Backstage Pass: V.I.P. Read Online Free

trembled and malfunctioned, adrenalin robbing me of basic hand movements. I tried to calm my breath, but it came in huge gulps and my heart pounded in my ears.
     
    Axel slowed the car further. “Sorry guys. That freaked me out. It’s getting pretty icy though, will you guys all strap up?”
     
    “Done.” Jesse leaned forward and put his hand on Kerri’s headrest as the police car sped past. Snow whipped across the road in its wake. “Wonder where he’s headed.”
     
    Another cop car and an ambulance quickly followed.
     
    Up ahead, brake lights came into view and Axel stopped us at the end of a short line of cars. I gripped Jesse’s thigh and wiped at the fogged window. Kerri turned down the music and as we crept forward, a deep sense of foreboding settled in the pit of my stomach, fiery and burning like the flares alongside the road. Unnatural debris littered both sides of the road, but we couldn’t see much past the emergency vehicles on the other side. The road bent slightly to the left, further obstructing my view. I didn’t want to be morbid, but something about the way the red and blue lights illuminated the wooded section lent a surreal feel to the scene.
     
    Jesse sat back and pulled me with him. I angled my body so I could still see between the front seats.
     
    Kerri gripped the dash. “What happened?”
     
    As the wreck came into view, our breath gasped and held as a collective. A tangled mass of metal lay between two tall trees, more scattered on the road. I could have stared at them for another week and still not have had an idea if they’d started the day as cars or trucks. Firemen and paramedics worked on the vehicle in the trees, sawing at the roof. I fumbled for Jesse’s hand and he gripped me tight against him.
     
    The officer directing traffic shooed us along before the scene cemented itself any further into our psyche. The cars in front of us sped back up and Axel slowly followed, his knuckles white around the steering wheel.
     
    I gripped his shoulder. “We’re almost there.”
     
    He nodded and stared straight ahead, recommitted to the task of getting us there safe. “I think we better all stay buckled.”
     

CHAPTER 3
     
    Hours later, the last few miles seemed to take forever, but a soft glow finally illuminated the horizon and we crested the final hill into town. Jesse laced his fingers through mine. “Suddenly, I’m a little nervous about meeting your mom.”
     
    I whipped my head around and our gazes collided. That hadn’t even occurred to me. Not that there was anything wrong with meeting my mom. I liked her a lot and she was normally cool around guys but I hadn’t let her meet a lot of them so sometimes it was hard to tell how she was really feeling—
     
    Ohmigod, I am rambling. In my head.
     
    I took a breath and smiled. My hand relaxed and I swept my thumb across his knuckles. “She’s going to love you.” I made sure to sound more confident than I suddenly felt.
     
    His eyebrows rose and he smiled. “Little panic attack there?”
     
    My shoulders dropped a few inches. “Maybe a bit.”
     
    He kissed my cheek softly. “This changes nothing. I don’t even have to meet her if you don’t want.” He drew my fingers to his lips and pressed them against the back of my hand. “Still just a guy in your lit class.”
     
    I melted and pooled against his side. “True.”
     
    He smiled down at me and kissed me tenderly.
     
    Axel pulled into the hospital parking lot and killed the engine. The LifeFlight helicopter gentled itself onto the roof as medical staff rushed beneath the rotor wash. We all winced and traded glances, wondering if it had taken this long to get the people we’d seen in the wreck to the nearest hospital. I said a little prayer that they’d pull through, took a deep breath, and yanked the door handle with my shaking fingers.
     
    Jesse held fast to my other hand. “Come or stay?”
     
    I paused with my good foot out the door.