Page 87 of Mine Forever
“How much press will be there?”
Eden rolls her lips inward before answering. “Given the guest list and who the hosts are, I expect there to be a good bit of press. But they’re restricted to the outside. There will be absolutely none inside.”
“And you have security set up?”
“There will be a lot of high rollers there that night. Several big names from the business world, as well as a few celebrities. I’ve hired one of the top security firms around. Hudson was insistent on it.”
“Yeah, he’s a private guy.”
She shifts slightly in her seat to face me. “Chase, I promise you, if you do this, I’ll do whatever you need to feel comfortable being there. I promise I’ll take care of you.”
Pausing, she looks down before raising her eyes back to me. “But if the answer is still no, I truly understand.”
I glance over at her and hold her gaze for a moment before looking back to the road. “I know you do. I appreciate it. If I consider it, when do you need my final answer?”
She sits up a little straighter, opening her mouth like she’s going to say something, then shakes her head.
“Well, the sooner the better because I have some marketing materials I need to finalize. But I have a backup plan for that. The biggest thing is I need to let the guys know first.”
I stop at a four-way stop and look over at her. “Give me ’til tomorrow?”
A small smile plays on her lips as she shifts back in her seat. “Absolutely.”
We both know I’m halfway gone to saying yes.
But I need time to prepare myself for the inevitable questions I’ll get, but that isn’t the worst part.
It’s the ramifications after the event that I worry about the most.
Will they dig up the old article with my father and call me a killer again?
Will they find out about Eden and pry into her life as well?
I don’t know how they didn’t dig up our past last time, and I can’t guarantee they’ll leave her alone this time.
And that doesn’t sit well with me.
With a sigh, I check the crossroads and find it all clear.
But just as I put my foot on the gas, I notice something white moving fast toward the passenger side of the truck.
Eden reaches over and lays a hand on my forearm. “You know, I was thinking. Maybe after the event we could spend some?—”
For the second time in my life, I see the world move in slow motion.
And yet everything happens so fast.
The turn of Eden’s head toward the blur of white, her scream, the crunch of metal colliding, the screech of tires.
It seems like an eternity passes before I apply the brakes, for the truck to stop, the impact of the crash.
And then spinning until the back end of the truck hits a power pole and comes to a stop.
Then the quiet.
The eerie quiet.
It’s as though I’m watching a crash on TV with the sound on mute.
