” She was trying to make me laugh. “We can get you another Tessie. She’ll be even better than that one. Tessie 2.0.”
“I’m not crying over a stupid car. What is wrong with you?” I chortled. “I love you. Don’t you know that? I can’tlivewithout you and that nutjob just tried to run you over.”
“Us,” she corrected and then clicked her tongue matter of factly. “She tried to runusover. Get your facts straight, Counselor Dupree. You’re going to need them in court.” She wasn’t taking any of this seriously.
“I don’t care about myself. Don’t you understand that?You’re the only thing that matters,”I hissed vehemently. I wasn’t even trying to hide my tears. Dripping down my jaw, nose running, body shaking beneath her. I couldn’t make myself stop.
Her head tilted and her good hand cradled my face. “Holden, hey, it’s over. She won’t be able to touch us ever again. And I’m okay. I’m fine. Listen to me. I’m. Not. Going. Anywhere.”
I sobbed. “You promise?” I had to ask even though it wasn’t hers to give.
Her smile was gentle and soft, and she gave it anyway. “Ipromise. I’m yours. All my days, all my nights, they all belong to you. For the rest of your life. If that’s what you want.”
I nodded, sniffing. “Yeah. That’s what I want. And I want it forever. I will never get enough of you.”
She curled her hand around the back of my neck and guided my mouth to hers. “Then that’s what you’ll get. Every little piece of me. Forever.”
And then she kissed me.
epilogue 1
HOLDEN
Six months later
“What is wrong with you?” I barked, kicking my boot into the dirt. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a month. I put it off until you could be here and you show up like this?” I waved a hand over my youngest brother, Ford. Drunk as a freaking skunk, with some tramp he’d probably met at the gas station on his way down here. But hey, he had his guitar, which he’d pointed out first thing after arriving. He was supposed to sing a love song he’d written just for this. But there was no way I was letting him do that now. He smelled like cheap beer and body odor. His hair was a greasy mess, his clothes were rumpled, and he had a weeks worth of stubble. It wasn’t a good look on him. At least he’d taken the bus from New York and not endangered everyone on the freeway in his current state.
