I follow him with Noah hovering behind me, and when we rush out of the front door of the office building, it’s to see Tyler bringing the SUV to a screeching halt.
Noah runs ahead to open the back door, and I quickly climb in, cradling Rachel on my lap.
“Cedars-Sinai,” I order Tyler, who waits for Noah to jump into the passenger seat before he floors the gas, speeding away from the school.
Staring at Rachel, I brush my hand over the side of her face and whisper, “Wake up.” I press a kiss to her forehead, and closing my eyes, I beg, “Please wake up. It’s too soon. Please, Rach. You can’t leave me yet. Not today. Not like this.”
Chapter 14
Nova
I search frantically through the crowd for Lainey, and not seeing her, I whimper, “Where is she?”
“I don’t see her,” Ryan mutters.
“Hey, aren’t you that woman who was with Easton Rowe?” some random lady asks.
“No,” I mutter before darting to my left to get away from her. The last thing I need is a crowd storming me because they think I know Easton.
“There’s Eddie,” Ryan exclaims, and he grabs my arm in a tight hold as we run in the other guard’s direction.
I’m incredibly uncomfortable with Ryan touching me, but it takes me a few seconds before I pull my arm free from his hold.
Lainey comes into view, and when I reach her, I grab hold of her hand and say, “We have to go, my sweet girl. There’s an emergency.”
Her eyes grow wide as saucers, and she glances behind me as if she’s searching for someone. “Mommy?”
I nod and pull her in the direction of the parking area. I hear Ryan informing Eddie that we’re going to Cedars-Sinai as we rush across the field.
When we climb into the back seat of the SUV, Lainey asks, “What happened to Mom?”
God, it’s not my place to tell her.
Worried out of my mind, I struggle to think straight and end up lying, “I’m not sure. We’ll find out at the hospital.”
The drive is excruciatingly long, and when we finally reach Cedars-Sinai, I ask Lainey, “Do you have Easton’s phone number so we can find out where in the hospital they are?”
“Tyler told us where to go,” Ryan informs me, shoving his door open to get out of the vehicle.
Not caring about waiting, I quickly climb out, and once Lainey is standing beside me, I take hold of her hand again. We follow Ryan into the building, but when we have to wait for an elevator, I feel like bursting into tears.
Please let Rachel be okay.
I watch the numbers count down, and the instant the doors open, I dart inside. I move my hands to Lainey’s shoulders and keep her pinned against my side.
Feeling how she’s trembling, I hug her tightly. “It’s going to be okay.”
She nods, but her face is torn with fear.
The elevator stops, and we hurry after Ryan as he leads us to a room. When we step inside, there’s an empty bed and a small sitting area. It’s unlike any hospital room I’ve ever seen.
Easton’s pacing up and down, gripping a fistful of his hair.
“Is she okay?” I ask stupidly because it’s clear she’s not.
Nothing will ever be okay again.
“Uncle Easton,” Lainey cries, and pulling her hand free from mine, she runs to him.
