Page 59

“Where are you?”

She was in Denver, that much I knew. Aiden mentioned that she’d gone to some concert with that fuckwit Alex.

I took my keys from the kitchen counter, and my wallet, and walked through front door, away from the noise. I should have let Aiden handle it. I should have gone back to my housewarming and entertain the people here to celebrate with us. I should have gone back to Callie. Guilt stabbed at my insides because Kenzi called and I didn’t even hesitate, acting on the natural instincts that were still ingrained into my subconscious where she was concerned. For a split second I considered letting Aiden do it, only a split second, but in the end, how I felt about Kenzi won out. How I would always feel, even if I tried my damnedest to move the fuck on.

“Tell me where you are, Makenzie.”I said her full name, knowing it would get her to respond. Oddly enough, my body responded as if it had missed the way her name fell from my lips.

So much for progress, my subconscious taunted.

Asshole.

Kenzi hesitated again, and it didn’t take much to realize she didn’t want me to come get her.

Dammit. Why didn’t I just listen to her?

Because I was selfish. When it came to Kenzi, I was fucking selfish.

A moment later her voice came through the speaker. “I’m at the Sheraton.”

I climbed into my car. “I’m on my way.”

KENZI HAD fallen asleep on the sofa in the hotel lobby while waiting for me. It was an hour to Denver, but I made it in just over thirty minutes. I’d lifted her up, and carried her to the car, and she only woke up a few minutes after I started the drive back home. She looked at me, I felt her beguiled gaze on the side of my face.

“You didn’t have to come.” Her voice was quiet, but her gaze moved to the passenger side window. “Aiden could have done it.”

I inhaled deeply, catching a whiff of her perfume. Ellie Saab. Her favorite. I know because I bought her a bottle.

“I know.” My response comes out a little harsher than I intended, and I wince, my eyes trained on the road ahead. I know Aiden could have done it, and I should have allowed him to.

But, here we are.

“So why did you? It’s obvious you wish you hadn’t.”

My grip on the steering wheel tightened until my knuckles turned white. This was a bad idea. A really fucking bad one.

I was about to open my mouth and tell her I didn’t really feel like it was a choice, I just did it, but Kenzi screamed.

“WATCH OUT!” she cried. “Oh my God!”

I caught sight of a car careening across the entire freeway, starting from the left lane. Cars hooted, and it narrowly missed some of the oncoming traffic, but it was heading straight for us. I swerved into the shoulder lane, and slammed on brakes so hard the tires skidded on the dust. My reaction was swift, but the fear on Kenzi’s face, and the thumping of my heartbeat took me straight back to the night of her accident. It was blinding, feeling that familiar panic racing through my veins until the edges of my vision go black. We stopped, and Kenzi wrestled with the seatbelt, crying hysterically while she tried to escape.

“Get me out!” she screamed, fighting with the only thing trapping her in my car. “I want to get out, Vaughan!”

I reached over, and the moment the resounding click sounded through the car. Kenzi was out the car.

I snapped my seat belt off, and jumped out of the car.

“Are you crazy?” I shouted above the hum-drum of vehicles. The car that sent us fishtailing off the road had stopped a little further up the road, but I wasn’t even thinking about beating the driver shitless. I was more worried about the fact that Kenzi jumped from my car on the fucking freeway.

She pulled her hands through her hair, tangling her already wild hair, and started hyperventilating. I rushed towards her, turning her to face me. Her eyes were bright, and wild and terrified. In her haste to get out, the seat belt had chafed the skin on her chest, and her shirt had slipped a little the side. I lifted it to cover her nude-colored bra, and then gave her a quick once over. Not that it was necessary though because the way she looked — clothed, naked, in pajama’s, wrapped in a towel after a shower, the way she looked when she slept — was burned into my memory. I wanted so much to reach out and touch her, so I did, and the moment the tips of my fingers made contact with her flushed cheek, she sucked in a gulp of air, and found her calm. She watched me, without saying a word, and saw the questions in her eyes. Eyes that I knew. Eyes that knew me.

Well, used to.

I wondered who I was to her now, but shut it down because I was terrified to hear the answer.

“I feel like I am crazy.” Her hair blew into her face, and got stuck on her lip. I slipped it behind her ear without thinking twice. “I’ve been going out of my mind, and I’ve tried so hard to piece it all together, but…”

Her voice disappeared with the sound of the traffic, but her eyes stayed fixed on mine. I contemplated taking the conversation further, but she’d started shaking at some point and I needed to get her home.