White Lies (A Twisted Fate Series) (Volume 1) (31 page)

Trent was nearby but had moved back some with Nonno approaching. All night long he had been intercepting business cards, gifts and drinks handed to me. It was done in such a manner no one suspected a thing from what I was able to tell.

Nonno enveloped me in a hug. “So proud of you. Amazing show, baby girl.” Pulling back, I saw he was tired. It had been a long show.

“Thank you. It completely sold out.” I noticed Carson speaking to his dad. Both had huge grins on their faces. This was an exciting time for them with the proposal coming later under the disguise of celebrating my show. The plan was to leave a little early with Francesca. They were going to stop by Carson’s to pick up something Bennett had supposedly left before bringing Francesca back to my place, where Carson would be waiting.

He gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Eva told me. That is fantastic news. Your dad would be on cloud nine.”

“He always said, ‘
When we follow our true destiny, the mind and soul will lead us to success
.’” We reflected as we thought about his words. They were spot-on, as always. The only thing I wished for tonight was to have Dad here by my side.

Yawning, Nonno gave me one last hug. “I’m going to head out with them.” He gave me a wink. “Maybe rest in the car before the next surprise.”

“Bye, Nonno.”

Marie and Bennett were next. “I’m sorry I was so busy tonight. It was crazy. Thank you for coming. It meant the world to me.”

In a simply elegant black dress, Marie waved my worries away. “We were so proud watching you in your element.”

Francesca joined us. “I’m going to leave with them, too. Carson’s going to stay. This first trimester has me nearly worn out all the time. But it was all amazing.”

“Thank you for coming and making Carson so happy.”

“I love being part of this family.”

Hugging me one last time, everyone made their way to the waiting limo. I socialized with the last few stragglers of the show, and then we were alone. I was ready to leave. Carson stood talking to Trent a few feet away. The doors were locked, and I kicked off my heels. It was over.

Francesca was right. The first trimester was exhausting.

Eva presented me with an initial spreadsheet with all the purchases. I was shocked at what the paintings went for this time. Signing my name, I felt such a sense of accomplishment. After exchanging thanks and good-byes, Eva went to the back to wrap up a few details the way she normally did.

Trent walked up to me. “Andre is going to drive you home. Paul will be with him in the passenger seat and I’ll be close behind once I wrap up a few details here. I’ll catch up to you guys before you get to the house.”

A tired sigh left my lips. “Sounds good. See you at the house.”

The refreshing unseasonal crispness of the night hit me as we left the gallery. Carson was at the curb talking with Paul. He was in full business mode.

A limo pulled up, and Carson opened the door. “I have never been prouder of my best friend.”

I ducked inside the dimly lit limo, and Carson slid in and tossed his jacket on the opposite seat. “Thank you. It was amazing. In about an hour, I’m going to be saying the same thing to you when you propose to Francesca.”

“I just don’t want Francesca to think I’m proposing because of
him
.”

Earlier, Carson had told me Francesca’s father officially excommunicated her from the family because of the shame she’d brought on them being pregnant out of wedlock.
Who does that?
I hated that for her. If Dad had willingly tossed me aside, I knew the pain would be excruciating.

I grabbed a water from the mini bar. “Hopefully her father will come around. If not, we will be the only family she needs.”

Carson nodded. “He’s stubborn, so we’ll see.” His knees began bouncing. “I hope Francesca loves the beach house. I thought it would be a good place for us to make our home.”

Gently, I placed my hand on his knee. “Don’t stress. She’s going to be overjoyed. I loved growing up by the ocean. We’ll have to have beach playdates.”

Maybe changing the subject to the baby would help.

“I can already see the trouble we’re in store for.”

“Me, too.”

A comfortable silence lapsed as Carson texted who I assumed was his dad to get updates. The part of the road we were coming up on was my favorite. The bend overlooked a steep ravine. In the daylight, the waves always crashed about, fighting to make their way in. The colors of the sea were beautiful. I closed my eyes to imagine it since it was dark outside.

A voice came over the intercom. “I need you guys to get buckled. We have headlights quickly approaching from the hill to the right. Trent is a minute from catching us.”

Car approaching? There was no road on the hill to the right. Why was there a car coming?
Oh God.
They were coming for me. They were here.

My breaths came fast as I fumbled with the buckle. Carson hands grabbed my seatbelt. “Here. Let me help.”

“Carson, get buckled.”

“I will.”

