Page 80 of Ride or Die

“Oh my god.” Darcy gasps. “Are they okay?”

“I think so.” I remove my hat, tearing my fingers through my hair and huffing out a hard exhale. “I just need?—”

“Go!” Bailey hands me the keys to her Wrangler and I press a kiss to her cheek, waving at Darcy before turning and running like a bat out of hell.

The tires squeal as I come in hot, skidding to a stop outside the emergency room. I don’t even know how I got here. I know the drive from Summer to Lubbock like the back of my hand, but, fuck, the last hour, at least, is nothing but a blur.

As I jump out of Bailey’s Jeep, I sprint for the sliding doors, but I’m stopped suddenly in my tracks when I catch a glimpse of Cruz from the corner of my eye, standing over by his Bronco, talking on his cell phone with a coffee in his hand. And, I don’t know, but the sight of his casual grin only sends a bolt of fire through me, and I make a beeline for him.

“What the fuck?” I shout, pushing Cruz and causing the coffee in his cup to slosh over the side and spill down the front of his uniform.

“I’ll call you back,” Cruz grits out, glowering at me before ending his call.

“You didn’t think to fuckin’ call me?” I seethe, stepping up so I’m toe-to-toe.

“Cole,” Cruz warns, reaching for his holster. “You better back the fuck up.”

I can’t help but scoff. “What are you gonna do, motherfucker? Shoot my ass?”

“Don’t test me, Dawson.”

When I notice we’re attracting the attention of those around us, I grudgingly take a couple of steps back, watching him, waiting for whatever the fuck he has to tell me.

“She blew a tire and lost control,” Cruz says slowly, his tone condescending and only causing my hands to ball into fists with the need to punch his dumb fuckin’ face. “I’ve had the car towed to Rick’s. Everyone is fine, but the ambulance brought ’em here because of the kids.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you call me?” I demand, folding my arms across my chest as I glare down at him. Leaning in, I lower my voice. “That’s what I’m fuckin’ payin’ you for.”

“I was about to call you, I just needed to?—”

“Get yourself a fuckin’ coffee first?” I bite out, looking pointedly at the cup still in his hand, because he managed to stop and get himself a goddamn coffee but couldn’t call me? Before I say something I know I’ll probably end up regretting, I offer Cruz one last look of disgust and turn away, hurrying inside to find my girl.

CHAPTER 30

CLARA

My heart races hard, slamming against my chest almost to the point of pain as I stare down at the paperwork in front of me. All the words and tick boxes are blurring through the tears I’ve been trying so hard to contain, it’s impossible to see straight. With Billie wrapped around me, unable to let me go, her little body still trembling, I’m a mess of emotions trying to juggle everything, all without falling apart myself. I need to be the strong one. That’s my job.

When the ambulance brought us here to the hospital, I was in shock. The only thing I was worried about was making sure that the kids were okay. But now, as Tommy lies on the bed, his arm in a cast while we wait for the doctor to come by and give us the all clear, all I can think about as I stare down at this form, at all our personal identification details printed at the very top, is that not only are we at serious risk of Cain finding us, but that I very much do not have the insurance to pay for whatever this is all going to cost.

With a trembling hand, I start to fill out the form which is when I hear the distant sound of raised voices coming from the other side of the curtain. My brows draw together when I realize the commotion sounds suspiciously like Cole.

“No, I ain’t the goddamn father,” he gruffs.

“Only immediate family allowed, sir,” the stern nurse says.

“Iamimmediate family,” Cole huffs. “I’m… the brother.”

“The brother?”

“Yeah…”

My lips twitched at the uncertainty in his tone.

“Of the woman whose surname you don’t know?”

“We got different daddies.”

“Mm-hmm.”