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She settled into the passenger seat of the Audi Q5 and buckled up. As Becca slowly steered out of the parking space and into the stream of traffic, Aubrey continued to keep her eyes out for any hint of a threat.
Just as Becca turned onto Century Boulevard, Aubrey’s phone rang. She glanced at the readout and felt a wave of calm wash over her. Liam might be thousands of miles away, but just knowing she was about to talk to him lessened her stress level.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“Aubrey, where are you?”
The tension in his voice told her what she had suspected. This could be a trap.
“I’m in LA. Becca just picked me up at the airport.” And then, before he could tell her himself, she said softly, “I screwed up, didn’t I?”
“I don’t know. What I do know is I don’t want you to take any chances. Tell Becca to drive to the nearest police station. I can be there in a few hours.”
“Okay. I—”
“The man that’s been watching over Becca just texted me. He’s about five cars behind you. He’s going to follow you to the police station.”
Relieved to know they weren’t completely alone, she said, “Thank you, Liam. I’ll tell—”
A black SUV cut in front of the Audi. Becca managed to avoid rear-ending it. Traffic was heavy, as usual, and aggressive drivers were the norm, but that had been a little too close for comfort.
“What’s that guy’s problem?” Becca muttered.
Her heart beating faster, Aubrey kept an eye on the vehicle as she said softly to Liam, “Hold on.”
“What’s going on?”
“An SUV almost drove us off the road. It’s dark so I can’t see what kind of—”
“Find a police station,” Liam barked. “Now!”
“Okay. Okay.?
? She glanced at her cousin. “Becca, I know this is going to sound weird, but we need to—”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence. The SUV came back over into their lane. Becca jerked the steering wheel to the left. The SUV rammed into the side of the Audi. Becca screamed as their car left the road and flew over the railing. Airborne, Aubrey saw tops of trees and flashing lights in a massive whirl of colors and sounds. She heard Liam’s voice in her ear but couldn’t comprehend the words.
Metal scraped and squealed against metal, bent and broke. The world went upside down and then ended on an earth-shattering thud as tortured, mangled steel landed with a hard, definitive crash.
She heard herself scream Liam’s name and then knew nothing more.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Los Angeles, California
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, Liam slid into a visitors spot, and for the first time since the crash, took a moment to himself. For twelve hours, he had done nothing but concentrate on getting to Aubrey. He had bribed, coerced, threatened, and shouted until he’d figured someone at some point was going to lock him up. Thankfully, Ash and OZ came through for him.
The call to Aubrey had gone dead seconds after the wreck. He had pictured every terrifying frame in his head. They’d been run off the road, hit a guardrail, and then plummeted into a ravine.
Getting a private jet readied and able to fly straight to Los Angeles from Bogota should have been impossible. And though he’d had to wait over an hour for the plane to arrive and be readied, he’d been in the air much sooner than should have been possible. Miracles were like that, and since meeting Aubrey, he realized they happened much more frequently than he’d ever recognized.
On the flight, he’d learned multiple things. Becca had been life-flighted, her injuries serious and life-threatening. Aubrey’s were comparatively minor, and she had been transported by ambulance to the same hospital.
When she’d arrived at the hospital, he’d been able to talk with her briefly. A doctor was checking her over, and though she was in shock and had said only a few words to reassure him she was fine, she was gloriously alive, and that had been an answered prayer.
Becca, however, hadn’t been as lucky. She had multiple fractures, head trauma, and severe blood loss. They’d been able to stabilize her, but her condition was critical.