Chapter 10 No Such Thing As Coincidence
Damian's POV
The sound of metal colliding with metal was something I would never forget for as long as I lived. It tore through the phone like a bomb going off. One moment Courtney was laughing about garlic pasta and teasing me about dishes. The next—
Screeching tires. A gasp. Then a violent, bone-shaking crash.
“Courtney!”
The word ripped out of my chest before I even realized I was shouting. For a second there was nothing but static. My heart slammed against my ribs as I stared at the phone in my hand like it had just turned into a live grenade.
“Courtney!” I barked again. “Court, answer me!”
My office suddenly felt too small. Too quiet. Too far away from wherever she was. Then—
A faint sound crackled through the speaker.
“…I’m here…”
My lungs filled with air again in a violent rush.
“Oh my God,” I breathed. “Courtney, talk to me. Are you hurt?”
Her breathing came through the line—shallow, uneven. Sirens wailed faintly in the background.
“Car… accident…” she whispered.
My chair crashed backwards as I shot to my feet.
“Where are you?” I demanded, already grabbing my jacket and keys.
“I—”
Her voice cut off in a pained gasp.
“Courtney!”
No response. Just the distant chaos of voices and sirens. My blood ran cold.
“Stay with me,” I ordered, already sprinting out of my office. “Do you hear me? Stay with me!”
But the line had gone silent.
I don’t remember leaving the building. I barely remember the elevator. What I do remember was Daniel Hargrove’s face flashing through my mind like a warning siren. Be careful when you’re out alone. My stomach twisted violently. Had this been an accident? Or had someone made it look like one? By the time I burst out of the front doors of McKay Enterprises headquarters, Peter was standing by his car in the parking lot. He took one look at my face and straightened immediately.
“What happened?”
“Courtney.”
The word came out rough.
“Car accident.”
Peter’s expression changed instantly.
“Where?”
“I don’t know exactly,” I said, climbing into the driver’s seat. “She was on the highway coming home.”
Peter didn’t hesitate. He slid into the passenger seat.
“Drive.”
The engine roared to life as I tore out of the lot. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white.
“Call emergency services,” I ordered.
Peter was already dialing.
“Yeah,” he said into the phone seconds later, voice sharp and controlled. “We need confirmation of a collision reported on the north highway about ten minutes ago.”
He listened. My pulse pounded in my ears as the city blurred past outside the windows. Every red light felt like torture. Every slow driver a personal insult. Finally Peter spoke again.
“Two-vehicle head-on collision?” he repeated.
My stomach dropped. He covered the receiver and looked at me grimly.
“Ambulance and police already on scene.”
“Location?”
He relayed it quickly. I knew the stretch of highway. Fifteen minutes away. I pushed the accelerator harder. The speedometer climbed.
“Damian,” Peter said carefully, “slow down before we end up in a second crash.”
“Not happening.”
“She’s going to need you alive when we get there.”
The words hit like ice water. I forced my foot to ease slightly off the gas. Barely. Every second felt like a lifetime. Courtney’s laugh from earlier replayed in my mind.
Steak or pasta later? Both.
God. We were supposed to have dinner. Not this. Not an ambulance. Not sirens.
“Damian,” Peter said quietly.
“What?”
“If this was Hargrove…”
His voice trailed off. My jaw clenched. If Daniel Hargrove had touched one hair on Courtney’s head—
I didn’t finish the thought. Because if I did, I might do something I couldn’t undo.
The flashing lights came into view long before we reached the scene. Red and blue strobed across the highway like a warning beacon. My chest tightened painfully. Traffic had already slowed to a crawl as drivers tried to pass the wreckage.
“Pull over there,” Peter said, pointing to the shoulder.
I barely waited for the car to stop before jumping out. Cold night air hit my face. Sirens screamed. Police shouted directions. Paramedics rushed between vehicles. My eyes scanned frantically until they landed on the wreck. Courtney’s car. Or what was left of it. The front end was crushed inward like a soda can. Glass littered the asphalt. A second vehicle sat across the median, its hood mangled. My heart pounded violently.
“Courtney!” I shouted.
A paramedic turned sharply.
“You can’t be here—”
“My girlfriend was in that car!” I snapped, pointing.
The man’s expression softened slightly.
“They’re extracting her now.”
My breath caught. Extracting. God. Two firefighters were cutting the driver’s side door open with hydraulic tools. Sparks flew into the night. My legs carried me closer before I even realized I was moving.
“Sir, you need to stay back,” another responder warned.
But I couldn’t look away. The door finally gave way with a loud metallic crack. Paramedics moved quickly. One climbed partially into the car.
“Pulse weak but steady,” I heard him say.
Weak. The word sliced through me. A stretcher appeared. They carefully lifted her from the wreckage.
The moment I saw her face my chest constricted painfully. Courtney looked pale. Too pale. A streak of blood ran from her hairline down her temple. Her arm hung awkwardly against the straps securing her to the board.
“Court,” I whispered.
Her eyes fluttered slightly.
One of the paramedics noticed me.
“You family?”
“Yes.”
“Ride in the ambulance.”
Relief flooded through me. Peter appeared beside me, resting a hand briefly on my shoulder.
“Go,” he said.
“I’ll handle everything here.”
I nodded once. Then I climbed into the back of the ambulance just as they loaded her inside. The doors slammed shut. The siren roared back to life as we sped toward the hospital. I sat beside her stretcher, gripping her hand gently. It felt so small in mine. So fragile.
“Courtney,” I said quietly.
Her eyelids twitched again. A paramedic checked her vitals.
“She’s responsive,” he said. “That’s good.”
I leaned closer.
“You scared the hell out of me,” I murmured.
Her lips parted slightly.
“…Damian…”
The sound of my name nearly broke me.
“I’m here,” I said immediately. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Her fingers twitched weakly against mine. Then her eyes opened halfway. Confusion clouded them.
“What… happened?”
“You were hit,” I said softly
“You’re going to the hospital.”
Her brow furrowed faintly.
“…dinner…”
The word was so soft I almost missed it. A shaky laugh escaped my throat.
“Dinner can wait.”
Her eyes fluttered again.
“…steak…”
I squeezed her hand gently.
“I promise you,” I whispered, leaning closer so only she could hear, “when you’re out of this hospital, I’m making you the biggest steak dinner this city has ever seen.”
Her lips curved the tiniest bit. Then her eyes closed again.
The paramedic glanced at the monitor and nodded reassuringly.
“She’s holding steady.”
But my chest still felt like someone had wrapped barbed wire around it. Because one thought kept circling my mind like a predator. Daniel Hargrove had just been released. And hours later—
Courtney had been run off the road. If that was a coincidence… I didn’t believe in coincidences anymore.