Page 139 of The Surrender
“Amelia, baby, please, slow down.”
I can’t find my feet. I can’t see.
“Amelia!”
I lift a heavy foot off the accelerator, but not nearly soon enough. The bend is on me fast, and I turn the wheel sharply, feeling the wheels jump across the tarmac.
“Amelia!”
The bushes scrape along the side of the Jaguar, the tyres screeching as I fight with the wheel to get the car straight.
“Amelia!”
The sun hits the windshield, and I squint, a scream bubbling in my throat.
“Fuck, Amelia!”
My feet tread around frantically trying to find the brake.
“Amelia, no!”
I’m slammed back, my arse leaving the seat, and every muscle in my arms tenses, bracing against the wheel as I’m thrown around, my cries loud. Clouds of dust burst up before me, hampering my view.
And suddenly, the engine is quiet.
Everything is still.
Staring ahead, I watch as the plumes before me float down, and the countryside comes into view again. My gasp is loud and long, my heart rate registering, thumping, my chest pumping.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, looking around the car as I unclip my belt, reaching for the handle and getting out. My legs wobble, my grip of the door holding me up.
“Amelia?” Jude yells, his voice coming through the car, just as the sound of a roaring engine invades the quiet.
Jude’s Ferrari flies round the corner.
Too fast.
Way too fast.
And I’m in his path.
Time stops, my scream echoing as his curses spill through the speakers, and I just catch sight of his panicked face as he yanks the steering wheel to the right, making his body catapult across the car.
The gust of wind triggered by his speed and closeness as he sails past nearly takes me off my feet. “Jude!” I yell, watching in horror as his Ferrari glides sideways down the country road, the tyres screeching, before the force becomes too much and it flips. “No!” It spins in the air countless times, sparks flying, before it hits the ground again. “No, Jude!” The sound of concrete and metal scraping is deafening, as I cling to the side of my car, numb, helpless, watching in horror as his car continuously flips across the concrete, the whole scene unfolding in slow motion, until it lands on its roof and glides down the road. It eventually slows to an eerie stop, rocking, creaking, black, dense smoke billowing up to the sky.
“No,” I whisper, my feet like bricks, refusing to take me to him. “Jude!”
Chapter 30
I come into my body on a jolt and a gasp. All I can see is blue flashing lights. All I can hear are panicked yells. Chaos everywhere. Firemen bark instructions at each other; paramedics talk calmly to me; the police run back and forth up the road. I look down my body. I’m sitting down. I’m cold.Socold. The rustle of something makes me frown, a flash of light making me squint. I’m wrapped in a foil sheet. What’s happening? I look up and around at all the strange faces, but then I see someone I recognise breaking through the crowds. Something inside surges. My confusion quickly transforms into something else. Rage. I push the foil sheet off my shoulders and stand.
“Miss Lazenby?”
I look blankly at the man coming towards me.
“Please, you must sit, you’re in shock.”
I start pacing towards her, shaking, my blood boiling. I feel so out of control. I want to hurt her.
