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  A male voice chimed in. “Liam should have been thinking with his other head instead of marrying his play toy. Remember those trashy pictures of her mother in the news? She’s a liability.”

  And that’s all it took. I tipped over the edge, back into my fight or flight coping skills from my pre-therapy days.

  “Well,” Texanne drawled, “This is Texas, after all. Can anyone say, “Anna Nicole Smith?”

  The entire group laughed. I bolted, the tears rising. I had to escape and lick my wounds. I paused at the back entrance, before I skirted the side of the house to the field where the valets had parked the cars. It would make Liam angry if I ran. The last time he’d told me never to do it again. Well, the party was almost over. I’d simply text him from the car after I was on the road. As the tears fell, I made my way to a parking attendant.

  “The small, white SUV at the back,” I murmured, handing him my keys.

  I heard voices on the patio coming nearer. I shrank back against the fence in the darkness. I didn’t want anyone to stop me. When the attendant pulled through the gate I ran to the door, barely letting him put it in park. As soon as his feet hit the ground, I was climbing in and slamming the door. I took off a bit too fast, and I hoped I hadn’t hit him with any gravel as I peeled away. After I was out on the county road that would lead me back to the Interstate, I let the tears roll. What a disaster. Liam would be upset I left without him, but I could handle it. He wouldn’t, however, say a thing about the dress. He would never do that. I knew he would try to make me feel better about the fashion faux-pas and play it down. But I knew in my heart he was embarrassed. I had seen it in his expression—a small wince while his eyes flashed down my dress before he’d motioned me into the house.

  My stomach sank. Would he question my worth to his campaign now? Was I now truly a liability, not the asset he’d hoped? I cried harder, the lights from the cars I passed blurred until I was having a hard time seeing the yellow stripe down the middle of the road. It was misting again, not helping my visibility. I decided to pull over for a moment and text Liam.

  On my way home, you were busy and I

  didn’t want to disturb. Not feeling

  well. Will text again when I get home.

  As I finished the text, lights flashed in my rearview mirror. The vehicle seemed to be slowing. I didn’t want anyone stopping, thinking I was having car trouble. I pulled back onto the road and glanced at the next road sign, signaling the county line. When had I crossed into the next county? I’d obviously missed a turn. I turned my GPS back up, and of course it was trying to route me back to the ranch. I messed with the screen for a moment, trying to set the course back to “home” to find my way. A loud ‘pop’ startled my eyes back on the road. I’d run over a bottle or something, my tires leaving the shoulder for a moment. My heart raced…I knew better than to fiddle with a cell or GPS while I was driving. I’d almost run off into the ditch. I tried to calm my racing heart as the tears started to fall again. Damn pregnant hormones. I switched the GPS off and slowed to turn around at the next crossroads. The car behind me reduced speed as well, pulling alarmingly close to my bumper, their lights on bright. I thought better of slowing, deciding I would turn back to the west at the next highway. It would have to take me back to the outskirts of Austin, no matter what road it was. As the rain got heavier, I sped up. The car behind me followed closely. I checked my speedometer, and I was doing seventy miles per hour. The speed limit on county roads was fifty-five. The car following me was almost kissing my back bumper. I was definitely being followed, for if they were in that much of a hurry, they would have passed me by now.

  My cell phone buzzed in the seat beside me. In my anxiety, I answered, wanting to hear a voice…anyone’s voice. I swiftly felt isolated and alone.

  “Kel, where the hell are you?” Liam’s voice boomed over the cell.

  “God, Liam! I’m glad you called,” I gasped out.

  “What’s wrong?” His tone changed, intuitively knowing something was up.

  “I think I’m being followed,” I responded, glancing back into the mirror again.

  “What? Where are you, Kelly?”

  “I don’t know! I turned off on the first county road from the ranch, but I think I passed the second turn. I know I went too far. I was going to turn around, but this car is on my bumper and he won’t pass me. He speeds up and slows down as I do. I’m scared,” I almost whispered as I finished.

  “Okay, Baby. Stay calm. Scott and I are leaving right now. Stay on the line with me, but chunk the phone in the seat if you have to. Hit the speaker button.”

