Cherished (Wanted) (37 page)

I began crying harder as he pressed on the gas. I glanced over to see that he was going over ninety miles an hour.

“Shut up, Jessie! I need to concentrate. I think that’s your fucking boyfriend behind us.”

My heart dropped to my stomach.
Scott!
I closed my eyes and just prayed to God that Trey would stop.

“Oh, he thinks he can track me down and bully me…fuck no. You’re mine, and I’m not giving you up.”

As I cried uncontrollably, all I kept thinking of was that this was my fault…again. I was going to lose the baby, and it was all because I had gotten on that damn plane, running away from my own fears.

Trey turned and looked behind him. I turned, too, and I could see that Lark was driving…and I saw Scott. They were so close behind us.

“Scott!” I called out. For some reason, I turned back around. “Trey!” I screamed.

He was drifting into the other lane, and a truck was coming right toward us. Trey turned the steering wheel so fast and hard that we spun around as he lost control of the car. All I heard were horns and screeching tires, and then it felt like I was in the air.

I closed my eyes, thinking of only two things—Scott and the baby.

Lark slammed on the brakes as we watched Trey’s car flip over twice before it came to a stop up against another car. For a good fifteen seconds, I couldn’t move. I heard Azurdee scream out Jessie’s name, and I saw Lark get out of the car and start running.

I snapped out of it and yelled for Azurdee to call 911. I jumped out of Lark’s truck and started running behind him. The car was in an upright position, and as I got closer, I saw Jessie.

No…God, please no.

Lark was trying to open up Jessie’s door as I heard someone behind me yelling not to move her and that an ambulance was on the way.

Lark kept repeating, “Fuck,” over and over as he tried to open the door.

I pushed him out of the way and tried. I took one look at the blood covering Jessie’s face, and I almost fell to the ground.

“Jessie!” I screamed out as I tried harder to open the door.

The next thing I knew, I was being pulled away from the car.

“Let me go! That’s my fiancée, and she’s pregnant. Let me go!” I yelled out as I fought to get back to the door.

Then, I saw firefighters everywhere. I tried harder to get out of the hold I was in. Lark stood in front of me, blocking me from seeing them cut out Jessie’s door.

“Scott, you need to calm down, dude. Please…calm down,” Lark said as he grabbed my face to look at him. “Scott, they are going to arrest you if you hit a cop. Dude…please calm down.”

I looked around, and two police officers were holding on to me.

I shook my head and began sobbing. “I just want to be with her.”

Then, I felt my legs going out. Lark reached out and grabbed me.

“What hospital will they take her to?” Lark asked as he walked me over to a police car.

“Please,” I whispered, “just let me be with her.”

“Sir, please let the paramedics get to her first, and then you can go to her. Please just try to stay calm.”

I slowly nodded my head as Azurdee walked up to me. She threw herself into my body, but I couldn’t even get the strength to hug her back. She was crying so hard. She pulled back and looked at me. Then, she turned and looked like she was going to pass out. Lark reached for her and held on to her as she cried harder.

She kept saying, “Lark…please tell me she is okay. Is she okay?”

As he looked me in the eyes, he began stroking her hair as he said, “Shh…it’s okay, honey…she’s going to be fine. I promise, she’ll be fine.”

I watched as they removed Jessie from the car. Two paramedics were on Trey’s side of the car, but then they came around and started helping with Jessie.

Is Trey awake? I am going to kill that motherfucker.

I got up and started to make my way over when I felt someone grab on to my arm. I turned and looked at the police officer. “He kidnapped my fiancée, and she’s pregnant. I’m going to kill that motherfucker, and if you want to arrest me, go ahead, but I’m going to get to him even if I have to fight off ten of y’all.”

He looked toward the car and then back at me. When he shook his head, I just stared at him.

“I don’t think we will have to do that. The driver is…he’s dead, sir,” the officer said.

All the air left my body at once. “What?” I snapped my head back toward the car and then back at the officer. “Jessie…is she…”

“Sir, she is breathing, and they are about to get her on a stretcher and into an ambulance. You will be able to ride with her if you stay out of the way while the paramedics attend to her.”

I nodded my head. “Yes, of course. Can you let them know she is pregnant and…” I felt tears burning my eyes as I looked back at the paramedics lifting her onto the stretcher. “I feel sick,” I whispered.

The officer grabbed my arm and practically dragged me to the other side of his patrol car. I felt like I was about to throw up my spleen.

“God, please don’t take the baby. Please don’t…please…”

I leaned against the car and tried to stay calm, but the moment I heard Azurdee’s voice, I lost it and started crying.

She grabbed on to me and hugged me. Now, it was her turn to comfort me. “Scott, she’s going to be okay because she is the strongest person I know. She’s going to be okay…Lark promised.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh when she said that. I pulled back and smiled. “So, because Lark promised, it makes it so?”

She nodded and barely grinned. “He seems to know everything…so I’m going with it.”

The officer called for me to follow him, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting next to Jessie in the ambulance. I held her hand and just stared at her.

I looked up at one of the paramedics and whispered, “The baby?”

She didn’t answer me, but she gave me a weak smile. I slowly looked back at Jessie and thought about Trey.

The driver is…he’s dead, sir.

“The driver, did he…instantly?”

Fuck me. Why would he try to take her? What in the hell was he thinking?

“I’m not sure, sir,” she said.

