“Nah,” I say, reaching into my cut and pulling out my cell. “I will. I’m sure he’s just hiding out somewhere. Ever since his accident, he’s not a fan of crowds.”
Pastor slaps me on the back before walking away. I hit the call button and put my cell to my ear.
“This is Rowdy. I’m not answering, so that should tell you something.”
I chuckle at his voicemail greeting. It’s been the same for as long as I can remember. Next, I call Mellie. It takes everything in me not to head upstairs and check on her in person, but I know she’s taking this whole not seeing each other before the ceremony seriously.
“Hello?” a male voice answers, and my hackles rise.
“Who the fuck is this?” I bark, striding inside.
“My name is Aaron,” he replies. “I’m a deputy with the sheriff’s department. Who am I speaking to?”
“The sheriff’s department? Where is Mellie? What happened?” Questions fly from my mouth as I turn on my heel and race outside. “Zombie!” I shout when I spot my VP in the yard with a few of the others.
He takes one look at me and runs to join me on the deck. “What’s up, Pres?”
I put the call on speaker just as Aaron speaks again. “Sir, I need you to answer my questions first. What is your name?”
“Lyric,” I blurt, not wanting to give my legal name until I know what the fuck is going on. “Where’s Mellie?”
“Who are you to Miss Kensington?”
I grit my teeth. “I’m her fiancé. We’re getting married today.”
The deputy sighs. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but there’s been an accident. Miss Kensington and a male driver…”
His words fade as blood rushes in my ears. My heart beats against my ribcage, and I swear it’s going to pound straight through bone, muscle, and flesh.
Not again. Not fucking again!
“Lyric!”
My name being shouted coincides with a stinging sensation on my cheek, and it takes a few seconds to realize Zombie just slapped me across the face.
“C’mon, man,” he says. “I’ll drive.”
“Drive?” I ask, dazed and confused.
He nods at the cell I’m still clutching like a lifeline. “The deputy said that Mellie and Rowdy were being transported to the hospital. We have to go.”
“Hospital?” I ask, still trying to put the pieces together in my mind. Shock… I must be in shock.
“Jesus,” he mutters before glancing out over the yard. “Quake, Whiz, Trick, let’s go!”
I’m dimly aware of Zombie dragging me around the clubhouse to where one of the club vans is parked. He shoves me into the passenger seat, and seconds later, our brothers join us.
“What’s going on?” Quake, our Sergeant-at-Arms, demands as he slams the door.
“Rowdy and Mellie,” Zombie says. “There was an accident.”
“Fuck,” Whiz mutters.
“Accident?” my Enforcer, Trick, asks.
“All I know is that it was bad. They were both alive when the ambulance arrived on scene, and they’re being transported to the hospital.”
“This can’t be happening,” I mumble, more to myself than anything else. “I can’t lose them, either of them.”
