Blinking rapidly, she turned and clutched the dashboard, trying to suck in air but failing.

“Chase?” Olivia asked.

She couldn’t answer.

“Chase?” Olivia asked again, her voice rising an octave.

Chase looked at Olivia and tried to remember how to breathe. She couldn’t do it. The air wouldn’t go in.

Olivia grabbed her arm and pulled her back fully into the seat. Then she set her hand on Chase’s back, and with the other, she bent Chase forward until her chest brushed her knees. “It’s okay, Chase. Let your body work. Draw in air. Breathe through your nose.”

Finally, Chase was able to fill her lungs with air. “Oh God.”

Olivia rubbed her back, which made Chase want to punch her. Olivia was the one who’d done this to her, and now she wanted to act like she gave a shit? Chase pulled air into her lungs and huffed it out. “Stop it. Don’t touch me.”

Olivia stopped patting her like a damned dog. “I shouldn’t have said that. That wasn’t well done of me.”

“Everything okay here, ma’am?” The security guard leaned toward the car, tucking his clipboard to his side. Chase knew he was staring at her trying to breathe. Tears stung her eyes.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Olivia said, trying to smile at “Lenny,” who now looked super concerned.

“She don’t look fine.”

“Her coffee went down the wrong pipe. She’s good now,” Olivia said, looking back at Chase. “Right?”

Chase didn’t say anything at Olivia’s lie. She didn’t trust herself to say anything. What Olivia had done had been mean. So effing mean. Even if she’d apologized.

“Okay, so how can I help you ladies?” Lenny asked, not looking wholly convinced that Chase was okay.

“Actually, we were looking for an In-N-Out Burger,” Olivia said, giving him a sheepish look. “My navigation led us here. Stupid thing is always messing up.”

“You have to download updates,” Lenny said, finally settling into a less alarmed demeanor. “But if you turn around and go back about a half mile, you’ll see Sunnyvale Drive. There’s one right on the corner. Eat there all the time myself.”

“Thank you so much. You’re so kind.” Olivia rolled up the window and put the car into gear.

“What the hell are you doing?” Chase asked.

Olivia looked over at her. “Close the door. Buckle up.”

“No way.”

“Shut the door,” Olivia commanded.

Chase reached out and shut the door, unsure that she should, but Olivia was already pulling away. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you an In-N-Out burger and fries,” Olivia said, turning out of the rehab center’s parking lot, heading toward the direction Lenny had pointed. “And then I’m taking you to Malibu.”

“But—”

“You signed the contract. You’re now a client of Square One.”

“I didn’t sign it.”

“You will.”

Chase grabbed the buckle for the seat belt and slowly pulled it across her lap, trying to figure out if she wanted to go with Olivia or not. The woman played dirty, but then again, so had Chase when she’d told her about her dad’s friend Peter. She was mad at Olivia for what she’d done, but at the same time, she thought given the same circumstances, Chase might have done the same thing. It had caused a reaction, that was for damned sure.