Kennedy breaking free of Jessie’s hand and turning back toward Jack and calling out that she’d forgotten to give him a kiss goodnight.
Jessie turning around to watch Kennedy running to him, giving him that smile that still made his heart thump like a fucking drum in his chest.
Then a loud bang, and a fireball.
Jessie’s car being shredded into a billion pieces.
Jessie thrown over the side of the dock and into the water by the force of the explosion.
Her head hitting the side.
Hard.
So fucking hard.
Kennedy reaching him just as the car blew up. Wrapping her up in the safety of his arms, instinctively turning away from the blast to protect her, shielding her face and little body as best he could from the scattering pieces of debris.
And then everything went back to regular time.
Kennedy screaming, little bloody cuts on her arms and legs, Jack frantically checking her over for any serious injuries. Yelling at her not to move.
Running to where Jessie had fallen in, scanning the water but not seeing her.
Diving in and miraculously finding her in the dark murky depths after what seemed like an eternity.
Pulling her out and laying her on the dock, where she lay motionless. She was unconscious. No blood gushing from a gaping cut on her head. Not a good sign.
Pressing his ear to her chest to see if she was breathing.
She wasn’t.
Breathing.
Grabbing his cell phone out of his pocket to call for help. Checking for a pulse. Nothing.
He started compressions on her chest, counting the rhythm in his head.
“Breathe goddammit!” he roared, Kennedy sitting on the ground next to him, screaming her head off. “Don’t you fucking die! Don’t you fucking die, too! Come on, baby! Fucking breathe!”
He heard sirens in the distance. Like another time he had heard them.
Panic rose in his chest. It had been too late the other times.
Too late. Always too fucking late.
Too late for his mom. Too late for Gus.
Not this time. No fucking way.
He was not losing her too.
Find out what happens next in CONSUMED, the conclusion of Jack and Jessie’s story, and the third book in the Wrecked Hearts Series.
Thank you for reading BURNED. If you enjoyed the story, please consider sharing your thoughts and opinions by leaving an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Follow me on Facebook (Gabrielle Gibson @ggibsonauthor) to find out when CONSUMED, the conclusion of Jack & Jessie’s story, will be released.
Please visit my website, ggibsonauthor.com, for more information on my upcoming stories.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, baby, for being my love and my life. Everything would be nothing without you.
My girls Josette, Nicki, Tiff, Kim, and Sam—thanks for all of your help and feedback. I appreciate it more than I can ever say.
Katie and Matt—I love you guys. Mom and Dad—wish you were still here. Hope you would be proud. Miss you every day.
About the Author
Gabrielle Gibson spends most of her free time writing sexy stories about difficult relationships and the redemption of damaged and dark hearts. She is committed to leading the broken characters that live in her head out of the darkness and into the light. She’s a self-described entertainment junkie with an affinity for 80s music, especially hair metal. She lives in southern Maryland with her sexy rocker husband, Bob, also known as her lover and best friend. He continually inspires her obsession with the alpha male.
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