Squeezing my eyes closed momentarily, I hoped I could push away the desperation by reminding myself I was no longer in that room, but as my heart kicked up a notch, I knew it wasn’t going to work.
I was going into panic mode.
I yanked the wheel to the right and pulled over on the side of the road. Resting my head against the steering wheel, I sucked in a ragged breath, feeling the air clawing at my lungs. My whole body went into meltdown mode as my fingers froze against the steering wheel and my head drooped as the lack of oxygen blanketed me.
Black edged my vision until I could hardly see a thing, but just as I was about to fully pass out, I heard someone calling my name, and then I was being dragged out of the truck. Cold shocked my system, but did nothing to ease the panic tearing my body apart.
My eyes slipped closed for the last time as the voice faded into nothing.
“Blake!”
My eyes popped open and I jerked upright, but a heavy hand settled on my shoulder, pushing me back down.
“Take it easy.”
“What happened?” I murmured, straining to see anything other than the cloudy sky above me.
“You wanna tell me that?”
I recognized the voice, and when I turned my head, it was to find Maverick staring down at me in concern.
“Shit,” I grumbled, pushing up again.
This time, he didn’t stop me, but the concern on his face was enough to make me watch my words.
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, that’s why I found you nearly passed out behind the wheel. Is it the baby?”
Shaking my head, I started pushing up on shaky legs, determined to move past this.
“Watch it,” Maverick warned, grabbing my arm as he helped me up. “What happened? Do I need to call Michael?”
“No!” I nearly shouted, taking him by surprise.
Fuck, I was never going to get to leave the house alone if Parker found out about this. Shoving my hair back from my face, I tried to think of something that sounded better than what had happened, but everything I came up with would most likely land me in the hospital.
The truth was easier.
Sighing, I leaned against the truck, tucking my hands into my jacket. “Panic attack,” I murmured, glancing off at the mountains.
It didn’t take a genius to know that Maverick was assessing the situation, wondering if he could really let me go without talking to Parker. And as much as I didn’t want to say anything more, I knew only the truth would ease his concern.
“It’s happened before. On my wedding day, actually.”
“Does Michael know about this?”
“Yes. He was there.”
“But you don’t want him to know about this,” he said slowly.
“It’s not that I don’t want him to know,” I hedged. “It’s just…” God, this was so hard. How to explain to a man that I wasn’t fragile, when all the signs pointed otherwise.
“I get it.”
My gaze whipped up to meet his. “You do?”
With a slow nod, he seemed to be assessing just how much he could discern based on my current state. “He told me a little about what happened. Guess it’s only right you might have some issues.”
