Page 132 of Hold Me Before You Go

She turned and got into the shitty sedan I was supposed to have replaced. When she was shutting the door, my hand shot out, ready to stop her, but instead, it went right through it. My eyes went wide.

No.

No, no, no.

What the hell was this?

I looked at my hands and then to the woman I loved in the car. She was texting. I knew that any second now, she would look up over to the light post and see me. I waited, counting the milliseconds until it happened.

It didn’t.

My baby, my sunshine, put her phone down, started her car, and drove off.

My hands were in my hair then.

“Why didn’t she look up?” I asked the empty street as a drop of sweat trickled down my neck. “What the fuck is this?”

You were supposed to hold me before you go…

Her voice was loud now, and I whirled around to find her dressed in jeans and a cream sweater, soaked with blood. Her hair was dull, her curls flat, cheeks streaked with tears, tinted red. Her lips were swollen, and the tip of her nose matched the color of her cheeks.

“Sunshine,” I murmured, my voice rough.

Carrie stared at me, silently crying.

I took a step forward. “Baby, say something to me. I’m right here.” I put my hands to my chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Then, a white light appeared at my right, and I shot my hand up, blocking my eyes. “What the hell?”

Grayson! Please, I’m begging you. Don’t go. Stay…stay with me!

I looked back at Carrie. “I’m not going anywhere! I want to stay, Sunshine. You’re my home, my warmth!”

Something tugged me, pulling me closer to the light, but I fought it. I took another step towards her, fighting the pull, growling her name. I held my hands out to her as she watched, frozen in place.

“Carrie!” I shouted.

I’m not ready to say goodbye…

The pull became stronger and stronger, but I kept fighting, trying to get to her.

“Carrie!”

I blinked, and she was gone.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Carrie

Present Day. Columbia Memorial Hospital. Astoria, OR.

The steady beat of the heart monitor was the only thing I could hear as I stared down at the email from Special Agent James Garner. He’d sent it to Grayson three days ago, and he never got the chance to tell me.

You have forty-eight hours to release the Hales and turn yourself in.

Don’t run. It will only make things worse, and I don’t want to see you, your team, or Carrie get hurt.

Would he have run? If so, would he have taken me?

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