Fighting to Survive (Guarded Hearts Book 3) by Alexis Noelle Page B

of Scott while Carter grabs my hand and leads me out to the parking lot. We walk over to Shawn’s truck and wait for him and Jason. When they walk up, Jason and Carter jump in the front and Shawn and I get in the back.
    I turn to him, his shirt is covered in blood. I’m about to ask him what he’s doing here, when he wraps his arms around me. “I missed you so fucking much,” he whispers as he buries his head in my neck. He pulls back and is about to kiss me when I pull away. I turn my head away from him, overwhelmed by everything that has just happened.
    Shawn grabs my chin and tilts my head toward him. “I’m sorry, babe. You have no idea how much.”
    I look toward the front of the car, apprehensive about having this discussion in front of them. Jason notices me looking at them and then turns on the radio and adjusts the speakers so it’s louder in the front. I’m thankful he does that for us and I turn to Shawn so I can figure out what is going on. “Why did you leave? Why are you here now?”
    He rakes his hands through his hair and I can see the pain in his face. As much as I want to comfort him, I need to be strong and not give in. “It was your dad.”
    “My dad? What the heck does he have to do with anything?”
    “When you were out with your mom, your dad called me into his office. He tried to offer me money to walk away from you. When I told him no, he tried to blackmail me by threatening to send my family into poverty. I didn’t want to leave you, and it killed me to do it. I’ve been so miserable without you, Jason finally got me to tell him what happened, and he talked some sense into me.”
    I can’t believe my father would do something like that. Well, maybe I can believe it, but I still can’t wrap my head around it. “Why didn’t you just tell me in the first place?”
    “I don’t know. I guess I just panicked. Please say you’ll forgive me? Tell me I didn’t screw us up too badly.”
    I put my hands on both sides of his face. “You should’ve just told me. I would have stood by you and stood up to my father.”
    He leans in closer and touches his lips to mine. His gentle kiss quickly catches fire and we pour everything we’ve been feeling for the last couple of days into it.
    Jason must have seen us in the rearview mirror because I hear him say, “Thank fucking God.”

Chapter Sixteen
     
Madison
     
    I’m so glad Shawn decided to go make up with Christen. Jason won’t tell me what happened between them, but I’m sure I’ll eventually find out. Nicole should be here soon and we are planning to pig out on pizza, ice cream, and chick flicks. I hear my phone beep, and when I check it, I see it’s Holly.
    Holly: Hey, what’s up?
    Me: Nothing, just waiting for Nicole to get here. How was your date?
    Holly: It sucked. Can I come over, too?
    Me: Yeah! We will be here!
    I grab bowls and set out all of the things to make the sundaes. I ordered the pizzas about ten minutes ago, so they should be getting here any second. I text Carter to see how everything is going and he says they are on their way back now and they should be here in about forty-five minutes. When I hear a knock at the door, I grab the pizza money, and open the door.
    “Hey, here is the—” When I look up, the rest of the sentence dies on my tongue. Chris. I try to throw the door closed but he catches it and throws it open, causing me to stumble and fall on the floor. I crawl backward as I watch him step in the house and shut the door behind him. I spot my phone on the table and scramble to try and grab it, but he beats me to it and throws it against the wall, shattering it.
    “Not happy to see me?”
    His voice makes my stomach turn, and all I want to do is run and hide somewhere.
    “I told you I would never let you go. Those idiots put me under house arrest, but the cop was a friend of my dad’s and made the bracelet loose enough so I could take it off when it got uncomfortable. My dad is going to be pissed