Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
He heard the shouts and panicked yelling of people around him as the car shattered the window in front of where Winter had been sitting seconds before. Glass flew and people screamed as the car came to a stop halfway through the store. Harrison didn’t see anyone pinned by the car and someone else could check on the driver. His sole focus had to be Winter.
He rushed to find her outside. The door wasn’t damaged, and he yanked it open and stepped out. He looked around, finding her and Morgan immediately. The bodyguard lay on the sidewalk groaning in pain, his leg at an odd angle as he dragged his body toward Winter, who lay unmoving on the ground.
“Winter!” Harrison rushed over and kneeled down at her side. Blood trickled down her temple from where she’d hit her head and her hair was matted with the brown substance. And she was unconscious.
“Someone call 9-1-1!” he yelled, his heart pounding so hard it threatened to beat out of his chest.
“I already did,” a female voice said from behind him.
“Morgan!” Harrison barked out without taking his gaze from Winter’s pale face. “You okay?”
“Leg’s probably broken,” the man said through obvious agony. “I saw the car turn directly toward her and I pushed her out of the way. She hit her head, dammit. I saw that car drive by a few times. It was suspicious, and I was getting her out of there, but I was too late.”
Harrison heard his groan. “You did the right thing,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at the bodyguard.
Sweat beaded on the man’s forehead and pain was etched all over his face. Behind him, people swarmed the car. The driver’s side door had been flung open, and the airbag had deployed and was visible, but Harrison didn’t see the driver. Who, it seemed, had deliberately targeted Winter.
When an older woman kneeled by Morgan’s side, taking care of him, Harrison turned back to focus on Winter.
He stroked her soft cheek, ignoring the people that were surrounding them and gawking. “Come on, beautiful. Open those pretty green eyes.” Please, he thought, silently begging.
Sirens sounded from a distance, the noise growing louder as the ambulance approached. The vehicle screeched to a halt and a police car quickly joined it. The paramedics rushed over to Winter and Morgan. Harrison wasn’t certain if anyone else had been injured.
“Excuse me, sir.” One of the paramedics pushed him out of the way.
“She’s pregnant,” Harrison told the man.
“Got it.”
Harrison stood by uselessly and watched, unable to do a damned thing for the woman he loved. Another paramedic joined the first, and together they worked to stabilize Winter’s neck before moving her to a stretcher.
All the while, Harrison’s stomach churned, panic pulsing inside him. The ambulance could only hold one person, and they already had more on the way for Morgan and whoever needed help. An unconscious Winter had been triaged and taken first.
Harrison was vaguely aware of the police swarming the vehicle that’d caused the incident. Despite Morgan’s certainty that the crash had been intentional, Harrison couldn’t split his focus. It had been difficult when worrying about both the bodyguard and Winter, but the other man had been injured on the job. He’d undertaken the risk.
Winter needed him more.
Once the medics loaded the stretcher into the back of the vehicle, Harrison stepped up. “I want to ride with you.” He braced a hand on the side of the truck’s open back end.
“Mr. Dare—” It was obvious the man recognized him.
“She’s my fiancée and her only family is a couple of hours away. Please.”
The two medical personnel shot each other looks and one nodded. “Front passenger seat. Let’s go.”
Relieved, Harrison rushed to the front of the ambulance, flung open the door, and climbed in. On the drive to the hospital, he texted his family group chat, filling them in. He called Asher with more detail so his brother could break the news to Nikki. And Harrison asked Asher to make sure she got word to Derek and the senator. To Winter’s family: the one she wanted to create for herself, and the one Harrison wanted her to be part of.
He braced a hand on the back seat and attempted to turn but a wall blocked him from seeing Winter.
“Stay calm,” the driver said. “We don’t know anything yet.”
Harrison nodded at the man who had no doubt seen his share of worried family members. “Thanks.”
A few minutes later, the ambulance pulled into the bay at the hospital and Harrison was forced into a jam-packed waiting room to pace while they took Winter to assess her injuries and run tests. Considering it was off-season, the amount of sick and hurt people coming through surprised him.
After an hour, he was losing his mind. He asked professionals who walked through the doors if they could check on Winter and they all explained the emergency room was busy and he needed to wait. Someone would come to talk to him. He tried asking about Morgan too but given how annoying he’d already been, he received more grunts than actual replies.