Page 138 of Exes and Oh Hell No

And if he does?—

Oh, God.

A vice tightens around my chest.

My lungs refuse to work.

I gasp, fighting for air, but it won’t come.

No.

Dots dance in front of my eyes.

My hand lifts, clutching at my shirt, willing my body to obey.

Calm down.

That thought only makes it worse.

The edges of my vision blacken.

I fight it.

Ihaveto fight it.

Ihaveto stop Ford before?—

Bile rises in my throat.

Before he kills someone and ends up in jail.

46

HARPER

Acontractor rushes over, gripping my arms to steady me. “Miss Harper. Focus on me. Breathe.”

“I—I can’t…” My eyes dart to the back door, to the spot where Ford disappeared. “I—I need?—”

“You need to breathe and get yourself together. Ford wouldn’t want this.”

Ford.

He’s right.

Fordwouldn’twant this.

I squeeze my eyes shut, then snap them open, locking onto the man in front of me.

“Breathe in like this.” He inhales deeply, demonstrating.

I force my lungs to cooperate, dragging in a breath.

Holding it.

Exhaling.

Fordneeds me.

---