The betrayal. The alcohol. The cliff.
But something else lingered at the edge of my mind. I remembered the car tipping forward, and the terror of knowing I was about to die. And then… something saving me. Something powerful and fast.
But there was no one here to explain. The nurse who came a few minutes later told me I had been found unconscious in my car by the side of the road, but no one knew who had saved me or how I had gotten there.
As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, the pain of betrayal still gnawing at my heart, a new thought took root. I had been saved by something… or someone.
But for what reason?
It had only been a few weeks since that night. The betrayal still felt raw. Every time I closed my eyes, their faces haunted me, a cruel reminder of how blind I had been. I had buried myself in work, but even that couldn’t fully distract me from the pain tormenting me.
So when my editor, Marissa, called me into her office with a new assignment, I jumped at the chance. Anything to escape the city and the memories that haunted me. I didn’t care where it was or what it involved. If it meant putting some distance between me and my shattered life, I was in.