“Can we have some music?” she asked, as if she didn’t care that he’d just told her that he and Poppy were getting married.
The news that he’d drugged her on all sorts of medication wasn’t good. Anything could happen to her. Her body could react in a way that could prove to be fatal. As much as she got angry with how Poppy treated Finn, she didn’t want anything to happen to the other woman.
The radio blared to life. Really, Ed was stupid, since he was giving her everything she wanted. Time to put her plan in motion. It was risky, and Finn’s safety was her main concern, but she wasn’t going to sit back and let Ed go through with his plans for them. Fortunately, she was sitting behind him so she would make sure that any impact would be felt on his side and not Finn’s.
Undoing her seatbelt, she slunk down a little so that Ed couldn’t see her. “Finn,” she whispered.
“What?”
She put her fingers to her lips to tell him to keep his voice low. She held out her phone to him. “Take this. Keep it safeand out of sight.” She then handed him her jacket and the dirty blanket that was balled up on the back floorboard of the truck. It wasn’t much protection, but it would hopefully save him from any flying glass.
“Why?” he whispered.
“Tighten your seatbelt.” His eyes widened in fright. For a heartbeat she almost faltered in her plan, but she steeled her resolved. “Be brave and remember I love you.”
He nodded and his eyes filled with tears. She pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight, not knowing if this was the last time she’d ever see him. “Put the jacket and blanket over your face. When it’s safe, use my phone, try and get help. Okay?”
“I love you, too, Cerise,” he whispered back.
She pressed a kiss against his cheek and slid back to where she’d been sitting. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Finn tightening his belt.
Closing her eyes she said a quick prayer. “I love you, Brodie. I hope I see you again.” Having made peace with herself and sending her last love message to Brodie into the universe, she opened her eyes and cleared her mind.
It was go time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The sun waslow in the sky when the call of a single motor vehicle accident came over the two-way radio. Everyone had convened at the Hunt VFD headquarters. Julian had spoken to Cass one of his colleagues at Alliez Security, who was a computer whiz, to see if she could get any pings off Cerise’s phone. Sheriff Searle had arranged for a welfare check at Poppy’s house in case she was involved.
The news had come in an hour ago they weren’t there, and Poppy had been found unconscious on her living room floor. She was currently being airlifted to a hospital in San Antonio. Brodie didn’t know the details of what happened, but he hoped she would be okay.
The rest of his team had been doing a walk around the festival area, as well as Hunt, to see if there was any trace of Cerise and Finn. They’d found her purse on the side of the road, just beyond the town limits. Her cell wasn’t in it and Brodie hoped somehow she had it with her. Yet every time he called, it went straight to her voicemail.
The second the call came through about the accident, he knew. He didn’t know how or why, but he would bet his whole fortune that it was her and Finn.
“It’s her.” He voiced his thoughts out loud.
“You don’t know that, son,” Gene said quietly.
“I know it as surely as I knew something had happened to her. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Richard’s on his way, and I’ve called in Chris and Dean to go to the scene. Once they get there, they can let us know if it’s her.”
As much as he respected Gene, there was no way he was going to sit here and wait for news. “Not happening, Gene. I’m going on that call. I’m a paramedic and you’ll need my skills.”
“It’s too personal for you.”
“Really? Do you think I’m going to sit back and do nothing? That is the woman I love. The boy I love too. I want to make a family with them. You’re not stopping me.”
He stared the other man down. No way was he going to back away from this. He was going to that accident site.
Gene dropped his gaze, but not before he saw the hint of admiration in his eyes at Brodie’s determination. “Fine, but you better make sure you keep yourself in check. You hear?”
“Yes, sir.”
He raced out of the common room and went to grab his gear. Chris and Dean were doing the same. “You okay, Dice?” Chris asked.
He hadn’t realized he’d been rolling his dice around in his hand. The action was a subconscious one, but he popped the plastic cubes back in his pocket. “I will be once I get there.”
