Page 94 of The Other Side

She’d done enough talking about the family feud over the past few weeks to last a lifetime. Whatever fragile relationship was forming between Hadley and Gage was a welcome subject change.

“No. Why?”

“Just wondering. When was the last time you saw him?”

Hadley tilted her head and squinted one eye. “This morning.”

Thea sat up straighter and gaped.

A blush bloomed on Hadley’s cheeks. “Stop it. It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t sound like nothing. Are things getting serious?”

Hadley scoffed. “It’s been like a week. I’m not riding off into the sunset with him just yet.”

“I don’t know much about him anymore, but he wasn’t like the rest of them when we were growing up.”

“I believe that. He really cares about you. And your mom. He’s doing everything he can to make sure you’re safe, especially since you’ve decided to stay.”

“I can’t thank you enough for doing this. I know it’s dangerous getting mixed up with this, and I hope you know I appreciate everything you’re doing.”

Hadley reached over and patted Thea’s arm. “I’d do anything for you. You and Brett deserve this happiness. We’ll make sure it all gets sorted out.”

Hadley stared out the windshield, but her grip on Thea’s arm tightened.

Thea looked up just in time to see the pickup truck drifting into their lane. With ditches on both sides of the road, there was only one option if they wanted to avoid a head-on collision.

Hadley gripped the wheel with both hands and slammed on the brakes. “Hang on.”

Thea held onto the door and placed her other hand on the dash, bracing for impact.

The boom of the crash was loud, and the car jerked. Thea pressed her eyes closed as her shoulders hit hard surfaces on both sides. She pinged from one side to the other until there was no way to tell which way was up.

They finally came to a stop, rocking Thea’s whole body forward, then back against the seat. Smoke filled the car, and she gasped for air. The pain in her chest was sharp, stealing her breath.

“Thea. Thea. Are you okay?” Hadley’s voice was low as if it pained her to speak.

“Yeah. You?”

“My arm,” Hadley said, gripping her left arm close to the shoulder.

Thea scanned the mess in the car. “Where’s my phone?”

A trickle of something hot slid down the side of her face. Blood.

“Mine is in the console.” Hadley lazily pointed to the closed compartment between them.

The screech of metal beside Thea jerked her attention to the passenger door. The dented door rocked back and forth twice before it was pulled open.

Icy fear raced down her spine at the familiar face. “No. No!”

“Thea!”

Hadley’s hoarse shout had Thea reaching for her friend. She grabbed onto Hadley’s uninjured arm as Cain wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her from the wrecked car as if she weighed no more than a bag of groceries.

Her slipping hold on Hadley was useless as Cain dragged her out. She landed one solid kick to his leg before he righted her enough to slap the back of his hand across her face.

Hadley screamed from the car, but the shouts sounded farther away through the ringing in Thea’s ears.

---