Declan rolled his eyes, but I didn’t miss the way his lips turned up in the corners. “Buckle up, smart-ass.”
Once the door was shut, I looked up to see the driver starting the car. He waited for Declan and Anton to get inside their car.
“Hey, I’m Ivy. Thanks for driving me.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Harkin,” he said, as we pulled out of the hangar.
“How long of a ride is it to the venue?” I asked.
“It’s just about fifteen minutes. We’ll be there in no time.”
I settled back against the seat and sent Ty a quick text. My stomach fluttered with excitement. I couldn’t wait to see him.
Me ~ The canary has landed. You’re onstage now, but I’ll see you soon, lover boy. <red heart emoji>
I read the text that my parents had sent telling me to have fun, and the girls had all responded with emojis, as we sometimes communicated this way. I laughed as I looked at each one.
Addy ~ <heart eyes emoji>
Gigi ~ <blowing kiss emoji>
Maura ~ <kisses and hugs emojis>
Coco ~ <eggplant emoji>
I laughed. Coco couldn’t help herself. If there was an opportunity to be inappropriate, she would take it. I sent them a selfie of me in the back of the car. It was the first time in several days that I felt like everything was going to be okay. We merged onto the freeway, and I glanced out the back window to see Anton and Declan in the black SUV behind us.
My phone vibrated with a new text from Isaac, the photographer that I’d gotten to know in Willow Springs.
Isaac ~ Call me when you can. It’s important.
I chewed on my thumbnail because my being here was a secret. Isaac worked for a tabloid that followed Ty. So I most definitely didn’t want to call him and let him know where I was.
Me ~ Working late tonight. Can I give you a call tomorrow?
Isaac ~ Ivy, I know you’re here. You’re about to get ambushed. I’ll explain when you call me.
Ambushed? What the hell did that mean?
Before I could process my thoughts, the car swerved to the side, and we nearly hit the guardrail. I gasped as my phone slipped out of my hands and fell to the floor.
“Make sure you’re buckled,” Harkin shouted, and I didn’t miss the panic in his voice.
“What’s happening?” I tugged on my seat belt and whipped around to see cars on each side of us now. I couldn’t see the black SUV that was there just minutes ago. There were so many cars now. Flashes were going off beside me and I realized someone was trying to take my picture.
Oh my god.
“Can you bend down and stay out of their sight? Just check that buckle and make sure it’s secure,” he yelled.
I bent forward and covered my head as our car jolted when someone rammed into us.
“Harkin, why are they hitting us?” I screamed.
I heard him shouting and assumed he was on the phone. “I’m being chased down the freeway by photographers and I need help.”
The car jerked again, and I gasped. I sat back up to see what was going on and Declan and Anton were on the outside of the car that had pulled up right beside us. I saw four people through the window, three with cameras aimed at me. I really didn’t care because I was scared. It looked like the black SUV was trying to get in front of them and force them to slow down, but they weren’t having any luck.
We kept going faster. And so did the cars around us.
I swiped at my face and realized tears were streaming down my cheeks. Someone rammed into us from behind and I jolted forward, the seat belt cutting into my skin.
“What the fuck?” Harkin shouted, and I could see him gripping the steering wheel with both hands as he tried to keep us on the road. We were going fast, I had no idea how fast, but everything was blurring around us. There were at least seven cars following now, but it was hard to count. My heart was racing so fast I thought it might jump out of my chest.
A loud noise filled the air as we jerked to the right. My neck wrenched and I gripped the seat with my hands. Sobs escaped and I squeezed my eyes closed as the car was hit again on the same side.
My side.
I thought about unbuckling and moving to the other side of the car, but I was afraid we’d get hit again.
We were going so fast.
The sound of metal on metal had me screaming out.
I could feel the tires as they left the road and bounced against some kind of gravel as we were struck one more time. The car was as unstable as I felt. Completely out of control as we sailed into the darkness.
“Hold on!” Harkin called out, but his voice sounded distant as I felt my body jolting forward. The seat belt tearing into my skin as the car started to roll. Everything moved in slow motion.
Bright lights.
Screeching tires.
All the colors blurring together.
Broken glass shattering around me, as my hands moved to cover my face.
Sharp pain.
Was I flying through the air? What was happening?
A loud thump sounded, and horns wailed in the distance.
And then everything went dark.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ty
“Marry the man who loves you exactly as you are.” Maura, one week after Crew proposed
The show ended and I couldn’t get off the stage quick enough.
“Where is she?” I asked Rayne as I jogged toward her.
“She isn’t here yet.”
“Where are Tanner and Zane?” I asked as something felt off. Ivy should have been here by now.
Tanner was moving toward me, his face white as a ghost. I knew in that moment that something was wrong. Zane was right beside him with his phone to his ear.
“What is it?” I shouted and Zack and Smith moved beside me.
“There was an accident,” Zane said.
“What accident? What the fuck are you talking about?” My breathing was labored, because I knew.
I fucking knew in my gut.
Ivy.
“Ty, we need to get to the hospital. There was a horrible accident on the freeway. Paparazzi was chasing the car with Ivy in it, and they hit the car several times, forcing it off the road,” Tanner said, his voice shaky.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Zane said as he dropped his phone into his pocket.
“We do fucking know that. Declan and Anton were trying to intercept the chase. They witnessed the whole thing. They said there were at least a dozen cars out there chasing them.”