Grant opened my car door and held onto the top before shutting it. “Go, smartass. I don’t want you to get caught in dense fog. It rolls in fast down by the marina sometimes.”
After I stopped home and got back on the road, it actually was getting pretty foggy. I’d teased Grant for warning me to be careful, but it was becoming harder and harder to see. The roads leading down to the marina were winding, and I put on my high beams to get a better look up ahead. But after a few seconds, the headlights of an oncoming car flashed, so I turned my low beams back on. After the car passed, I hit the high beams again, but again an upcoming car approached, so I had to flick them back down. I gripped the steering wheel a little harder during the moments the low beams were on and relaxed when I could switch again. The fourth time an oncoming car passed, I was relieved to be able to return to my brights. But when I did, I was met with two big eyes.
Shit!
A huge deer with giant antlers stood in the middle of the damn road. He’d seemed to come out of nowhere. Suddenly there he was, only a hundred feet in front of me. We stared at each other, frozen in shock, until I thankfully jerked the steering wheel to the right.
Everything after that came in slow motion.
I missed the deer.
But the mist on the road made the blacktop slick, and I started to spin. I pulled the steering wheel in the other direction in an attempt to counter the motion, but it did no good.
My car went off the road and into the dirt.
I pushed all of my weight onto the brakes, and the car slid sideways down the side of the road.
With no lights shining anymore in the direction I was going, I got confused as to whether I was still on the side of the road or had gone back onto the pavement.
I held my breath as the car slowed.
Headlights from the other direction illuminated the street.
Thankfully, I wasn’t on the road anymore.
But there was a tree up ahead.
I braced.
And everything became eerily quiet.
Until impact…
Chapter 31
* * *
Grant
I wasn’t a worrier.
Or a nervous person, in general. But I checked my watch for the tenth time in an hour and stood on the back deck of Leilani, watching the dock ramp for any sign of Ireland. Actually, the fog had settled in so thick, I couldn’t even see the entrance ramp to get on the dock anymore, or the parking lot. I’d called Ireland’s cell fifteen minutes ago and left a message. But I didn’t want to distract her by sending a text. When another half hour went by with still no sign of her, I began to pace and called again. Only to get her voicemail a second time.
“Hey. It’s me.” I looked at my watch and blew out a breath. “I left you at nine, and it’s ten thirty now. You didn’t mention making any other stops except home. You should have been here almost an hour ago. Give me a call, and let me know you’re alright.” I swiped End and hopped the back transom, deciding to go wait in the parking lot.
The walk up the dock to the ramp was unnervingly quiet. Not a single person was around, and with the fog hanging so low, the anxious feeling in my gut turned into something more ominous.
Where the fuck is she?
She could have fallen asleep. But it hadn’t sounded like she planned on spending any time at home. She’d said she was grabbing a pile of work from the table. I suppose she could’ve stopped at a store—but not too many were open at going on eleven o’clock. Eventually, I gave in and sent a text.
I waited for the Sent to change to Delivered, but it never did. Restless, I jogged back to the boat, wrote a quick note for her to call me if she got here before I was back, and swiped my keys off the counter.
Getting on the road, I navigated the path she would’ve taken from her house to mine. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I really hoped I didn’t find it. The roads were pretty empty for a Saturday night—apparently all the smart people were staying indoors. The more I struggled to see the pavement, the more freaked out I got. But no news was good news. Best-case scenario, she sat down to take off her shoes at home and fell asleep.
Yeah. That’s what probably happened.
As I went farther with no sign of her car, I started to feel a little relieved.
Until I rounded a corner and saw a shitload of lights flashing up ahead.
My heart raced. I stepped on the gas, even though I couldn’t see more than twenty feet ahead of me. Something was definitely going on up there. Even through the fog, I could see there were more than a dozen lights flashing at different heights—lights like when both the cops and the fire department respond to an accident.
“It’s not her.”
“It’s definitely not her.” I started to talk to myself. Be reasonable.
“She’s probably stuck behind all of that.”
“Some dumbass was speeding in the fog and crossed over the yellow line.”
“Damn…there are a lot of rescue vehicles.”
Approaching the parade of lights, I slowed when I saw reflectors and what looked to be a safety wand waving up ahead. A cop stood in the road wearing raingear, so I pulled up to speak to him. A firetruck blocked a better view of what was going on.
He leaned over to speak as I rolled down my window. “Accident up ahead. Road’s gonna be closed for the next hour or two until we can get things cleaned up and a tow out here.”
“My girlfriend was supposed to be at my house an hour ago, and she’s not answering her cell. Do you know what kind of cars were involved? Is anyone hurt?”
The officer frowned. “Only one car. Driver was just taken by ambulance to County Hospital. It was a woman. What’s your girlfriend’s name?”
“Ireland Saint James.”
The officer stood and lifted a walkie talkie to his mouth. “This is Connors. You got a name on the woman they just put in the bus?”
My heart thumped, waiting for the answer.
Eventually a burst of static came through and then a voice. “Victim was that lady from the news—Ireland Richardson.”
I felt sick. “Is she okay?”
The cop leaned down and shined his light into my car. He was probably looking at a ghost, because I felt all my color drain. His eyes darted over my face, and he frowned again. “Not supposed to give out any information on victims. But I don’t want you getting into an accident doing a hundred miles an hour with this fog. She was banged up, but talking.” He nodded. “I wouldn’t think anything worse than stitches and maybe a broken bone or two.”
I blew out a deep breath. “Thank you. Can I turn around here?”
The officer rapped his knuckles on the hood of my car. “Sure thing. Be careful driving. Fog is dangerous.”
***
“Sir, I told you five minutes ago that I’d let you go back as soon as the doctors are done examining her.”
“A guy just walked in and went right back.”
The nurse at the registration desk shook her head. “He works here. Please take a seat, and I’ll call you as soon as you can go back.”
Whatever.
I took a seat and rested my head in my hands with my elbows on my knees. Who did they call for Ireland in an emergency? Her father’s in prison, mother was long gone, and her only aunt moved down to Florida. What if she needs surgery? Who would make that decision? I should’ve gotten Mia’s cell phone number for emergencies. Maybe she was her designated contact.