“Thank you. If you need anything, please call me at this number. My name is Detective Nolan.”
I cut off the call, already scrambling for my clothes. I felt physically sick. Like I might have a panic attack at any moment.
This couldn’t be real. Zach dead? Lacey hurt?
“But how?” I said out loud.
My hands were now trembling so badly, I dropped my pants twice. But somehow I managed to dress quickly. Then I rushed down the hallway and tore open Dylan’s door. He shot upright in bed with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“We need to go,” I said. “Your mom was in … there was … an accident. We have to get to her now.”
“An accident?” His face paled.
“She’s okay,” I said fast. “But we have to leave right now.”
He jumped out of bed. “I’ll get Ethan.”
“I’ll wake Lila.”
I stepped into the hallway, dialing Brian. No answer. I dialed again. No answer.
Where the hell was he? With her? At the hospital? Why didn’t he call me?
I called Amanda. Busy signal.
My head spun. Zach was dead. But how? What the hell happened? What did all this even mean?
Lila was in her room. Her night-light glowed red against her face. I touched her shoulder and steadied my shaking hand as much as I could.
“Sweetheart, wake up.”
“Mmm … what?” Her eyes blinked open.
“We have to go, honey. Your mom is in the hospital.”
She bolted upright. “What? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” I said, even if I didn’t fully believe it. “But we need to go see her.”
She nodded hard and jumped out of bed.
In the hallway, Ethan was crying, calling for me.
Everything felt so unreal. Like I was wide awake but trapped in a nightmare.
My daughter was found injured in the woods.
Zach was dead.
I didn’t understand yet what the hell was going on. But I had no doubt it was bad. Alarms weren’t just going off. They were exploding.
Something horrible was happening. I didn’t have all the details yet. But it was something that would change our lives forever.
Somehow, I just knew.
Chapter 7
