Page 149 of The Billionaire's Redemption

I exhale softly. “I just want this to be over. Did you find out who sent those flowers?”

I had given Ethan the card on the flowers I had received the very next day.

“I’m working on it,” he says tersely, his hands flexing on the steering wheel.

We pull up outside the restaurant ten minutes later. A valet starts walking over, and Ethan puts the car in park, turning toward me.

“I’ll circle around to the valet stand. Go ahead inside, and let them know we’re here.”

I unbuckle slowly, adjusting my wool coat as I step out. The sharp evening air cuts through the fabric, making me pull it tighter around myself. Bellamy's is elegant even from the outside—glowing sconces, a gold-lettered sign, and soft music drifting from within. I hover near the steps, waiting for him to pull into the turnabout.

That’s when I hear it.

The squeal of tires.

I barely register Ethan’s voice.

“Natalie!”

Everything slows.

A black car barrels around the corner, way too fast. Headlights blinding. Aimed straight at me.

I’m frozen. I can’t move. My feet won’t work.

Something slams into me from the side.

We hit the ground hard. My breath rushes out in a single, sharp gasp. Gravel bites my palms as I brace myself, tangled in someone else’s arms.

People are shouting. Ethan is shouting.

The car speeds away.

I push up slowly, limbs trembling, heart pounding in my ears. There’s a weight on me. Heavy. Crushing.

I recognize him.

“Roland?” I breathe in shock.

His body is slumped over mine.

“Roland,” I whisper, more urgently this time, trying to shift beneath him.

Panic courses through me as reality begins to set in.

No response.

I ease myself to the side, my stomach clenching in fear as I see his face. His eyes are closed. Blood seeps through the fabric of his coat, staining it dark and wet. His chest is rising—but barely.

“Ethan!” I scream, my heart slamming in my chest.

Ethan is already there, yanking Roland off me with trembling hands, laying him on the pavement.

“Call an ambulance!” he barks to someone. “Now!”

I kneel beside Roland, reaching for his hand. It’s cold.

His eyes open, filled with a dazed pain, lips moving, barely.