Chapter 124 (1/2)

The cop gets an aggressively annoyed look on his face, but the other driver sees my anxiety and says softly, “There,” and points to the ambulance.

My heart stops beating.

Wandering over in a daze, I see the ambulance doors are open . . . and Tessa is sitting on its back bumper, an ice pack on her cheek.

Thank God. Thank God it’s only small.

I rush over to her, and the words start tumbling from my mouth. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Relief takes over her features when she sees me. “I had an accident.” Above her eye is a small bandage, and her lip is swollen and split on the side.

“Can you go?” I ask rudely. “Can she go?” I ask the young EMT who’s standing nearby.

The woman nods and walks away quickly. I reach for Tessa’s ice pack and move it, revealing a knot the size of a golf ball. Her cheeks are stained with tears, and her eyes are swollen and red. I can already see the black eye forming under her delicate skin.

“Fuck—are you okay? Was it his fault?” I turn and try to find that asshole again.

“No, I ran into him,” she says, wincing as she grabs the ice pack and puts it back on her skin. Then some of the relief leaves her eyes as she looks up at me and asks, “Where were you all day?”

“What?” I ask, honestly confused, between my hangover and seeing her like this.

With a colder look in her eyes, she says, “I said, ‘Hardin, where were you all day?’?”

I snap back to the situation. Fuck.

And right as I’m about to make an excuse, Carly walks up and smacks me on the ass. “Well, Mr. Dark and Moody, can I go? You can walk back to your car from here, right? I really need to get back home.”

Tessa’s eyes go wide. “Who are you?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Not this. Not now.

Carly smiles and gives Tessa a little nod. “I’m Hardin’s friend Carly. Sorry about your accident.” Then she looks at me. “Can I go now?”

“Bye, Carly,” I snap.

“Wait,” Tessa says. “He was with you last night at your place?”

I try to make eye contact with her, but she continues to stare at Carly, who says, “Yeah, I was just trying to take him back to his car.”

“His car? Where’s that?” she says, her voice shaking.

“Bye, Carly,” I say again and glare at her.