They’re boxing us in from both directions.
“You can’t outrun this. Pull over.”
The thudding chop of blades slices the air as a spotlight is placed on the van, illuminating the fields around us.
“Oh my god,” I whisper. “Look”—I point ahead, trembling—“it’s over.”
The road is blocked with cruisers parked in angles as officers spill out, weapons drawn.
My pulse beats against my ribs as I’m hit with another wave of dread. They won’t fire at us, right?
As the van begins to slow, because there’s nowhere else for him to go, I decide I can’t risk it. I refuse to be shot because of him.
Elias digs in his door, shifting us into the berm, still at a steady speed. When he pulls his hand back to his lap, metal gleams against the light. My ears ring as my vision tunnels.
“You can’t shoot yourself out of this?” I taunt. “Do you think this will end well?”
His eyes flick to mine, and I no longer recognize the man beside me. He’s long gone to the demons that haunt him.
The van crawls forward, nearly stopped. I don’t think as I shove open my passenger door and throw myself out.
In the distance, I hear my name shouted as the world tilts. Sky, asphalt, and grass spin in circles as I land on my hands and knees. Pain tears through my limbs as I tumble into a ditch. My head pounds violently as the sound of brakes fills the quiet air.
“Show me your hands,” I hear my brother shout. “Elias Hearst, get out of the vehicle with your hands in the air.”
I gasp for air. The pain ricochets in every direction as I push myself to my feet. This isn’t where my story ends.
“Wren, baby! I’m here!”
Tears flood my vision as everything blurs. He’s here. Jett came for me.
Stumbling, I turn, and there he is, running toward me like the world is ending. And it was. Without Jett, there’s no world worth living in. I’ve known he was it for me since I was barely a teen and I asked him to marry me. In all of our years, he’s protected me. Defended me. Taught me how to embrace who I am and not let anyone tell me different. Time and time again, he’s shown up when I needed him the most.
“Jett,” I try to shout back, but it comes out as more of a groan.
I block out everything around me. The armed officers with guns pointed in my direction. My lunatic, ex-fiancé. All I see is Jett.
“I’ve got you, Whiskey.”
His eyes lock onto mine. Those beautiful, tranquil pools reflect everything I feel. Relief. Fear. And above all else, love.
“Don’t!” a voice shouts, but I don’t stop.
Everything blurs together as commands ring out, my brother’s voice booms, someone shouts and then another, but all I see is Jett running toward me.
It’s reckless, both of us running with the surrounding chaos, but I need his arms around me.
Suddenly, something changes in his expression. His gaze flicks over my shoulder. I refuse to look backwards, not when my future is in front of me.
But I don’t need to look to understand what’s happening.
It’s in the way the air shifts as if time is standing still. The way Jett’s body coils in tension as he pumps his arms faster.
In the distance, I hear Elias’s voice feral with unhinged threats. “No one gets what’s mine.”
A deafening crack splits the night, jolting my senses, and leaving silence in its wake.
Jett lunges toward me, hands slamming into me hard, and I’m yanked backward. The force of him leaves me unstable as the ground shifts beneath my feet. His arms wrap around me. The strength of his hold feels like home, like we’re lying in bed watching the sunrise.
