Page 34 of Protected by the Sheriff (Magnolia Falls #2)

Olivia

O nce the phone call loses connection, I don’t want to take the chance of Mason calling back and Bryan hearing the phone ring, so I drop my phone down beside the seat as quietly as I can.

I know if Bryan finds it on me or under my thigh when he stands me up, he’ll destroy it.

I just hope the police can use it to trace my location.

It’s doubtful Bryan heard the sound of the phone hitting the carpet over the noise of my mother screaming and beating on the trunk.

The further we drive, the more Richards fidgets, his paranoia growing with every mile.

He keeps glancing furtively in the rearview mirror and around the car, his eyes betraying his unease.

When I see him flinch, I look around and notice several police cars coming up from behind us at speed, their blue lights flashing.

And when I hear the sirens, relief takes over.

“Damn you,” he spits venomously, his face a mask of pure rage. “You bitch.”

You would think a whole squad of police cars giving chase would convince Bryan to pull over, but no.

He speeds up, driving erratically, and almost loses control of the car multiple times as the police cars inch closer.

One pulls up beside us before overtaking and speeding ahead.

I glance down and see Bryan’s gun resting on his lap, his hand poised to grab it. This man is not giving up.

The police turn the car sideways in the middle of the road, blocking Bryan from going any further.

He turns the steering wheel to the right, forcing us onto the roadside before hitting an embankment, and the last thing I remember is hearing glass shatter, metal twist, and the world tilt as we’re flipped upside down.

A river of warm blood blurs my vision as the seat belt cruelly traps me.

Opening my eyes, I look over and see Bryan Richards, his neck twisted in a way that makes me shudder. His eyes are wide open, boring into mine with a piercing gaze that feels like he’s looking through me, not at me. He’s dead, his body drenched in a pool of crimson blood.

The sound of screaming fills my ears, a bloodcurdling noise that I soon recognize as my own. A cold terror grips me as smoke billows from the front of the car.

With the sound of sirens in the distance, a flood of policemen run over to the car, screaming for us to come out with our hands up. Their cold, steel guns pointed directly at us.

Sobs wrack my body. “He’s dead. I’m unarmed. Please help me,” I call.

A gentleman steps forward and kneels beside my window. “Ma’am, I’m the police chief of Summersville. We are here to get you out. Are you injured?”

“My head is bleeding, but otherwise I think I’m alright.” Then fear hits me so hard that I feel like I’m going to lose consciousness when I remember. “I’m pregnant. Oh God, and my mother is locked in the trunk. Please help us.”

It’s the first time I’ve said the words out loud, and tears stream down my face.

The words I said to Mason come flooding back.

I told him I’d never forgive him, but in this moment, I need him more than I’ve ever needed anyone.

Closing my eyes, I pray to every deity I can think of to keep my baby alive.

If he or she dies, I am scared Mason will never forgive me.

More men come to get me out of the car. Some EMS, some firefighters.

They have to cut the car because it’s so smashed up and then cut the seat belt to release me.

As soon as I’m free of the wreckage, they place me on a backboard and fix a brace around my neck.

I’m just glad I can’t see Bryan’s dead body any longer.

The memory of his dead eyes looking into mine will stay with me forever.

When I wake, I hear a beeping and I’m met by bright lights and white walls. That’s when I remember what happened and flashbacks hit me from the scene of the crash. Guilt debilitates me as I remember my mother trapped in the trunk. Did they save her?

An ache hits my chest as I start to panic, and I manage to croak, “My mother—is she okay?”

The nurse by my bedside injects something into my IV and in a calming voice says, “Shhh…just rest.”

My eyes grow heavy, and I can’t stop sleep from pulling me under.

The next time I wake, I feel a warm hand clasped in mine, and I turn to see Mason’s familiar form. He’s sitting in a chair, his presence a comfort beside the hospital bed, my hands clasped securely in his. He’s bent over, and I can feel the weight of his head against my belly.

As I stare at his beautifully sculpted face, I realize he looks like he hasn’t rested in days. His hair is disheveled, and there are dark circles under his eyes. The furrow of his brow tells me he’s stressed even in sleep.

Even after I left him and ran away. Even after getting myself kidnapped and putting our baby in danger, the man I love is sitting at my bedside, holding my hands as if I’m his lifeline.

Looking back, I can’t even remember why I was so angry now.

He wanted to start a family with me and wanted me to stay with him forever.

And when I think about it from that perspective, I realize there’s not a thing wrong with that.

