He didn’t respond at first. Didn’t look her way or utter a single word. Scottie knew she was screwing this whole thing up, but her thoughts and emotions were so scattered and overwhelming she was having a hard time trying to figure out how to fix it.
The truck jerked suddenly to the right. Scottie’s gaze shot up as Chase swerved into the abandoned parking lot of what used to be an old two-pump gas station.
He hit the brakes hard, the unexpected jolt sending her upper body slightly forward against her seatbelt.
“Chase, what are you?—”
“Something’s eating at your gut, and I can’t wait until we’re home to find out what it is.” He shoved the gearshift into park, turning in his seat to fully face her. “Please, Sugar. Talk to me.”
Scottie’s focus returned to the knotted fingers resting in her lap.
“See?” His frustration became more than a little clear. “Dammit, you won’t evenlookat me.”
Scottie forced herself to meet his fiery gaze. From the look on his face, he wasn’t as much angry as he was worried. Of course, given her behavior, she understood why.
“I’m…scared.”
Chicken.
Chase’s tense expression fell with a worried frown. “Of what? Did something happen?” His face flattened. “Did that fucking reporter contact you after I specifically told him?—”
“Reporter?” She did look at him then. “What reporter?”
Giving his head a quick shake, Chase ignored the question by switching the subject of their focus back to her. “Tell me what you’re afraid of, Scottie.”
“I’m afraid of losing you…again.”
“Ah, sugar.” He reached up, putting a gentle hand to her cheek. “There’s nothing you can say that will ever send me running. Not unless…” A flash of fear crossed over him as his blue eyes searched hers. “I mean, there’s not…someone else. Is there?”
Yep. She had definitely screwed this whole thing up.
“No, Chase.” Scottie made sure that message was clear. “There’s no one else, and there will be no one else. Only you.” She covered his hand with hers, closing her eyes and leaning into his touch.
“Then tell me, sweetheart.” His thumb brushed across her skin with the lightest of touches. “Just say it. Whatever it is, I’ll be right here by your side. Always.”
Always.
Scottie thought back to what Natalie had said about not underestimating the man she loved. In keeping with that spirit, she opened her eyes and parted her lips, finally ready to tell him the news.
She turned to him, the words starting to fall from her lips. “Chase, I’m?—”
That’s when she saw it.
A big, black van was barreling through the intersection behind Chase. Its front end bounced as the front tires hit the parking lot’s edge.
“Chase, look out!”
Scottie shouted the warning, but it was too late.Shewas too late.
The van didn’t slow down or make any signs of stopping. She screamed as it slammed right into Chase’s truck. A flash of pain filled her skull and the world around her began to spin.
After that…nothing.
13
Chase’s headfelt like it would literally explode. As he worked to peel his eyelids apart, his throbbing brain was working overtime through the pain to figure out why he felt like he’d been hit by a fucking truck.
He blinked several times to clear his blurred vision. A foggy haze he innately knew was from the deployment of his truck’s airbags filled the entire cab. Bright red blood was smeared across the one in front of him. The white, life-saving pillow now deflated and half-hanging in his lap.