Page 10 of Nothing to Fear

A hairsbreadth from impact, she laid on the horn and swerved into the HOV lane.

04

Northern Virginia

Thursday, July 4, 6:50 p.m. EDT

The slick puddle on Willow’s parking spot, oily with a slight brown tint, was brake fluid. Gideon estimated almost a quart had leaked onto the ground.

He zoomed down the G. W. Parkway in his Jeep Wrangler, weaving through traffic, headed toward Wolf Trap. Gideon had spotted Willow taking the turnoff to the Beltway, I-495, bearing south—a treacherous roadway with random pockets of congestion. If she stayed on 495 too long, she’d hit a choked patch and risk hurting herself or someone else.

A cold pit split open in his gut. Accelerating off the southbound ramp, he scoured the condensed three lanes for her car.

Come on. Where are you?

A blip of yellow in the raging current of steel hooked his gaze but disappeared in front of a SUV before he identified the make. He swore, slapping the steering wheel.

The car on his left sped up, and he zipped over. Hazard lights flashed on a yellow Beetle trapped in a tight rush of traffic.

Willow.

Her bug passed a semi and cut across into the centerline of the roadway, riding the edge of the right lane, honking. The other car held firm, not letting her in.

Stuck in the middle of the two lanes, her vehicle rammed a black sedan. Horns wailed. Her VW bumped the car again. The sedan accelerated, and she slipped into the slow lane but just missed an exit.

A chill peppered the nape of his neck. She must be frantic with terror.

His wife’s last moments, helpless as his truck lost control and tumbled over the side of an embankment, must’ve been horrifying. He hadn’t been in the vehicle with Kelli, but the accident had nevertheless been his fault.

Despite their laundry list of marital problems, Kelli hadn’t deserved to go out that way. No one did, but especially not Willow. The only thing Willow was guilty of was being afraid of his advances. She’d shrunk away from his touch, stark fear in her face, but something else, too, had glimmered in her eyes, brought a flush to her cheeks. If he hadn’t been thrown for a double loop by her reaction, he would’ve realized what the fluid on the ground was sooner.

He slammed a fist on the dash.

As he rolled down the window, exhaust fumes hit him. He stuck his arm out, waving the car with the smoky transmission to move over while he laid on the horn until the vehicle changed lanes.

Up ahead on the parkway, traffic pinched into a grinding halt, dotted with steady red brake lights. The gridlock would stop her car, but the number of injuries and possible fatalities would be high.

Another exit sign appeared on the right. This was Willow’s last chance to get off before the jam. She swerved, taking the ramp. The yellow car raked the guardrail, screeching around the bend.

He signaled and beat on his horn, slashing in between cars to follow her.

Whipping around the curved off-ramp, the tail end of his Jeep swung out. Tires squealed, burning rubber. He wrestled the wheel and straightened out of the power slide.

He had to reach her. Help her somehow. Maybe it was his pent-up guilt over Kelli, all the things he’d done wrong that led to her accident. Or maybe it was simply how he was wired.

Not once in his life had he sat on the sideline when he should’ve been in the game. Never left a battle brother or sister hanging—not under fire, not under duress, not under any circumstances. He’d do everything possible to prevent anything bad from happening to Willow.

* * *

Aluminum scraped against steel as Willow’s car grated the guardrail. Sparks flared. The agonizing cry of metal clashing together stabbed her eardrums, and spiky pain bloomed in her head.

She squeezed her eyes shut and let go of the wheel, pressing her palms to her ears.

The metallic shriek drilled into Willow’s skull, jarring her senses. Her muscles hurt, paralyzed, like her body was caught in a steel-jaw trap. Her thoughts garbled in a wave of static.

Then a sudden, abrupt silence fell. Blessed peace pried her eyes open.

Blinding light cleared to a cloudy world as her car nosedived down a long slope. The ramp had straightened, mouthing open to three lanes. Vehicles lining the two on the left were stopped at a red light. She grabbed the wheel and veered toward the empty right lane.