Page 104 of Counterfeit Connection

The car switches lanes, pulling up beside us and holding steady.

I can see clearly through their windows. It’s one man behind the wheel of the car, driving with one hand, and snapping photos with the other.

“He’s chasing us for a fucking picture?” Kaitlyn asks, the terror in her voice clear.

It’s busy on the motorway tonight, and I’m not able to safely speed up and get away from him anymore. Fuck.

“Just look straight ahead. Don’t look at him. I’ll take the next exit ramp and get us away from him. I’ve got you.”

And it’s the truth, at least for the next two minutes, then everything happens in the blink of an eye.

Our persistent pap, not paying attention to his driving, coasts over into our lane without realizing andBOOM,nails the side of my car with his.

“GRIFFIN!” Kaitlyn cries out.

“Shit!”

The force causes my car to jerk to the right and before I can correct our path, we collide with the barricade just off the shoulder. Our airbags deploy as steam is instant from under the hood. I’m stunned for a moment before I pound the bag away from my face. “Kaitlyn?”

Her front and side bags have both deployed. Her body is surrounded in white with the exception of a trickle of blood red from her hairline.Fuck.“Kaitlyn, Jesus Christ, talk to me. Please say something.” I’m tugging at my seat belt to get out of it to get across the console to her. As I’m finally getting it undone, I hear a quiet groan. “Baby, say something. What’s my name?”

Just as I’m asking her, several bystanders are rushing the car to check on us. “We’ve called for an ambulance,” one says.

“I got the plate,” another says.

“Don’t move, love,” a sweet woman says to Kaitlyn.

“Griffin,” Kaitlyn says, reaching for me. “I’m okay. I’m all right.”

“You’re not all right. None of this is all right. We could have been killed, and for what? A photograph?”

An ugly reality sinks deep into my chest with the weight of an anvil. This is my fault. Look what I’ve done to her. She’s trapped inside this circle of darkness. I lied to her fatheragain.

I can’t keep her safe. I thought I could, but I can’t.

Chapter 32

Griffin

The police and EMS kept us at the scene for what felt like an eternity. I watched out of the corner of my eye at the medical staff attending to Kaitlyn while my statements were being taken. She was a quiet mix of stoic and catatonic. Either side was another knife twisting in my heart.

She denied further medical treatment and wanted to go home. The only way they’d allow it is if I was watching her the entire time. That wasn’t going to be hard. There was no way I was going to sleep tonight. Tobias came to collect us off the side of the road and, much to his credit, didn’t ask a single question. There’s something to be said for a friendship as long as ours that a solitary look can speak volumes. He knew time and place. This was neither.

I peeled Kaitlyn from her clothing and settled her in a warm bath. I spread the bubbles over her body from head to toe. In the beginning, it was what I could think of to take care of her. In the end, it was a way to quietly memorize every inch of her body. I need to remember it all.

I wrapped her in my thick robe and carried her into my bed, laying her carefully on top of the sheets. She didn’t want to let me go. I felt the same. I sat with my back against the pillows while Kaitlyn curled against my chest, trying in vain to climb inside my skin. It felt like she couldn’t get close enough. I understand. I do.

Her breathing was soft and steady through the entirety of the darkness. Only around dawn did she feel a bit restless. I was restless too. The mental battle I’d been waging all night had a clear victor. I slowly slide out from underneath her precious body to close myself behind my office doors. Arrangements need to be made.

“I woke up and you were gone.” Her soft voice echoes from just inside the doorway.

I must have dozed off with my head on my folded hands atop my desk. I lift my head, taking a deep breath. “I had a few things I needed to do. The jet will be ready in an hour. Is that enough time for you to collect your things?”

“We’re leaving? Where are we going?”

“Virginia. The flight is to the States.”

“What?” She drops her hands to her side. “What are you talking about?”

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