He had to get to the shop, because Jessie needed him.
There were fucking sirens in the background and Colt was coordinating some sort of effort and Jessiefucking neededhim.
Hawk didn’t think. He just moved. Out from the locker room, he ran as fast as he could. Mae yelled something after him, but he didn’t stop. Not as he burst through the door of Montgomery Defense. Not as he ran down the sidewalk past Dolly’s, and Jake’s clinic. Not when he turned down Cherry Street and could hear the whirl of a helicopter’s blades in the sky.
What the fuck happened?
Air burned in and out of his chest as he ran onto the road,filled with sheriff’s cars and firetrucks, and two fucking ambulances.
“Jessie!?” he called frantically as shock waves moved through his body. “Jess?!”
For the first time since he got the call, Hawk stopped moving. Well, at least his legs did. His head, however, was busy scanning the scene. Past the deputies, past the firefighters. Until his eyes landed on a beautiful mop of blond hair, and the woman he loved came into focus.
“Oh, thank fuck,” he mumbled as he took off running again, this time across the open garage doors and shop driveway. As he got closer, Hawk saw a paramedic wrap a blood pressure cuff around Jessie’s arm. Her hand was pressed against her side, but her eyes were trained on the ground, and she was more fucking pale than he’d ever seen before.
“What happened?” Hawk asked, dropping to his knees in front of where she was seated on the bench. “Jess? Are you okay?”
He scooped up her free hand, squeezing while he waited for her eyes to meet his. But they didn’t move.
“Jess? Hey, beautiful.” God. Where the fuck was she stuck in her mind? Her face was blank. Not crinkled in pain like she was having contractions or in labor. And even if she was, no one was really paying attention to her. Everyone, besides the quiet paramedic now listening to her heart, was focused on something happening inside the garage.
“Jess?” Hawk’s eyes began his own assessment. Aside from her ashen skin, and unfocused eyes, he didn’t see any visible sign of head trauma. His gaze dropped… he watched her chest rise and fall, before his free hand came up and rested on her belly.
And that’s when he saw her arms. He’d been so concerned with the shock written all over her face that Hawk had completely missed the blood on her arms and her hands.
Fuck.
“Where is this blood coming from?” he asked as he held up her arm, trying to locate the source.
“It’s not hers,” the paramedic said.
“Well, whose the fuck is it then?” Hawk growled.
“Lachlan’s,” Jessie whispered.
“Hey, Pretty Girl,” he cooed as she finally looked him in the eyes. “What happened? Where’s Lach?”
“It happened so f-fast.” Her chin quivered, and Hawk stood, wrapping his arms around her as he slid onto the bench. She turned, pressing her face against his chest. “He was h-hurting me. And Lach… I wasn’t paying attention. It happened so fast.”
Hawk’s heart stumbled in his chest. “Who, Jess? Who the fuck was hurting you?”
Her head shook back and forth, but didn’t say anything.
“Ma’am.” The paramedic addressed Jessie. “You mentioned hitting your belly?”
Hawk sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes dropped to where her hand was pressed against her side.
Jessie nodded, bunching up the fabric of her shirt in her hand and Hawk’s blood boiled when he saw the bruise starting to form right next to where their baby was. The paramedic pressed gently around the edge of the bruise, his face not giving away anything.
“Any contractions? Any pain at all?”
“Nothing more than usual. I felt a few twinges when I was helping my brother.”
The paramedic nodded while Hawk looked at Jessie in horror. He still had no idea what happened.
“Well, both you and your baby have strong, steady heartbeats, but your blood pressure is a bit elevated. With the contusion and just the general stress of what you’ve been through, I recommend we get you into one of the ambulancesand transport you to St. Clare’s so an OB can monitor you and the baby, just to make sure everything stabilizes.”
“No, I-I can’t. My brother?—”
