He nodded and we rode the rest of the way in silence. I didn’t stop in the forecourt when we arrived. Instead, I drove the truck straight to the field where Shaker kept his helicopter.
Phoenix ushered us to the door and climbed in behind us. The moment we were strapped in, Shaker was lifting us off the ground. I reached forward and patted my grandbaby on her shoulder before I put my headset on. I should’ve known she’d be with Shaker. She and Kellan had become good friends when he was her assigned bodyguard.
“Do you know anything?” Mack asked.
Phoenix shook his head. “Not much. Layla called and told me he’d been in a bad accident, but she didn’t know any details. I haven’t been able to get any of the Devil Springs members to answer the phone, and the hospital won’t tell me shit. What I do know is from the little bit on the news station’s social media page.”
Phoenix grimaced and braced his hands on his knees. “Kellan picked up Avery’s kids from school. On the way home, they were hit by another vehicle. The truck rolled and went up over the guardrail, but the rear axle got caught and kept them from going all the way over. He got the kids out, but he fell when he climbed out.”
“How far? Where?” Mack blurted.
“They were on a bridge that runs over a small lake. He fell about forty or fifty feet into the water. He wasn’t in the water long…” Phoenix said and trailed off at the end.
“But what?” Mack asked.
“Someone commented and said he wasn’t breathing when they pulled him out, but I don’t know that to be true. I’m sorry, Mack. I should’ve kept that part to myself.”
“I’d rather know how bad it is up front, to be honest,” Mack said.
“He’ll be okay,” Keegan said confidently.
“I hope you’re right, sweetheart,” I said and something occurred to me. “Where’s Gabby?”
“We were over at Reese’s house when Shaker called. Reese offered to watch her for us.”
We fell silent when Shaker started communicating in his fancy pilot codes with someone over the air waves. “Yes, Mr. Marks, we’ll kiss your ass and let you land your helicopter anywhere you want because you donate large sums of money to us,” Keegan mocked.
Shaker snorted. “Caught that, did ya?”
“How could I not?” she retorted.
“Hell, I’ll kiss his ass for getting us to the hospital so fast,” I said. “But just this one time.”
We fell silent until we landed on top of the hospital fifteen minutes later. Someone was waiting at the door to the stairwell to let us in and tell us where to go. Mack and I didn’t wait for the others. As soon as the bird was on the ground, we were on the move.
The stairwell opened into the ER waiting room where we found Judge, Batta, Coal, Tiny, Spazz, and Leigh. “Give us an update,” I barked.
“We haven’t heard anything,” Coal said.
“Where’s Copper and Bronze?”
“They’re back there with the kids.”
“Why the fuck aren’t any of y’all answering your phones?” I demanded.
“Because we all jumped into the lake after him,” Coal shared. “Everyone’s phone is either lost or fried.”
Mack walked up to the receptionist. “My grandson, Kellan Ward, was in a car accident. I’m his next of kin and was told I needed to get here quickly. Can someone take me to him?”
“One moment, sir,” she said and picked up the phone beside her.
A door opened and River appeared. “You must be Kellan’s grandfather. Follow me,” she said and held the door open for him.
“I’m his other grandfather,” I said and followed Mack like I had every right to do so.
I was bracing myself for the worst when we arrived in a patient room with Copper, Layla, and a young girl who appeared to be sleeping. River closed the door and said, “They’ve already taken Kellan to surgery. His injuries were too extensive to wait. I don’t know all of his injuries, but I can tell you his heart has stopped twice—once when he was in the water, and once right before they took him to the OR. They believe he has a liver laceration which is bleeding into his abdominal cavity. I’m sorry, that’s all I know right now.”
“Was he awake when you saw him?” Mack asked.
