Catching Summer (Second Chances #6)(45)

Derek raised his hand. “Let me guess. She called you a no-good sack of shit and said she hopes your dick rots off.”

Brianna burst out laughing. “You know me so well.”

“Actually she did,” Luke confessed.

Brianna smiled. “And then he told me things I never thought I’d hear come from any man. That’s why I figured I should help him.”

“What did you tell him?” Derek asked curiously.

She winked at Luke. “That’s our little secret. I hope it works out for you.”

“I hope so, too. If not, then I don’t know what I’ll do.”

I looked down at my phone. It was closing in on twelve o’clock. “I hate to cut the party short, but I told Summer I’d be back around midnight.”

“Dude, you are so *-whipped,” Derek teased, enduring the wrath of Brianna when she smacked him upside the head.

“Don’t even go there,” she said. “You know you would do the same thing for me. Besides, I’m getting kind of tired anyway.”

Derek finished his beer and chuckled. “Let’s go then.”

Before leaving, I turned to Luke. “Do you have a way back home or do you need to come with us?”

He shook his head. “I came with Jason and some of the other guys. I’m good.”

“All right, brother. Good luck with Lara.”

“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”

After we said our goodbyes to the rest of the team, Derek, Brianna, and I started for her little convertible. It was smaller than Derek’s SUV, but he refused to let her drive his car to the bar. We were cramped; I couldn’t sit straight since my legs were so long, so I sat sideways. When we got inside, I pulled out my phone and texted Summer.

I’ll be home in twenty.



She responded right away.

OK! See ya there. Almost done with the bookkeeping.



Once we got out of the city, Brianna lowered the convertible top. The city lights were far behind us, and the air felt amazing as it blew by us. “So what all did you say to Luke? You didn’t tell him to buy her chocolates, did you?” I asked teasingly.

She laughed and looked at me through the rearview mirror. “I told you, it’s mine and Luke’s secret. I just told him what I would want if I was in Lara’s place. Just whatever happens, don’t tell her it was my idea.”

I bellowed out a laugh. “Oh, hell.”

She glanced at me over her shoulder. “Exactly.” But then her wide-eyed gaze caught something behind us. “That’s weird.”

“What the hell is this guy doing?” Derek shouted, looking over his shoulder. Car lights glared at us from behind. When I turned to look, I saw a truck approaching much too fast.

“Brianna, speed up,” I yelled. She slammed on the gas, but the person behind us kept pursuing.

“What the f*ck?” Derek hissed, flipping the person off.

Brianna grabbed his hand and yanked it down. “Derek, stop! It’ll just piss them off more.”

“I don’t give a shit. They’re riding our ass.”

Brianna’s car was no match for the truck, which could easily run us right over. The guy was probably drunk. “When we get up close to the high school, pull over and let the f*cker by,” I suggested. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen, and there was no one around to help us. Out of nowhere, the truck slammed into us from behind and we jerked forward. “Holy shit!”

Brianna’s cries were all I could hear as everything moved in slow motion. Derek shouted at the person behind us while I pushed Bri to keep going. She was scared, and there was nothing I could do to save us. The truck proceeded to speed up and pull alongside us. I tried to look at the driver, but the window was dark. All I could tell was that it was a lifted metallic blue truck before it slammed into the side of us and we went barreling off the road. The impact tossed me out of the car. It was like I was out of my body watching as Derek and Bri met a different fate as the car rolled over and over. I held my breath as I hit the ground and the air was knocked out of my lungs. Every inch of my body was on fire, exploding with pain. For a split second, I lost all track of time and succumbed to the sound of my heartbeat thundering away in my ears.

The screeching of tires and the roaring of the truck pulled me out of my stupor. I wanted to chase after whoever it was and bash their heads into the cement. That was what my head felt like.

“Derek?” I called out, my voice raspy and weak. I could barely hear myself. After carefully turning on my side, I got a good look at the wreckage. Bri’s car was turned upside down and I could see her lifeless, crumpled body hanging by her seatbelt. “No, no, no. Brianna!”

As fast as I could, I clambered to my feet, and the world spun beneath me. I fell to the ground and tumbled the rest of the way to the mangled car. Brianna’s neck was turned awkwardly to the side, and by the look of her vacant eyes I knew she wasn’t in there. Blood oozed out of her ears and nose, dripping down onto the green grass below. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and sat there, preparing myself for what lay on the other side of the twisted vehicle. I knew without a doubt that Derek would be dead as well. Stumbling around the car, I found him on the ground with his eyes closed. Blood flowed from a gash on his forehead, but none seemed to be coming from anywhere else.