Did he go about it the wrong way? Yes, but I made mistakes too.

Mistakes that put myself, my mother, and my unborn child in danger.

Neither of us are perfect, but we are perfect for each other. Now I only hope he can forgive me.

Mason startles, lifting his head and looking at me with concern. “You’re awake?”

I give him a nod, not able to speak, and I see his eyes glaze over with moisture. He wraps his arms around my shoulders, his head sinking into my chest, and a single tear traces a path down his cheek as he releases a heart-wrenching sob.

Holding him as tightly as I can manage, I murmur, “I’m here, Mase. It’s okay.”

“I thought I had lost you forever. Hearing Richards, his plan for you—so many awful things went through my mind, and I couldn’t get to you fast enough. You can’t ever leave me again. Promise me, Olivia.”

“Baby, I won’t leave you. Please forgive me,” I beg.

“Forgive you? No, baby. I went about it the wrong way and caused you to run. I’m sorry for that, Olivia. All I wanted was to bind you to me so tightly that you would never leave because I love you more than anything in the world.”

“Is the baby alright?”

Mason pulls away from me and places his hands on top of mine on my abdomen. “The baby is doing fine. It’s still early, but the doctor said everything looks normal.”

A wave of relief washes over me. “I felt so guilty for being angry about the baby, and then when I thought I was going to lose him or her, it broke me into a million pieces. Mason, I want this baby, and I want you. I want to have a family just like you planned. You were right the entire time, and I was too stubborn to listen to you.”

My body shakes with loud sobs of relief and happiness before I remember to ask about my mom. “Mason, how is my mother?”

The color drains from Mason’s face, and he won’t meet my stare.

“Mase?”

His head slumps forward, chin meeting his chest, and a mask of raw grief paints across his features. “I’m sorry, Olivia,” he whispers.

“Sorry? What do you mean?” I ask, confused.

“Baby girl, your mother didn’t make it,” he says softly.

Somehow, my brain doesn’t comprehend what he’s saying. “What does that mean?”

“Olivia, your mom was in the trunk during the crash, and without a safety belt, she was injured badly. When the police opened the trunk, she was already gone.”

My chest aches with a dull throb as I reach up to massage the pain, and hot tears stream from my burning eyes. A river of pure, cold grief flows through my veins. My beautiful Mama is gone, dead. And it’s all because of me.

“I don’t understand how she even met Bryan Richards. They were dating but how is that possible when we don’t even live in the same town? How did he find her?”

“The police are still investigating, but Richards was looking for a way to get to you. He knew your mom was a grieving widow and preyed on her. I’m so sorry, baby.”

“How can someone do something like that to an innocent woman who was just trying to find her way back after losing my father? I don’t understand.”

“Baby, we won’t ever understand that kind of evil,” Mason says, his voice low and somber.

This doesn’t feel real. How can my mother, the woman who brought me into this world, be gone forever? There are so many jumbled thoughts running through my head. I wish I tried harder to get her to visit or move in with me. Now she’s gone, and I’ll never see her again.

Lying on the bed, I roll away from Mason. I want to be alone to drown in my misery. There’s nothing left of my parents. They are both gone, and I’ll never see them again.

Salty wetness streams down my face as my chest heaves.

I hear Mason talking to me and trying to comfort me, but I stay facing away, unable to make out his words.

My heart literally aches, almost as if it’s broken.

I’ve never felt anything like this. Hopeless, misery, pain, grief.

They are all words I’ve heard but never truly experienced, and now the weight of them threatens to consume me.

My chest feels constricted, like a vise is slowly tightening around my ribs. The world seems muffled, as if I’m underwater, and even the air feels thick and heavy. Each breath is a struggle, a reminder of the pain that claws at my insides.

When my father died, I was so busy taking care of my mother that I didn’t take time to grieve. Then she pulled away from me, and it hurt so much, I lived in denial, always thinking we had more time. That one day she would bounce back, and we’d have our relationship back to the way it was.

Never once did I think I’d lose her so soon, especially in such a horrific way. Merit Lane, my mother, always doted on my father and me. Her entire existence revolved around taking care of us, making a home for us, even allowing Savannah to move in when she had nowhere else to go.

She was always taking care of everyone else and did a damn good job at it.

Not once did we take care of her, and now, we never will.

I’m so angry with myself for not doing better.

I moved to Magnolia Falls and carried on with my life, while my mother barely existed, suffering every day from the loss of her soulmate.

“I’m so sorry, Mama,” I whisper as I close my eyes and let my tears flow freely.