Page 45 of Never You

“Yeah, and I’m not going to tell him you were run over by a truck on the interstate! Get in the damn car, Rae!”

Who knew Jensen could be so dramatic?

After what I’ve survived there is no way I’m going to die by getting run over by a truck.

“There are no trucks!”

“Who is that? You’re on the interstate, Rae?” Johnny grunts in my ear.

Abruptly, the hairs on my body stand up and the sound of a roaring plane engine has me glancing to the sky with a jerk before my focus moves back to the scowling man approaching.

“Get. In.” He grinds his teeth, stalking the last steps toward me until he’s huffing in front of me, peering down with his nostrils flaring while the sounds of cars flashing by drown out his heavy breathing.

“Shut up, Jensen,” I hiss, covering the phone with my hand. “I’ll be right there!”

“You are with him right now?!” Johnny screeches with a shitload of suspicion.

“Thanks,”I mouth to Jensen before I let my head hang, wheezing. “Yeah. He and Bodi are coming to Jacksonville with me.”

“He and Bodi?! Bodi McKay? What the hell is going on, Rae? Are you dating Jared Jensen?”

I’m a little offended he’d think I would keep that a secret from him.

“I’m not, Johnny. I would’ve told you. Emily broke up with him because of the picture. He asked me to come see her in New York and convince her there is nothing going on between us.”

“Y’all have phones, don’t ya?” Johnny’s southern accent comes through in its full glory, telling me he’s pissed.

“She changed her number. She doesn’t want to see him.”

Johnny stays quiet for a moment as if he’s gathering his thoughts while my eyes stare at Jensen’s chest, unable to lift them to his eyes, because I can still feel his raging energy coming at me.

Like I’m mentally sandwiched between one raging man and another.

“Doesn’t explain why they are there with you,” Johnny finally responds.

“I don’t fly,” I state matter-of-factly.

“Iknowthat,” he replies, the tone of his voice impatient.

“I don’t know, okay? They jumped in the car when I left. Said they needed a break. I figured you’d be happy that I’m not driving by myself anymore.”

I’m totally bluffing, trying to turn the conversation around, and I’m pretty sure he knows it. He stays quiet, but I can hear his heavy breathing through the phone, the sound of cars rushing by muffling the sound of my heart rate that starts to race.

Finally, he speaks.

“This conversation isn’t over yet. Put Jensen on the phone,” he orders.

“You wanna talk to Jensen?”

“Yeah,” he says with a tone that saysduh. “Put him on the phone and get off the fucking interstate! I don't wanna tell my sister you got hit by a car.”

“Okay,” I drawl out the words, rolling my eyes, then press the phone against Jensen’s chest. “He wants to talk to you.”

He places his hand over mine, our fingers touching and I frustratedly empty my lungs.

As soon as the phone is within his grasp, I move past him, a whiff of his fresh scent heightening my senses as my feet move back to the car. His eyes burn through my back, his gaze waiting until I’m safely inside the vehicle before he finally puts the phone to his ear and I softly curse him under my breath.

First he hijacks my damn car, and now my fucking phone.

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