The intercom came on. It was Paul this time. “We’re going to have impact. Brace yourselves.”

My seatbelt clicked. Carson reached for his.

Crash.

The car swerved, and I gripped the armrest on the door. Andre worked to get the car back under control as my body jolted. “Carson! Get buckled!” I screamed.

They were here. If they pushed us too much, we would go over the cliff. The car straightened.

Carson’s buckle was almost locked.

Crash.

We lurched forward. The seatbelt stopped me, but Carson went to his knees and quickly scrambled back to his seat. This wasn’t happening. I clutched my stomach with one arm while I braced myself with the other, readying for another impact.

Paul came on the intercom. “Trent has us in sight.”

Trent. He made it. I frantically looked at Carson. With his belt in hand, he slid it into the buckle and relief washed over me as we reached for each other’s hand. Our fingers gripped like a lifeline.

“Everything is going to be okay, Willow.”

Carson’s words were like a balm. “I know.” I wasn’t for sure, but I hoped.

Crash.

The car spun.

For a moment, I felt weightless.

My scream pierced the night.

Thud.

Boom.

Crash.

Everything was black.

I wasn’t able to tell which way was up.

The sound of metal crunching filled my ears.

My heart galloped in my chest.

Carson.

The baby.

This was it. This was the end. I wasn’t ready to die.

Then…

P
ain.

There was a lot of pain.

Throbbing.

My head was killing me.

I tried to open my eyes, but I was only greeted with darkness. My body throbbed. There was something warm next to me. With a scratchy voice, I said, “Carson?”

Nothing.

Only silence.

Wait, was that something?

There were shallow breaths.

Close.

Were we on our sides?

I couldn’t get my bearings straight. A hand grabbed mine, and I nearly wanted to weep at the familiar touch. It was my best friend. He was here.

Louder, I said, “Carson?”

There was a cough. “I’m here.”

Relief.

Carson was okay. The baby. I ran my hand over my stomach. There wasn’t any pain. That was a good sign. It had to be a good sign. I prayed for it to be a good sign.

We had to be in the ravine from the tumble we took.

Shouting from outside the vehicle caught my attention as I tried to move my head. Everything was stiff. It was hard to move. The shouting came again from somewhere outside the limo. The voices were above us and drawing near.

We were saved.

Carson coughed again. I realized he was close to me but on the wrong side of the limo. Why was he not buckled?

“I wanted—” Carson coughed again, unable to finish his sentence.

At least we were both awake.

Everything was okay.

There was more shouting. They were yelling Andre’s name.

I coughed, too, as dust filled my throat. “We’re going to be okay, Carson.”

“Tell Francesca I love her.”

Those weren’t words of hope. Those were words of despair. No, no, no. I refused to believe the tone I was hearing from Carson. My voice grew stronger. “You’re going to tell her yourself, Carson.”

The darkness came again as I fought to keep my eyelids open. It was hard to stave off the tiredness that threatened to consume me. “I love you, too, Willow.”

I knew the impending exhaustion was about to win, but we needed to remain conscious. “Carson, fight. I love you, too. You’re my best friend.”

“I know, Willow.”

Our voices were growing more tired. I knew it. He knew it. We needed to save our energy. I wanted to sleep.

“I love my baby, Willow. I want to be a father.” Now he sounded scared.

I was scared. I wanted to respond, but nothing came out.

The darkness had come to claim me.

Blackness.

People surrounded me. There were so many flashing lights, and they hurt my head. “Get her IV hooked up. What are her vitals?”

The plastic oxygen mask covered my mouth. I slapped at it. A hand stopped me. “Careful, Ms. Russo. We’re loading you into the ambulance.”

“Pregnant.” It took everything I had in me to say the one word. The mask kept it from being understood.

Someone moved closer to me. The mask lifted. “What, Ms. Russo?”

With the last of my energy, I managed to say louder, “Pregnant.”

The darkness claimed me again.

My body refused to respond. More people were talking.

Nonno. Why was Nonno here?

Where was I?

Carson. Where was Carson?

My baby. Was my baby okay?

The blackness tried to pull at me again. I fought it as I strained to listen to the voices. It sounded like Bennett was here, too.

“Did you know?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Thank goodness they’re okay.”

“I know, Bennett.”

There was a sadness to their voices.

Why were they sad?

The blackness moved in more aggressively.

No, no, no! I needed to hear more.

It was useless. I succumbed.