  I did as he asked and placed the phone in the seat.

  “Can you tell what kind of car is behind you?”

  “No, wait…I think it’s a pickup or SUV. It’s bigger than a car,” I said shakily.

  Okay. Don’t slow down. Just keep driving until you see a road sign of some kind. County road marker, miles to next town…anything to tell us where you are.”

  I nodded, not thinking about him not being able to see me.

  “Kel, you still with me?” he asked, worried.

  “Yes” I said.

  “I’ve got her location, she’s on county road forty-five fifty, east of the city limits,” I heard Scott’s voice in the background.

  “Call the DPS. Tell them what’s going on, and give them her location,” Liam called out.

  I began to relax a bit, knowing Liam and Scott knew where I was, even if I didn’t.

  A loud thud slung my body forward and then jerked my neck back. The vehicle following me had hit me from behind.

  “Liam!” I screamed out. “They just rammed me from behind!”

  ‘Shit, Kel, hang on. Is there anything around you…lights, traffic, people?”

  “No! It’s pitch-black out here. I can see the Austin city lights to the west, but I’m looking for a sign or something for the next road.”

  “Stay calm, Baby. Scott and I aren’t far behind you. You’re coming up on a highway. You need to get to some light, somewhere with people. When you get to the next crossroads, turn west. Don’t slow down any more than you have to—take the turn safely. We’re doing over one-hundred and we’ll catch you in minutes. These creeps, whoever they are, will run once we catch up with them.

  I could see the blinking lights at the next intersection in the distance. Finally.

  “Liam, I see it. I’m turning west,” I called out, slowing to take the corner, almost on two wheels.

  “Careful Baby,” Liam called out anxiously.

  And then, with careful precision, the vehicle behind me slammed into my rear bumper on the left as I was navigating the turn. My world jumbled into a painful, confusing, twisted mass of metal, and the last thing I heard was Liam screaming my name through the open cell line.

  * * *

  Slow motion—how cliché, I remembered thinking, as I came to. Everything was numb, even my head. I tried to clear my brain and think. I hadn’t been out long, because I could still hear the whir of the motor. How could the motor still be running on my car? My car! I’d wrecked my beautiful SUV; the one Liam had given me. I struggled to focus on something, thinking how silly it was to worry about the car.

  Then it dawned on me. I couldn’t get my bearings because I was upside down. Or was I sideways? At any rate, I was twisted, and the vehicle was twisted around me. My legs were trapped, and there was glass everywhere. My head was lying in water. Where in the hell had the water come from? There wasn’t any water around here. I turned my head, and the sticky substance ran down my forehead and neck and under the collar of Ellen’s jacket. It wasn’t water. My head was lying in a pool of my own blood.

  “Kelly! Please, Kel…can you hear me? Answer me!” Liam’s voice drifted from the wreckage around me. “Kelly, Baby…hang on! We’re almost there,” I heard him call out. Where was he?

  Oh, right. My cell phone. I struggled, but couldn’t see it, and couldn’t move my shoulders to raise my head to look.


  “Kelly, please answer me,” he shouted again.

  Finally, it hit me. Well, duh…Kelly, answer him. You had it on speaker phone.

  “Liam,” I choked out. “Liam, I rolled it. I’m so sorry.”

  Voices spoke in the darkness, coming closer, outside the vehicle.

  “Delgado quiere golpear Covington senador donde duele. No le dolerá si no está muerta.

  “Vamos a salir de aquí. Ella está muerta ya. ¡Mira ese desastre!"

  Senator Covington. They knew who they were following. “Ella esta muerta.” Muerta--I understood “she’s dead.” My heart beat faster, as if it was going to pound right out of my chest.

  I could smell gasoline, and somewhere, around the wreckage, something was burning. This got better and better. In mere moments, it was all going up in a ball of flames if the gasoline sparked. The shouts outside in the darkness faded, as if they were moving away, and then I heard a vehicle speeding away. Or were they driving closer? Doors slammed, and more voices came out of the darkness.

  “Kelly! Kelly,” Liam screamed.

