Page 174 of Secret Obsession
“Get out of the car.”
I look up. We’re at the hockey house, idling at the curb.
The front door is open.
My stomach is doing funny things. Why did Knox bring me here?
“What’s going on?”
He grits his teeth. “You for him. That’s what he said.”
“You talked to him? The brother—”
He reaches out and grabs my wrist. Like I might try to bolt or something. Utterly ridiculous, seeing as we’ve come this far. But I let him drag me across the center console, and I try to reconcile the guy I knew with the one sitting in front of me.
He already said he’d do anything to save his baby brother—he knew that this was part of it.
“I was on the phone with Miles when he crashed,” Knox says quietly. “I listened as that fucker hit his car repeatedly until he crashed, and then he dragged my brother out of it. And he took his phone, too. I heard his voice. He just wants answers, Willow, and he thinks you can give them to him.”
My shoulders sag. I should’ve known Knox had an ulterior motive. If it was just a matter of getting to his baby brother, he would’ve gone without me.
“Okay,” I whisper. “But he won’t forgive you.”
“But at least he’ll be alive.”
He releases my wrist, and I climb out of the car. My legs feel wooden, a bit shaky, as I walk toward the house. The open door isn’t unusual in parties. How many times have I stood on the darkened porch after a game or dance competition, with the sounds of a party going on inside, and contemplated just running away?
I glance at the corner of the porch.
I cried there once. Because Knox was flirting with someone else, and because he missed my competition. That’s when Miles sat down and told me that I was going to fall in love with him. That our love lines were destined for it, or whatever nonsense he spouted. I trace the line in my palm with my fingernail.
This is it.
Lie convincingly or die.
I take a deep breath and step into the house.
54
MILES
Icome to with a jolt.
There’s a steady, fast beeping noise. White walls, white bed, white ceiling. A blue curtain cuts off my view of anything else.
Hospital, my mind supplies.
I touch my temple and wince. There’s a bandage covering it, and the aching pain spreads out from there across my head. I’ve taken my fair share of hits, but none of them have felt quite like this.
Like I got run over by a truck.
Truck. Daniel Freeman’s brother.
Willow.
My mind is working overtime to catch up with what the fuck is going on. He was there, dragging me out of the car. Only to bring me to the hospital?
“Hey, there.” A nurse pulls back the curtain. “Good to see you’re awake.”
