Chapter 11
LIAM
“Before you get all pissed off, I’ll have Bailey to work in a half hour,” I said before Wyatt could yell at me.
“I don’t give a shit what you’re doing. My shop opened at seven, and I expected her to walk through the fucking door before then. Not a fucking half hour late.”
“It’s one time.”
“One time is all it takes,” he argued.
God, he was such a fucking asshole. “It’s my fault she’s late.”
“Do you work for me?” he snapped.
“Wyatt—”
“Does she know you’re calling on her behalf? That doesn’t seem like something Bailey would be okay with.”
“No, she doesn’t know. And honestly, she would bitch me out if she knew.”
“Then leave it to her to make her own excuses.”
“Look—”
“Don’t want to hear it, Parker. She’s a big girl. She can tell me herself when she gets in what was so fucking important to make her late for work.”
Clearly, I wasn’t doing her any favors by calling. I was just so fucking confident that everything would be fine, and now I had messed things up for her, just like she said I would.
“Yeah.”
I hung up, kicking myself for listening to my cock this morning instead of her. She might have been only a few minutes late if I had just driven her home when she asked. The least I could do was take care of filling her tank and making sure she didn’t have any more interruptions this morning.
Unlocking her car, I laughed when I saw how little space there actually was. There was no way we’d be taking her car anywhere. I’d never fit. And telling her to get a new vehicle was out of the question.
I turned down the street in front of her apartment, adjusting the seat as I drove.
When my phone buzzed, I assumed it was Bailey calling to remind me not to take too long, but it was Lizzy. I thought about not answering. The last thing I needed was Lizzy’s brand of mushy happiness at seven o’clock in the morning.
But she was my sister.
“Good morning, Lizzy.”
“A little birdie told me that you had a visitor last night.”
“And that little birdie would be who?”
“Well, initially, it was Jeff, but news has spread far and wide that you hooked up with Bailey last night.”
My jaw clenched in irritation, though I knew she meant nothing by it. “We didn’t hook up.”
“Oh, I know that. Trust me, I’m well aware of how you feel about Bailey. It’s been clear as day since second grade.”
“Third,” I corrected.
“And everyone around town has been waiting for years for the two of you to finally admit what we all knew. I’d like to say I’m surprised it took this long, but that would be a lie. I know you too well.”
“Was there anything else you needed?”
I flicked on the turn signal for the gas station as I headed around the curve out of town, tapping the brakes as some asshole decided to ride my ass.
But nothing happened.
“Lizzy—”
“It’s so obvious, Liam. You’re in love with her. We all know it. Even Pastor O’Donnell asked if you’d decided to get out of your own way.”
I tapped the brakes again, but again, nothing happened. “Shit.”
“I know!”
The car in front of me slowed for a semi, but no matter how many damn times I hit the brakes, not a single fucking thing happened. I swerved toward the rumble strips, narrowly avoiding hitting the car in front of me, but was instantly swiped by someone passing on the shoulder.
Bailey’s car jerked to the left, right in the path of a second semi.
I hit the gas, but there wasn’t enough time.
The semi slammed into the passenger side, metal screeching as my body crashed into the driver’s side and my head cracked against the glass.
The force of the crash pushed me right into another vehicle, smashing in the driver’s side door.
I barely registered the pain as the car spun, being pummeled by the semi as it screeched to a stop. When Bailey’s car finally finished spinning, smoke erupted from the engine.
Somewhere deep in my brain, I knew I needed to move, but everything in me was sluggish, fighting desperately to function in any way.
I rolled my head to the side as someone pounded on the window. Distant shouting urged me to move, but nothing seemed to work properly.
Bailey.
Fuck, she could have been driving.
She should have been driving.
“Hey!” The pounding continued, and I distantly realized someone was trying to get me out of the car. My fingers closed around the handle, desperately trying to get the damn door open, but nothing happened.
“Get the door open!” someone shouted. “The car is on fire!”
My eyes drifted back to the front of the car where smoke still poured from the engine. That’s when I saw the flames licking out of the side of the hood.
Fire.
I had to get moving.
With all the strength I had, I pushed my body forward, forcing my fingers to once again wrap around the handle. A dizzying sensation swamped me as I thrust my shoulder against the door, trying to get the damn thing open.
Red hazed my vision and I swiped it away, belatedly realizing the red was blood dripping from my head.
“The fuel is leaking! Get the jaws!”
“No sparks!” someone shouted from outside.
No sparks.
Fuck, my head was pounding now.
Lizzy. I was talking to Lizzy. I fumbled around the car, looking for the phone. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed really fucking important that I find the phone. My fingers brushed against what felt like rubber from the case around my phone, but it was too far beneath the seat to reach it.
Exhaustion swept over me from the effort of trying to reach it. My body slumped forward, leaning hard against the steering wheel as I tried to stay awake.
“Don’t go to sleep!”
My eyes drifted shut, but the words reverberated in my head. “Don’t go to sleep,” I mumbled. “Don’t go to sleep.”
I jolted at the heavy thump of metal on metal.
“Hey, Parker! Up here!”
My gaze drifted toward the window, right at Declan, who stood in his turnout gear, trying to get my attention.
“Dec…”
“Stay with us, man. We’re gonna get you out of there, okay?”
I nodded slightly, but my eyes kept drifting closed, no matter how hard I tried to keep them open. I heard his voice, urging me to stay awake, to not close my eyes. But it was so fucking hard.
“Hey, Bailey’s gonna be pissed if you die on her!”
My lips twitched in amusement, but I wasn’t sure why. Everything was misfiring in my brain. Bright lights came in waves, replaced by darkening purples and greens.
The voices drew nearer as a brilliant light flooded my vision. I barely felt a thing as I was positioned carefully and maneuvered around until I was pulled from the car.
Declan’s face appeared just inches from mine, and that’s when I felt a slight squeeze of my hand.
“I hope you appreciate the lengths I’m going to right now to keep Bailey in the dark. You owe me.”
I grunted in appreciation, but that thin thread of sheer will that kept me hanging on was beginning to snap.