Breathing was becoming difficult. The pain was overwhelming, and with that sun beating down on me, I doubted I had much time left.
“County…Line. An hour…out.”
“I’m on my way. Just stay with me, man.”
“Ellie,” I whispered, pressing my hand harder to my side. “He…got her.”
“Who?”
I shook my head, but he couldn’t see that. Not that my brain could process any of that right now.
“Jeff, stay with me, man. I’m on my way.”
“Tell…Ryder.”
“Jeff! Fucking listen to me, okay?”
I nodded slightly, a chuckle leaving my lips as I thought about how ironic it was that my brother went off to war, but I was the one who got shot.
“Love you, man.”
The phone slipped from my fingers and I passed out.
41
RYDER
“Jane!”I shouted, checking both ways before I ran across the road.
Mayor Cameron laughed at me as I caught up to her on the sidewalk. “Jaywalking? You’re lucky Mav didn’t see you. He might have written you a ticket just to make his day a little more interesting.”
“Yeah, well…I’ve got bigger fish to fry right now.”
“Anything I need to be worried about?”
“Not at the moment,” I muttered under my breath. “Listen, I have to cancel our lunch.” I pulled the contracts out of my briefcase and handed them over. “The finalized contracts. Get them signed and I’ll take care of the rest.”
She sighed heavily. “The council isn’t going to like this.”
“Then they should have found a different solution. I’ve gotta run. Let me know how it goes.”
“Sure,” she answered as I turned and headed for the parking lot. I had to talk to Jeff about renting the cabin once again. Hopefully, it wasn’t already let to someone else. The last thing I wanted was to find Bianca an apartment in town where everyone could gossip about why she was here.
I dialed Jeff for the fourth time in the past thirty minutes, pissed when he didn’t answer. Ellie was probably laughing it up right now about how I was freaking out because he wasn’t answering.
“Jeff,” I said as his voicemail picked up. “Give me a call when you get this. I need that rental if it’s still available. And no, I’m not moving back there. And tell Ellie I have to talk to her when she gets back since you guys think it’s so funny not to answer my calls.”
I hung up, shoving my phone in my pocket as I crossed the street once again. Only this time, I didn’t make it before a truck swerved in front of me, blocking my path.
Michael leaned out the window, his face pinched in anger. “Get in. There’s been an accident.”
My pulse spiked at his words, and I rushed around to the passenger side, tossing my briefcase in the back as I climbed in.
“What happened?”
His fist tightened on the wheel as he hit the gas. Ahead of us, Mav backed out of his spot, lights flashing as he peeled down the street.
I immediately pulled out my phone and dialed Ellie’s number, only for it to go straight to voicemail. “Ellie, answer the phone. I need you to answer.”