I shook my head and held on to Jessie’s hand as the ambulance raced to the hospital. I closed my eyes and prayed like I’d never prayed before.

The moment her hand moved through my hair, I felt that familiar feeling zip through my body.
She’ll always have this effect on me.
Even when we are eighty, I’ll still feel this way when she touches me.

I slowly lifted my head and smiled when her stunningly beautiful green eyes met mine.

“The baby?” she whispered.

“She’s perfect. I got to see her,” I said. My smile grew bigger.

“You did?” she gasped. “That is
so
not fair!” She went to move and grimaced. “Oh god…I’m so sore everywhere.” She lifted each arm and then wiggled her toes. “I feel sore, but…I’m not in a whole lot of pain.”

I smiled. “Yeah, you were so incredibly lucky, baby. You didn’t break anything. You’re just battered and bruised.”

I watched as a tear rolled down her beautiful face. I reached up and wiped it away.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you. I should have turned around or waited for you to get there before I met him. I just…I just never imagined Trey would ever hurt me…but…” She began to cry harder.

I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. “Shh…baby, it’s okay. Please don’t be upset. You need to relax and try not to get stressed out, okay? Just take a deep breath and blow it out. You couldn’t have known he would do something like that.”

She quickly wiped away her tears.

I reached for a Kleenex and wiped her nose. “I’m practicing. Ari said I’m going to have to wipe a lot of runny noses,” I said with a wink.

She let out a giggle and shook her head. “Where am I?”

“Brackenridge, but I think they said you could go home tomorrow if you felt good and got some fluids in you.”

“Tomorrow? Oh, I want to go home now, Scott. Can’t I go home now?” she said in that cute whiny voice that drove me mad with love.

There was a small knock on the door, and it slowly opened. I turned to see Azurdee and Lark both walking in.

“How are you feeling, honey?” Azurdee asked with a smile.

“I’m okay…just really sore,” Jessie said.

Azurdee walked to the other side of the bed and took Jessie’s other hand. I glanced up at Lark and shook my head, letting Lark know Jessie didn’t know about Trey yet.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Jessie,” Lark said.

Jessie flashed that smile of hers at him, and I knew what was about to come.

“So, now, are you going to tell us what you do? Because I would love to know how in the hell you caught up to us like that. How did you know where we were?”

Lark shrugged his shoulders. “I just needed the license plate number, and after one phone call to a friend at the Department of Public Safety to check the traffic cameras, bam, there ya go.”

“I’m never going to get it out of you, am I?” Jessie asked.

I peeked over at Azurdee, who was looking at Lark.

“Nope. Nothing really to tell,” Lark said as he quickly looked at Azurdee and then back at Jessie before he turned and sat down.

“We just wanted to make sure you were okay before Lark and I took off. We left all our stuff back in Mason,” Azurdee said as she pushed a piece of Jessie’s hair behind her ear.

Jessie tried to sit up, but she stopped when she realized how sore she really was. “Oh no. I’m so sorry y’all have to drive back to Mason and then turn around and come back to Austin.”

“No big deal, honey. It just gives me more time to grill Mr. Tight Lips here,” Azurdee said as she gestured toward Lark.

Jessie let out a small laugh and then looked back at me. Her smile faded a bit as she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Is Trey okay? Did they arrest him?” she asked.

I looked up at Azurdee and then quickly back at Jessie. “Baby, um…Trey died in the car accident. He broke his neck and died instantly,” I said.

I watched the tears build in her eyes before she closed them.

“So stupid. Oh my god. If I had just waited for you, none of this would have happened, and…and…maybe you could have just talked him into leaving, and he would…” Jessie began crying.

Azurdee said, “No, Jessica, this is
not
your fault. You had no idea that Trey would do something like this. You can’t sit here and play what-if. It doesn’t do anybody any good. What happened, happened. There is nothing you can do about it.”

Jessie looked at me, and my heart broke at the hurt I saw in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry that I didn’t listen to you, Scott. I’m so sorry I didn’t just wait for you.”

She began sobbing, so I crawled onto the bed and took her in my arms. I saw Azurdee wipe a tear away from Jessie’s face. I closed my eyes and just held the woman I loved more than the air I breathed.

Once she finally stopped crying, I gently laid her back down and kissed her lips. I whispered, “I love you, Jessie. I love you so much.”

She looked into my eyes, and I had to catch my breath.

“Scott,” she whispered, “I love you so much, and I don’t deserve your love after the stupid shit I’ve done.”

I laughed and kissed her nose. “Get some rest, baby. I’m going to walk Lark and Azurdee out.”

I got up as I looked over at Lark and winked.

Azurdee gave Jessie a hug and kissed her on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything. I’m just a couple of hours away.”

Jessie smiled. “Okay, will do. Thank you so much, Azurdee, for coming to visit and for all the yummy food. The baby is going to miss your French toast.”

Lark laughed. “Shit, I already miss it!”

I walked Lark and Azurdee outside. I shook Lark’s hand, and then I hugged and kissed Azurdee.

“Lark, I don’t even know how to thank you, dude,” I said.

“I’m just glad that we were able to catch up to them and that Jessie is okay. That wreck scared the shit out of me. It’s a miracle that she’s just sore and didn’t get hurt.”

I nodded my head and looked at Azurdee. “She’s going to miss you.”

She grinned. “I’ll come visit more often. The coffee shop just keeps me so busy, but I want to help with the baby’s room and the wedding,” she said with a wink.