The rain fell in thick, blinding sheets, turning the coastal highway of Long Island into a dark, treacherous blur.
Alyson's clothes were plastered to her freezing skin.
She forced her numb legs to keep moving along the narrow gravel shoulder.
She had dropped her car keys somewhere in the foyer during the chaos, and now she was walking toward the main road to find a cab.
A few hundred yards ahead, the red taillights of Kenton's Maybach crawled around a sharp curve, moving carefully on the slick asphalt.
Suddenly, the horrific screech of tires tearing against wet pavement ripped through the storm.
Headlights cut through the darkness from the opposite lane.
A massive, heavy-duty pickup truck burst through the rain, swerving wildly in a violent S-shape.
The driver was clearly drunk, the heavy machine completely out of control as it barreled straight toward the Maybach.
Alyson's breath caught in her throat.
Her heart slammed against her ribs in a sudden spike of terror.
The Maybach driver jerked the steering wheel hard to the right.
In the fraction of a second before the impact, Alyson saw Kenton's silhouette in the back window.
He threw his entire body over Chelsea, using his broad back as a human shield to protect her.
A deafening crunch of metal on metal exploded in the air.
The side of the pickup truck scraped violently against the rear of the Maybach, ripping the trunk open like a tin can.
The luxury car spun out, airbags deploying with loud pops, white smoke filling the cabin.
But the nightmare wasn't over.
The massive force of the collision altered the truck's trajectory.
The heavy vehicle spun out of control, its tires losing all traction on the flooded road.
It was sliding sideways, moving like a giant wall of steel, directly toward the gravel shoulder.
Directly toward Alyson.
The blinding high beams washed over her face.
The sheer size of the truck paralyzed her muscles. There was nowhere to run.
The heavy steel bed of the truck slammed into her side.
The impact was a brutal, crushing force that shattered the air in her lungs.
She was thrown into the air, her body flying like a broken doll before crashing violently into the muddy ditch beside the road.
A sickening crack echoed in her ears as her ribs fractured under the brutal force.
Agony exploded through her entire body, so intense her vision instantly bled into red. Every single breath she tried to draw felt like a jagged knife twisting directly into her lungs.
She lay in the freezing mud, gasping for air that wouldn't come.
She forced her heavy eyelids open, turning her head toward the road.
The door of the Maybach was kicked open.
Kenton climbed out, coughing from the airbag smoke.
He immediately turned back, reaching inside to pull Chelsea out.
He ran his hands over her arms and face, his voice frantic as he checked her for injuries.
Chelsea was crying, but she was completely unharmed.
Only then did Kenton turn his head and look toward the ditch.
He saw Alyson lying in the mud, blood mixing with the rain on her face.
A brief flash of shock widened his eyes, but then Chelsea let out a loud, trembling sob behind him.
Kenton's face hardened instantly.
Alyson fought through the blinding pain.
She lifted a trembling, mud-covered hand toward him, her fingers curling in a silent plea for help.
Kenton stood by the ruined car, staring at her through the rain.
"Stop faking it. It's just a scrape," he said, his voice slicing through the storm with absolute cruelty.
The words hit Alyson harder than the truck.
"Chelsea is in shock. I need to get her to the ER," Kenton stated, justifying his decision to himself.
He turned to his bleeding driver. "Stay here and handle the cops. Tell her to get her own cab to the clinic."
Without another glance, Kenton wrapped his arm tightly around Chelsea's shoulders.
He flagged down a passing car that had stopped for the accident, helped Chelsea inside, and drove away.
Alyson's hand fell back into the mud with a wet slap.
Her fingernails dug into the freezing dirt.
The rain washed the blood from her cheek.
She closed her eyes, feeling the last drop of love she had for that man bleed out of her body.
As the darkness finally pulled her under, she felt the heavy vibration of steady footsteps splashing through the water, walking directly toward her.
