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I stumbled off the road. Now that nobody needed my help, the full horror of the situation sunk its claws into me again. I surveyed the wrecked vehicles and twisted metal. The driver of the rental car had been dragged onto the side of the road. From the look of him, I suspected he’d died on impact.
A husky guy who might be the truck driver stood talking to Zane. He seemed shaken but unharmed. My gaze dragged back to the body. So lifeless. Mom and Malcolm had once been like that. Had they lain ruined on the side of the road while emergency staff struggled to save the people who caused the crash?
I fell to my knees and vomited.
“Hey, whoa!” A hand landed on my back. “I told you to stay in the engine for a reason, Kenz. Are you okay?”
I wretched again, then looked up into Liam’s deep blue eyes. In them, I saw frustration, but there was a hint of concern as well. To my complete and utter embarrassment, I burst into tears.
He backed off, hands in the air as if I’d threatened him with a gun or knife. “Oh, shit.”
Then, with a sigh, he pulled me off my knees and into his embrace. I buried my face in his chest and sobbed. God, I wished I’d had someone to hold me like this eleven years ago. I’d needed comforting so badly. That thought only makes the tears come harder.
“I’m sorry,” I sniffed. “I’ll be better in a minute.”
He cradled the back of my head and murmured gentle nothings. I shut my eyes. Despite the circumstances, it felt good to be close to him. But I couldn’t stay in his arms, so I pulled back and swiped at my cheeks. “I’m okay now.”
He gave me a dubious look. “Go sit in the cab. Wait for us there.”
I started toward the fire engine, but then caught sight of a man kneeling beside a car parked behind it. He was holding a camera, aimed at me. A flash went off. I blinked, startled. Then I saw red. This was surely the same asshole who’d photographed me outside the fire station. He must have followed us to the accident, and now he was snapping pictures while my insides felt like they were getting torn out and an injured man was fighting for his life.
Every morsel of training I’d had advised me to leave the paparazzi alone. To ignore them and maintain my dignity. But any self-control I had was long gone. I ran toward him, yelling words that didn’t even make sense. His eyes widened, and he leapt into his car and jerked it into motion, swinging it around just as I reached him. I kicked the back bumper as he screeched away.
Damn. I muttered under my breath as I stalked back to the engine. How had he found me here? What did he want? And what on earth was he going to do with those photographs?
I pulled myself up into the cab, sank onto a seat, and belted myself in. Then I closed my eyes, embarrassed that Liam and his team had witnessed my breakdown. Liam probably thought my reaction had been a result of how disturbing the scene was. He didn’t know about how I’d lost Mom and Malcolm.
I needed to get out of here. To retreat to the safety of my cottage and talk to someone who understood.
I needed Blair.
The wait seemed to take forever. The guys were downcast when they returned and stayed quiet during the drive back to the fire station. Liam asked me about the photographer, but I blew his questions off with a wave of my hand and a comment about the fact I must have been careless and left either my Bluetooth or location tracker app on my phone switched on, so he’d been able to find me. I knew I hadn’t made that mistake, but didn’t want Liam to know how much the encounter had rattled me.
When we got back to the station, I took Parks aside to speak to him. “I’m going home.”
He frowned. “You have a whole day ahead. We agreed you could sit through the entire shift.”
I shook my head. “It’s been a bit much. Don’t worry—you’ll still get your money.”
He looked a little uncomfortable, but he nodded. “Thanks, Kennedy. We appreciate it. I hope you get whatever it is you need.”
I couldn’t manage to smile, so I just left, glad that the others were too busy to notice my exit. What I needed was a cleansing conversation with my brother, a call with Jeff from my security team, and maybe a glass or two of wine.
ChapterTwelve
LIAM
You didme a favor by leaving. I used to hold myself back at work because I wanted to come home safe to you at the end of the day. Now, I’m fully committed to the job because there’s no one waiting for me. - Unsent text message from Liam to Kennedy
After someone broke your heart,shouldn’t your capacity to worry about them disappear? Yet here I was, concerned to discover that after going through a traumatic incident, Kennedy seemed to have done a runner.
“Braddock,” Parks barked from the doorway. He motioned toward his office, and I joined him. “What did you say or do to upset Kennedy? She was supposed to stay for the whole day but left as fast as her legs could carry her as soon as we got back.”
I frowned, annoyed by the accusation. “I didn’t do anything.”
He gave me a look.
“I didn’t.” I shrugged helplessly. “I was too busy with the accident for any petty stuff.”
