Page 110 of His Wounded Heart

“I think it’s best if we go visit him. He’d miss Chloe and Zarek too much if we brought him to our house.”

“But Mooommmm,” Bella starts to whine.

I glance in the rearview mirror again and see her face getting flushed. I look back at the road. I have lucked out with my kid; she’s normally so upbeat, but if she gets overtired, or wound-up she can have a meltdown just like her mother.

“Bella, let’s talk about this when we get home. We need to make sure that Apollo is co—”

“No!” I scream, as I slam on my brakes and wrench the wheel to the right.

I hear my baby’s screams as metal shrieks and my car buckles and lurches to a stop.

“Apollo!”

“Bella!”

“Mama, Apollo’s dead.”

The airbag has deployed and I can’t see anything. I fight against it, desperate to get to my baby. “Are you all right?”

“Help me!” my baby cries.

I have to get to her.

My brain starts spinning at supersonic speed, and I reach over to the middle console and dig for my nail file. I stab and stab and stab at the airbag until it starts deflating.

“Mama! I have to help Apollo.”

I can see a car coming up behind me and another one coming at us. It looks like one of Aaron’s nursery trucks.

Who hit us?

I glance over at Bella. She’s messing with her seatbelt.

The car from behind isn’t slowing down to help us. They’re speeding up, and heading directly for us!

“Don’t touch your seatbelt!” I yell. “Leave it on!”

I hear someone laying on their horn. I struggle to get over the seat to protect Bella as the car behind us comes closer but I can’t move. At the last moment, it turns and whizzes by.

Gravel flies as Aaron’s truck screeches to a stop in front of my SUV.

“Trenda!”

I hear the yelling, but I ignore it as I start crying. I can’t get unhooked from my seatbelt. The airbag and steering wheel have me locked in place. I try to keep my shit together, even though all I want to do is sob.

“It’s okay, Bella.”

“Mama! I need you.”

My heart is breaking.

Get your shit together!

“It’s going to be fine, Baby.”

Someone yanks my door open.

“Trenda. My God, are you okay?”