That warm feeling spread in my chest at her words. She had been a supporter of Drew and me ever since we met, but her approval was everything I needed to hear.
It gave a renewed sense of self and comfort that my feelings for Drew were a good thing. Her blessing was something I knew I didn’t need but wanted all the same.
My shoulders slumped, and I let out a breath as a small amount of the pressure in my chest released at her knowing just some part of the truth.
“So, give me all the details,” Leah squealed, but then went quiet. “Wait. No. He’s my brother. I don’t want to know all the details, but tell me all the highlights since, you know, it is thanks to me he came to the bar with us in the first place. Oh, I’m so mentioning that in your wedding speech. Everyone needs to know I’m the one who brought you two together.”
I laughed at her rambling and went to tell her all she wanted to know, but the loud rumbling of a diesel engine interrupted us.
A black pickup truck with dark tinted windows reflected in the rearview mirror. It sped up behind us, coming way too close for comfort.
“What is it?” Leah asked and twisted in her seat. “Is something wrong?”
I squinted at the rearview mirror, trying to make out the driver, but couldn’t see anything behind the tinted windshield. It had to be a coincidence.
“No,” I said, pressing down a little more on the gas pedal. “It’s just some asshole in a big truck.”
Yeah. I was just paranoid. It’s just a truck, not someone trying to run us off the road or something.
My phone chimed with an incoming text.
“Is that your phone?” Leah asked.
“Yeah, I’ll just check it really quick.”It might be Drew.
I pulled up my phone, but Leah snatched it out of my hand. “No way, missy. You just focus on driving and getting away from that prick behind us.”
I sped up a little more, putting some distance between us and the menacing black truck. But when I glanced in the rearview mirror, the black truck sped up, too. He was even closer than before, like he was about to hit us.
“What the hell?” Leah held up my phone in her hand. “Why do you have these creepy texts from an unknown number?”
My back stiffened against the seat. My knuckles whitened as I tightened my grip around the steering wheel.
Not again. Not now.
“W—what?”
“This unknown number just sent you multiple pictures of us in the car when you picked me up with a text that says, ‘Did you think this was over, little bird? I’m just getting started.’”
My heart rate increased. It pounded against my rib cage as a pit formed in my stomach.
Shit.Do I tell her the truth?
No. I didn’t want her to know about any of this. I glanced at the phone in her hand and then to the black truck advancing behind us.
She waved the phone at me. “Kat, what the hell is this? What’s going on?”
Suddenly, the black truck rammed into my bumper. The sound of metal crunching metal screeched as Leah screamed. The impact lurched my body forward, jarring my shoulder as the seatbelt dug into my collarbone. A sharp pain stabbed through my shoulder.
Trying to keep control of the car, I quickly slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. The black truck flew ahead of us as we came to an abrupt stop.
My breath came out in deep pants, and I looked over to check on Leah. She was breathing heavily, and her bright eyes were wide and misty as she clutched the “oh shit” bar above the passenger door.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I think so,” Leah’s voice trembled, and a lone tear fell down her cheek. “What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know. I’m so sorry. The guy just hit us, and I didn’t know what to do. I?—”
