Page 32 of No Second Chances

I’m already pulling my phone out of my pocket so I can make sure he is up and on his way.

“Why the fuck was she out in the middle of the night?” I look down to see Chief Townsend still on the ground, panic replacing the relief he feels that Kennedy is still alive. “Why was she driving so late, Linc?” He looks up at me with fear, but I don’t have an answer for him.

“I know you watch her,” Chief Townsend says. “Were you watching her tonight? Were you there? What happened to my daughter?”

I’m not an idiot. I’m aware that Chief Townsend knows. He’s known since the first night I showed up at her house, after whatever happened with Royal left her hurt and in the hospital.

“I went home,” I answer bleakly. “Around midnight, I went home. She was there. She never leaves at night, Chief Townsend.”

I hold out a hand for him to take, which he does a few seconds later. “Was this Royal? Did he have something to do with it?”

I shake my head. “No. The driver was a high schooler who works at Taco Bell.”

Chief Townsend storms away, and I have to rush to keep up with him as he descends on the kid responsible for the accident. The boy who looks like he’ll blow away with a stiff wind.

He had his arm around a girl who was shaking and clutching a jacket that looks like it belongs to him rather than her. With how cold it is, it is good to see he is a gentleman, at least.

“What happened?” Chief Townsend practically shouts at the kid.

I expect him to wilt, to back away and balk under the chief of police’s attention, but he doesn’t.

The kid swallows deep, steps forward so that he is blocking the girl from Chief Townsend’s view, and starts talking.

“I’m sorry, sir. My name is Henley Moore. I was driving home from work, and Lexi was walking. I stopped and picked her up. About a mile down the road, there was a moose in the road. I swerved, sir, and didn’t see the other car until it was too late.” He held the chief’s eyes, not once looking away or flinching from his scrutiny. “I called the cops, and Lexi ran to the car to make sure that the driver was okay once her car hit the tree. Lexi called out that she was injured, but I was already on the line with the dispatcher. I’ve taken CPR, and I know you’re not supposed to remove anyone from a car during an accident in case they’ve injured their neck. I didn’t want to chance making it worse, and I couldn’t get into the other side of the vehicle to assess her for any injuries.”

If Chief Townsend wasn’t impressed with the kid, I sure as fuck am. He reacted calmly and seemed to be in control of the entire situation, even knowing not to touch Kennedy after the accident.

“Good job,” Chief Townsend finally bites out. Then he does something I’ll never forget. He pulls that kid into a hug and squeezes him tight. “You might have saved my little girl’s life. Do you know how many people would have just driven off? You did the right thing, Henley.”

Henley, who must be barely holding it together, sobs in the chief’s arms. The only thing I can do is watch. At least until my phone starts ringing in my hand.

“Hayes,” I bark when I answer without looking at who is calling.

“What happened?” Remy sounds afraid, and I honestly can’t blame him. “Is she alive?”

“She’s alive. A high school kid swerved on the road to avoid a moose and hit her.”

The deep sigh of relief that hits me from the other end of the line takes every ounce of my strength away, leaving me nothing more than a shell of the man I should be. Kennedy is alive.

“She’s alive?” The question, more a hope-filled plea than anything else, stands in the empty air between us, and my breath catches in my throat while I try not to let him know exactly how affected I am.

Practically croaking on the answer, I nod. “Yeah. They’re taking her to the hospital now. Your father called your sister and mom and they’re heading over, too, I think.”

“But she’s alive.”

“Yes,” I confirm again, closing my eyes as I send a silent prayer of thanks to the heavens. “She’s alive.”

“Meet me there.”

I nod, rather than answer him, and he hangs up, leaving me in the increasingly quiet Maine night.

Kennedy almost died. The realization that I almost lost her before I’ve really made her mine guts me. And if it wasn’t for the plain stupidity that has taken up residence in my brain after Danny died, she may not even have been on the road.

“I’m leaving,” Chief Townsend barks, breaking into the depressing turn my thoughts have taken. “Are you coming with me or staying here?” He knows the answer, without me even saying a word.

I turn around to see that we are the last two people there besides Dom, who is standing on the road, talking with a tow truck driver.

Chief Townsend drives like a bat out of hell, and within a few minutes, we are walking through the double doors to the emergency room of the hospital before either of us say anything.

---