“Better than whoever’s behind the wheel of that truck killing me.”
I turned onto the road that led towards Hadley’s place. “Are they following you?”
There was silence for a moment and then the release of an audible breath. “No. I don’t think so. I think whoever it was kept going.”
There was a whole network of roads out there that led to a million different places. Whoever it was could hide anywhere. And, at any point, they could turn back around. I accelerated yet again and didn’t take a breath until I saw my sister’s truck in the distance. “Pull over. This is us.”
For once in her life, Hadley did what I asked the first time I asked it. She slid the truck over and shut off the engine, and I did the same but left my lights flashing. As Hadley climbed out of the vehicle her legs trembled.
Calder moved before I had a chance to round the SUV, pulling her into his arms. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
For the first time in years, my sister burst into tears. The sound startled the hell out of me. Hadley held her emotions close to the vest, rarely letting me or anyone else in our family in on what was going on in that head of hers unless she was pissed off. To see her break like this, shaking in Calder’s arms, made me want to rip whoever had done this limb from limb.
“You’re safe, Hads,” Calder whispered into her hair. “No one’s going to hurt you.”
“I know,” she choked out. Hadley let him hold her for another few seconds and then straightened. “Sorry. I guess it scared me more than I realized.”
Calder gave her a gentle smile. “Adrenaline dump. You know how those can be.”
“I’m not usually such a sissy about them.”
I pulled her in for a hard hug. “You’re not a sissy. You’re damn brave—if a little foolish.”
Calder’s face hardened. “You never should’ve made that turn. It was crazy.”
“And it worked,” she said, pulling out of my hold. “It saved my butt, so don’t give me a hard time.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but I shot him a look, and he closed it. A squad car came screeching up, and Young and Williams were out in a flash. Young looked Hadley up and down. “You okay?”
“Fine.”
I looked at my two officers. “See if you can find any sign of him. SUV or truck, large grill.”
Williams winced. “That could be half the county.”
“The grill will have paint from Hadley’s bumper, so if you pull someone over, look for that.”
Young nodded, waving Williams back to the car. “We’ll let you know what we find.”
Hadley let out a shaky breath and leaned against the side of her truck. “Can one of you drive me to my place? I don’t think I’m quite ready to get back behind the wheel.”
Calder scowled in her direction. “You’re not staying at your place alone. He could be waiting there for all you know.”
“It was probably just someone with a severe case of road rage. They have no idea who I am or where I live.”
“Hads…” I began. “Calder’s right. You shouldn’t stay there tonight. Especially when you’re on edge.”
“You can stay at my place. Or your mom and dad’s,” Calder offered.
Hadley crossed her arms under her chest. “I’ll stay with Hayes.”
“I’m staying at Everly’s, remember?”
“Well, then I’ll stay there. I can sleep on the couch.”
I knew that tone. Stubbornness coming through. She’d never spend the night at Mom and Dad’s by choice, and Calder had stepped on her toes. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get you to Ev’s. I bet you could use a drink.”
“Try ten.”