I cover my mouth. Feel the surge of tears. The bulldog whines in his seat as the truck bounces over potholes in the road. I didn’t call AJ after I got home, and I wish now that I had. Maybe I could have convinced him to ride back to Eastvale to spend the night with me.
Guilt gnaws at my insides. I remove my hand from my mouth and look over the dogs’ heads at Chase.
‘Drive faster,’ I say.
Golden Oak Medical Center is situated on the northwest side of Canyon’s central business district, not far from the city’s main Danube Stadium. The truck screeches to a halt as Chase hits the breaks and I grab both dogs to stop them from flying through the windshield. He parks the truck haphazardly across the road from the emergency room entrance.
‘Don’t wait for me,’ he orders as I unbuckle my seatbelt and yank the door handle.
Inside the emergency room, there are bikers everywhere. I spy Echo arguing with a receptionist sitting behind a desk.
She’s raising her voice at him. ‘You people can’t all be here at once,’ she says. ‘We have patients. Immediately family only. Unless they require treatment, everybody else can wait outside.’
Echo turns to the waiting members of Hell’s Venom. ‘You heard the lady. Everybody out.’
There’s movement. Not everyone clears out. Echo spies me in the crowd and reaches for my hand. ‘Hollie, you stay.’
I step forward. I’m trying to control the rising sense of panic in my chest. ‘Is he here? What’s happening?’
The receptionist eyeballs us. Echo doesn’t answer me immediately. We move to a set of pale yellow dilapidated-looking chairs set out in a horseshoe shape and huddle together: me, Echo, Balthazar, Nicole and Chase.
‘Is Mercy with him?’ Nicole asks.
Echo nods his head once. ‘She is.’
‘Are the kids here?’
‘Armando’s checking them into a motel.’
I swallow. I haven’t met AJ’s mother, or her boyfriend, let alone his half-siblings, aside from Noah.
‘You all right, Echo?’ Chase asks. ‘I mean, with the fire and all?’
‘Let’s not talk about that now. Focus on AJ.’
Echo’s eyes settle on me. ‘How you holding up?’ he asks.
‘Was anyone else injured?’ I ask, ignoring his question.
Echo shakes his head and looks at the floor. ‘No. Just AJ.’
‘How high did he jump from?’ I ask, because I need to know.
I see Echo swallow. He leans forward, taking my hands in his. ‘Lester witnessed it. He thinks thirty, maybe thirty-five feet.’
My mouth falls open. ‘Thirty-five feet?’ I repeat in horror.
‘He’s alive, that’s what counts. Boy’s a fighter, he’ll come out swinging. He’s gonna be fine.’
‘And if he’s not?’ Chase blurts out from beside me.
Echo’s expression darkens. ‘Brennan you say another goddamned word, I swear…’
Chase looks away. I feel a rush of tears and shoot to my feet.
‘You okay, Hollie?’ Nicole asks me.
‘I need to…’ I say, my words coming out only just above a whisper, because they are caught in my throat. ‘I… I need to go outside.’