  “Liam! Help me,” I called out. “I can’t get out.”

  That was an understatement. I couldn’t move, much less even see to get out.

  “Shit, boss…this thing’s gonna blow,” Scott yelled as Liam pulled on the door. I was indeed upside down, my head against not the seat upholstery, but the headliner on the ceiling. The seatbelt still held me partially in place, but my legs were trapped and something heavy pressed on my abdomen.

  “The baby,” I gasped, as Liam finally pried the door open. Once clear, my head and shoulder rolled clear, I could feel the wet grass.

  “Careful, man. We need a backboard. Don’t move her too much, the ambulance and DPS are on the way,” Scott called out.

  “Can’t wait, help me get her out,” Liam yelled, leaning in around me and trying to release the seat belt.

  It’s funny what the mind latches on to in stressful situations. My gaze fixed on Scott’s feet. He had on boots, but they looked more like athletic-type tennis shoes. In his khaki pants, it struck me as funny. He was Forrest Gump.

  I giggled.

  “Kel?” Liam said breathlessly, sinking to his knees. He’d been unsuccessful trying to release me.

  “Scott looks like Forrest Gump,” I mumbled into the grass.

  He placed his hand on my cheek. “Baby, stay with me. We’re going to get you out of here.”

  Scott’s feet disappeared for a moment, then reappeared as he found something sharp to cut the seatbelt. After a couple of tugs the belt swung free, releasing my upper body to roll free of the seat. Only my legs were still trapped.

  “She’s wedged under the dashboard and steering wheel,” Scott said, breathing hard. I’ll get a tire iron,” he yelled, already circling the wreck again. Liam lay in the grass beside me, cradling my head.

  “Kelly, keep talking. Baby, stay with me,” he pleaded.

  The gasoline smell was getting stronger, and thick smoke hung heavy in the air. Liam had to move. He couldn’t be here if the car caught fire. Desperation strangled me…the need to get Liam as far away as possible.

  “Liam, please,” I coughed out.

  “What, Baby?”

  “Go back to the Escalade. Move away. Please, don’t stay here with me,” I pleaded.

  “I’m not leaving you, Kel! We’re okay, just hang on. Stay with me,” he commanded sharply.

  I coughed. The taste of blood nauseated me. I gagged, fighting the need to throw up.

  “The baby,” I sobbed.

  “I know, Kel. It’s okay…you’re both going to be fine,” he assured me. But his voice gave him away, trembling with his own fear and hopelessness of the situation.

  “Take care of Masen,” I mumbled, exhausted, but wanting to remember everything I needed to say. I was too exhausted to even fight to stay awake.

  “Hellcat, fight damn it! You’re not going anywhere!”

  Scott returned with the crowbar. As he tore at the mangled dashboard, the wails of sirens closed in on us.

  I felt the hold on my lower body release and I fell free, into Liam’s arms and into darkness.

  Chapter Six

  O nce again, I woke in hospital room, disoriented and feeling disembodied. My heart was pounding…had I been crying? A dream…that’s what it was. I’d had a dream I was at a fundraiser, dressed in glitz when everyone else was attired conservatively. I’d embarrassed Liam. Forcing myself to focus, I took in my surroundings. I was alone, hooked to an IV, and there was an oxygen tube in my nose. Why was I in the hospital? The last thing I could remember was leaving the fundraiser…and an irate call from Liam.

  “Kelly, where the hell are you?”

  I ran. I remembered. It wasn’t a dream…I’d escaped from the fundraiser to soothe my bruised ego, and Liam was angry with me. I had to apologize.

  I tried to push up in bed, ready to grab the sheet and throw the covers back to get out of bed. My head pounded with the movement. Every muscle in my body screamed for me to stay still. I moaned as I tried to move and take stock of my injuries. The pain in my neck and shoulder seemed the worst…it was excruciating.

  The door opened and Liam entered, his expression grim. He turned, and his expression brightened when our eyes met.

  “Kelly! You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

  “Okay, I guess. What happened?” I asked, confused.

  “You don’t remember?” he asked. He sank down in the chair next to my bed and ran his hand nervously through his hair.

