That was enough to last lifetimes.
A couple of moments later, a nurse stepped into the room with a clipboard, followed by Rush.She eyed him cautiously even though he didn’t say a word, then walked over to me with a soft smile.“You ready to go home?”
“Yes.”
Once she discharged me and left, Rush handed me some clothes, still not speaking a word.While he had always kept to himself, he was watching me more intensely than usual today, and I knew why.
All the guys had been overprotective, and if Rush really had killed someone for me …
“How are you doing?”I asked him, buttoning my jeans.
“How areyoudoing?”
“Oh, you know, hanging in there,” I said.“But I asked you first.”
“Fine.”He swung his keys around his finger.“We’re going for a ride.”
I arched a brow.“Do I have a say in this?”
His lips curled into an unusual smile.“No.”
CHAPTERNINETY-THREE
RUSH
I grippedthe steering wheel and drove around Redwood’s coastline, glancing over at Astrid.Waves crashed against the jagged rocks at the Overlook, midnight beachgoers jogged across the road toward the dunes, and people exited the popular bars.
She was quiet.Tooquiet.
Astrid was always running her mouth.Teasing and challenging and stirring up shit.
But now she sat in the passenger seat with her legs bouncing, swimming in my oversize sweatshirt.She stared out the window like she wasn’t really here, and I didn’t blame her.
Moonlight bounced off the streets, the night swallowing everything else around us.The hum of the engine drifted through my ears.I told myself that this was all to clear my head, but I couldn’t be around the others right now.
We had almost lost her, and while I wanted to blame them, this was all my fault.
If I hadn’t done those stupid fucking races, then Astrid would’ve never been harmed.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
She looked over at me, surprised.“For what?”
“This is all my fault.”
“What?”
“Them kidnapping you, them almost”—I gripped the wheel even tighter—“killing you.”Tears welled up in my eyes, though I didn’t let her see them.“I almost lost you.I almost fucking lost you, Astrid.”
I kept my eyes on the road, shoving away my feelings.If I looked over at her, I’d break.
She stayed quiet for a moment, then placed her hand on my forearm.“Rush, it’s not your fault.”
Fuck.
“Rush, please, pull over,” she murmured.
I wanted to keep driving, to speed up, but I didn’t plan on wrapping her around a pole.I could do that on my own time, risk my own life.So, I pulled over on a side road across from the beach.
