Chapter 1

There was a wall of metal sound, and then everything in my body lit up at once.

I jerked my eyes open. My side was pinned under the car. That was when it landed: I had been given a second chance.

A few yards away, Mason Sterling was already running toward the wreck in his rescue-squad jacket, his crew at his back.

The pain in my belly was rolling out in long pulses. The blood was already coming down my thigh.

I had been here before. This time I did not waste my voice begging for him to save me first.

I dragged my phone out and dialed for an ambulance myself.

In my last life, Maya had not actually been hurt that badly.

Mason came running up. I had screamed at him to save the baby first. He had hesitated when he saw how much blood was on me, and started toward me.

Maya had thrown herself into a hysterical fit at exactly the right moment, somehow knocked something on the dash, and the car had gone up in flames.

By the time Mason and the squad got her out, it was too late.

While she was burning to death in that wreck, she had still found the strength to send him a final message blaming me.

I was not making the mistake of waiting on Mason this time.

He was at the side of the wreck now. His eyes traveled over the blood on me, and something in his face hesitated.

I did not say a word.

Maya started crying somewhere behind him, and I watched his face change.

"Lara. Maya is in bad shape. Let me get her first

"You're tough. Hold on a little longer…"

I had known he was going to say it. Hearing it still set something off behind my ribs.

The second he turned away from me to lift Maya out of the car, my ambulance arrived.

The medics came running over. Mason stepped toward them like a man being thrown a rope.

"There. Take Maya. Get her to the hospital."

The lead medic looked at him and shook his head.

"Sir, traffic is backed up for miles. Only one rig has made it through. We can only transport one of them right now.

"This woman's situation is not urgent. The second rig will be here in a few minutes!

"This woman is pregnant. She has priority!"

The medics tried to come for me. The car pinning me down stopped them.

The lead medic spun back to Mason. "What are we waiting for. Use your equipment to lift this car off her."

"She is hemorrhaging! We do not have time!"

The urgency on the medic's face slid onto Mason's.

He took half a step toward the car. Maya's voice drifted over.

"Mason, there's so much blood. My chest hurts. Everything hurts. Am I going to die?"

She fainted in his arms on the last word.

He held her tighter. He looked over at me.

"Lara. Can you give the ambulance to Maya? You're still conscious. Wait for the next one. Maya is dying."

"Give it to her."

The fury came up out of nowhere and ate the fear.

The blood was already cold under me.

In my last life, that delay had taken every chance my son ever had. It had given him cerebral palsy. He had spent his entire short life in pain because of one decision in this exact spot.

I was not going to let that happen again. Not even if it killed me.

I pulled in everything I had left. My voice came out clear.

"No.

"Mason, I am a mother. The baby and I take priority. That is the only answer I have for you."

His face went tight.

Maya stirred against his shoulder, perfect timing, and let out a small whimper. "It hurts."

His eyes filled.

A few of the medics were trying to lever me out from under the car. They did not have enough leverage.

Mason looked at me for a moment. Something in him decided.

"Lara, if you're going to be like this. Do not blame me for what comes next.

"Give up the ambulance and I'll get you out from under the car right now.

"If you don't…"

He met my eyes. There was a threat in his.

"Then you stay there. Let's see how long a pregnant woman can hold out under a car!"