“Did you forget I have pictures and documentation of our marriage?” she reminded him.
“You won’t go anywhere with those photos,” he countered. “Not if you want your boyfriend to keep that tiny town badge of his.”
The car turned another corner and Melanie stared down to her lap as she weighed her next move. If she talked to Tanner, confided in him, maybe they could pull together and fight this. She would never marry Neville, no matter the threat. But how did she prevent him from destroying Tanner’s life?
“Neville.” She glanced back up at him, ready to fight right back. “There will be no wedding, so you might as well—”
The car lurched as metal on metal crunched, glass shattered. Melanie screamed as she was flung across the seat an instant before her world faded to black.
* * *
Where on earth was she?
Tanner eyed the clock above the mantel and couldn’t believe Melanie hadn’t texted or called. It was already six o’clock and he hadn’t heard a word from her since this morning when he’d left for work.
Worry started forming deep in his belly. This wasn’t like Melanie at all. He pulled his cell from his pocket and tried calling hers, only to get voicemail . . . again.
The second he hung up, his cell vibrated in his hand. The screen lit up with Jade’s number.
He swiped to answer. “Hey, Jade. Are you by chance with Melanie? I can’t find her.”
“There’s been an accident.”
Tanner’s world tilted. He placed a hand on the back of the oversized chair and clutched his phone. In that instant, the worst possible scenarios flooded his mind. Being in law enforcement, being in the military, he’d seen some scary, horrific things.
“Where is she?” he barely choked out.
“She’s in a hospital in Atlanta,” Jade stated.
“Atlanta? What the hell—”
“You need to listen to me and not explode,” Jade warned, then he heard her push out a sigh. “She was in a car accident . . . with Neville.”
Fury, confusion, rage, terror . . . so many emotions rolled through him. Hell, they all rolled over him, causing his knees to go weak. He leaned further onto the back of the chair.
“I don’t know the specifics,” she went on. “I happened to be talking to a colleague on the phone and when it came through on the news, she told me. The media only mentioned that the mayor and his ex-wife had been involved in an accident downtown when a bus ran a red light and hit their car. They’ve both been taken to St. Mary’s.”
“I’m leaving now.”
“You can’t go alone,” Jade claimed. “You’re not going to be in any position to drive.”
“I don’t have time to wait for anyone.”
“I texted Cash and Jax. They should be at your house any minute.”
Tanner gripped the chair, fighting back the nausea rolling through him. Damn it. He couldn’t lose Melanie and the baby. Right now they could be getting checked out and doing fine, or they could be . . . hell, he couldn’t even think of all the what-ifs.
“Livie and I are staying back with Piper, but you better let us know something the second you do.”
Tanner realized this waiting would be just as much hell for Melanie’s friends as it would be for him.
“I promise.”
His front door opened and closed. Turning around, he disconnected the call as he caught the worried gaze of his cousins.
“I’m driving,” Jax stated.
“You better do it fast enough or I’ll take over,” Tanner warned, already heading out the front door.