Todd came forward. “Maxx.”

I shook his hand, and he introduced himself to Charly. “I’d like to ask you some questions, if you’re up to it, Miss Hooper.”

“Charly,” she insisted.

“My wife Bonnie, talked about you the other night. She loved the class.”

Charly smiled, despite her discomfort. “Good.”

“Why are you here?” I asked. I hadn’t called yet, too preoccupied with Red.

“The doc called me. Said he had a patient run off the road. I came to file a report and see if we can find who did this.”

“We know who it was,” I snapped.

“Well, that will make it easier,” he said, not reacting to my tone. “Can you tell me what happened, Charly? Take your time,” he added gently.

I flipped my hand over on the bed, and she slipped hers onto it, holding my fingers. “I was on the bicycle going to Mary’s. I saw a truck on the other side of the road. It slowed down, and I saw who was driving,” she whispered.

“Who was it?”

“The Donner brothers.”

“Who was the driver?”

“The younger one. Chase. Wes was in the passenger seat.”

“Ugh,” he muttered, so low I almost missed it. “Keep going,” he said in a louder voice.

“The truck spun around and started following me. They kept coming abreast of me, making stupid remarks.”

“Such as?”

“Asking me where my bodyguard was. Saying I wasn’t so tough on a girly bike. Wes yelled he owed me some humiliation. I ignored them. They keep crowding me closer to the ditch, so I just stopped pedaling and let them go by. They kept driving, and I waited a few moments until the truck disappeared. I figured they’d had their fun and were gone, so I started going again.”

She stopped, and I held out the straw so she could have another drink. She squeezed my fingers then continued.

“They were waiting ahead, at one of the crossroads. I saw them too late to stop, so I started pedaling harder. I decided I was going to pull over in the next break and call Maxx and tell him. I knew he’d come get me.” Her eyes met mine, and I nodded.

I would always come if she needed me now. I knew that, with an utter certainty I couldn’t explain.

“They came right alongside me, yelling and shouting insults.” Her breathing picked up, and I moved close, holding her hand tighter.

“It’s okay, baby. Just say it. They can’t hurt you now.”

“I was standing, pedaling as fast as I could. I was so close to the edge of the ditch, and I couldn’t stop. I knew there was an intersection coming up—I only had to go about another ten feet and I’d be okay—I could veer away. But I suddenly felt a sting on the back of my legs. It was really painful, and it startled me. I lost control of the bike…” Her voice trailed off. “The next thing I knew, I was in the ditch, they were gone, and the bike was damaged and I couldn’t move it. I crawled out of the ditch and the bell was lying there, so I grabbed it. I couldn’t find my bag with my phone, and I was in so much pain, it was all I could do to crawl to the trees and collapse. I kept losing consciousness, and then suddenly I heard Maxx.”

I took up the story, knowing she was exhausted. I told Todd how I found her, and when he asked about their history, I told him about Wes and the bar, and the other run-ins.

Todd was shaking his head. “I’m not surprised to hear the name Donner associated with this.”

“What will happen if we file a report?” Charly asked.

“They’ll be brought in and questioned.” His voice was frustrated. “You know their daddy will have a lawyer there fast. It’s going to be he said, she said. You didn’t see another car, Charly? Anyone working in their field?”

“No.”

He hung his head. “I guarantee you by the time the lawyer gets there, their father will have a witness that puts them in some other location at the time this happened.”

My body shook with anger, because I knew he was right.

“They could have killed her,” I snarled. “They need to be held accountable. This isn’t some practical joke gone wrong. She is seriously hurt, and they are gonna get away with it?”

“I’ll do what I can. You’ll have to come to the station and sign a statement.”

Charly looked positively ill. “Can we just leave it?”

“Leave it?” I roared. “Are you crazy?”

Todd held up his hand. “Calm down, Maxx. Why would you want to do that, Charly?”

“If they’re going to get away with it, why make them angrier?”

“So, you want to do nothing?” I snapped, my anger taking over.

Mary’s voice interrupted us. I hadn’t heard her come in, but she must have been there for a while, listening. “You have to do this, child. Maxx is right—this goes beyond a prank. If we’d had rain in the last few days, there would have been water in the ditch. You would have been unconscious, and right now, you’d be in the morgue.”

Tags: Melanie Moreland Romance
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