The Quarterback’s First Love – Episode 33
Cameron followed the SUV through downtown traffic while relaying its license plate to police. Every red light threatened to separate them. He heard Coach Reynolds’s warning about the future and ignored it; no career mattered while Maddie was trapped.
Inside the SUV, Maddie forced herself to stop fighting blindly. One guard held her left arm, but the other had relaxed after fastening her seat belt. She studied the door controls, the traffic pattern, and Linda’s phone resting near the console.
“The medical file was bait,” Maddie said. Linda did not deny it. She claimed the reports proved Cameron’s presence damaged Maddie and that separation served both their interests.
Maddie pointed out that kidnapping was not medical care. Linda corrected her: the facility had agreed to admit Maddie for observation based on concerns submitted by a family member. “You are not my family,” Maddie replied.
“Neither is Cameron, biologically,” Linda said. The distinction exposed her idea of family as paperwork and ownership rather than love. Maddie understood why Jack had never felt completely safe inside the Carter name.
She caught a glimpse of Cameron’s car behind them. Relief nearly undid her composure. Linda saw it too and ordered the driver to accelerate.
The SUV crossed an intersection as the light changed. Cameron followed, narrowly avoiding a truck. Police sirens sounded several blocks away, but the driver turned onto an industrial road leading away from them.
Maddie reached for Linda’s phone. The guard pulled her back, and the struggle distracted the driver. The SUV drifted toward the shoulder before he corrected sharply.
Cameron drew alongside and signaled them to stop. Linda lowered her window just enough to tell him he was proving her point by driving recklessly. He shouted that police were coming.
The road narrowed near a construction zone. A barrier forced both vehicles into one lane. Cameron accelerated past the SUV, then positioned his car ahead to slow it without causing a collision.
Linda’s driver tried to pass. His front bumper clipped Cameron’s rear quarter panel, sending the smaller car sideways. Cameron fought the wheel and kept the vehicle between the SUV and an unfinished bridge approach.
Brakes screamed. The SUV struck a barricade and stopped at an angle. Cameron’s car spun against concrete, the impact exploding an airbag across his chest.
For several seconds, Maddie heard nothing except ringing. Then she saw Cameron’s motionless silhouette inside the damaged car. Terror gave her strength the guards had not expected.
She drove her elbow into one man’s throat, released the seat belt, and kicked the door until it opened. Linda shouted for the guards to stop her, but approaching sirens weakened their loyalty.
Maddie ran to Cameron. Blood marked his temple, and the driver’s door had jammed. She pulled at the handle, begging him to wake.
His eyes opened briefly. “Mads?” Relief softened his face before pain overtook it. “You’re safe.” Even injured, he asked about her first.
Firefighters arrived and cut through the damaged door. Cameron tried to stand, but his legs failed. Maddie held his hand while paramedics fitted a brace around his neck.
The collision triggered a flood of sensory memory: metal crushing, headlights, Jack screaming her name. Maddie’s headache intensified until the road tilted beneath her.
“I promised I’d keep you safe,” Cameron whispered as paramedics lifted him. The words merged with the voice of the wounded boy from the orphanage. Maddie saw a missing scene—Linda standing beside her childhood hospital bed, instructing doctors not to discuss Jack.
She managed to say his old name before darkness closed in. “Jack.” Cameron reached toward her from the stretcher as she collapsed, and both were rushed toward the hospital while police placed Linda and her guards under detention.