  “No…we were at the fundraiser,” I began. He raised his hand and gently brushed the hair from my forehead, touching a bandage there. I reached up to touch it myself…I hadn’t noticed it before.

  “You wrecked your car. Someone ran you off the road, and you flipped while Scott and I were looking for you.”

  I stared at him. Something tugged at my conscience, as if I were remembering part of a dream.

  “You told me to turn west…I had my speakerphone on.”

  “Yes, Baby. I’m sorry, it probably wasn’t the best move. I can’t believe those bastards ran you off the road.

  My head was beginning to pound with my effort to try to put it all together in my mind.

  “Kel, can you describe the vehicle to me? Do you remember anything about them?”

  I shook my head as the door opened. Scott entered the room along with Davis as Liam’s cell rang.

  “Sean…hey man. No, she’s going to be fine. I’m with her now, she just woke up…Yeah, we’re all a bit rattled. Hey, can I call you back in a bit? Yeah, thanks for calling, buddy. Talk to you later.”

  Davis paused beside the bed and took my hand gently in his. Scott shadowed him as he backed up into a corner of the room.

  “Good to see you awake. You gave us quite a scare, young lady,” Davis said as he rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb.

  Liam stood as he turned his cell off, reaching to shake his father’s hand. Davis released my hand, and pulled Liam in for a hug. Liam’s shoulders relaxed as he hugged his father fiercely, shutting his eyes as moisture gathered on his lids.

  “Dad,” Liam whispered.

  “Hey, everything’s alright. I spoke to the doctor in the hallway. Concussion, broken collarbone, couple of cracked ribs, some internal bruising. But nothing life-threatening. Is that what they told you?”

  Liam ran his hand through his hair again. “Yeah, pretty much. They will keep her a day or two for observation.” He glanced back down at me, his eyes still glazed with moisture.

  “The baby?” I asked shakily.

  Liam’s father coughed and glanced back at Scott. “Um, we’ll go and find Ellen. We’ll be back first thing in the morning, son.”

  “Sure, Dad. Thanks for everything.”

  Liam sank down on the bed beside me, leaned over, and kissed me on the forehead, his lips lingering before he pulled upright.

  “Please, Liam…what about the baby?” I choked out, dreading the answer.<
br />
  He blew out a breath, then took both my hands in his. “We don’t know yet, Kel. The doctor was waiting for you to wake up to do a sonogram. Something about needing to do it vaginally,” he replied hesitantly.

  “What are you not telling me?”

  He shook his head and looked back into my eyes. “You’re spotting blood, Kel. They’re having a hard time finding a heartbeat with that thing they run across your tummy.”

  I choked as tears threatened to spill over. I’d done this. My stupidity was going to cost us our baby.

  “Hey,” he said, gently tilting my face back toward him. “Doc said you are still in your first trimester, and he wants to do the sonogram. He said the bleeding wasn’t a great surprise, with what your body has been through. Let’s don’t jump to conclusions.”

  I took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m so sorry, Liam.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Hellcat.”

  “Yes, there is. I ran again. You were mad. I heard it in your voice when you called me. You should be mad at me. I might have caused us to lose…”

  “Don’t. I’m not going to let you do this to yourself,” he replied forcefully. His cell buzzed, and he looked down to check the screen. “Damn, Baby…I need to take this,” he apologized.

  I closed my eyes and nodded. I heard him open the door and step out into the hallway.

  Get yourself together, Sanger, I thought. Then I snorted out loud. My name wasn’t Sanger anymore. I was a Covington now. I wish I felt it. And tonight proved I didn’t act it.

  “Mrs. Covington?” A formal looking gray felt cowboy hat appeared around the corner, followed by broad shoulders in uniform. “Is it alright if I come in for a moment?”

  “Yes,” I replied, pushing awkwardly up in bed. I knew I must look a mess, and the hospital gown revealed quite a lot, having barely been snapped around my neck. I pulled the covers up and winced as I tried to use my arm.

  The handsome man formally cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Covington, but I need to ask you some questions about your wreck.