Oxygen exploded in my lungs, a rush of hope viciously colliding with the adrenaline in my veins. With long strides, I sidled up beside him, both of our gazes aimed at the screen.
And then time stopped.
My heart too.
My lungs seized.
And I choked on the bitter acid of my reality.
“She’s at the hospital,” he whispered.
Every muscle in my body flexed painfully, and then all at once, I exploded out the door.
The hospital. The fucking hospital. What the fuck was I supposed to do with that? It was still pouring. Had she been in a wreck? Was she hurt? Was she…alive?
I couldn’t lose her.
I wouldn’t survive this again.
One tragedy after another. For once in my Goddamn life, something had to give.
After climbing into my truck, I slammed the door, the pain in my chest so familiar it felt as though I’d time-traveled into the past. How many times would I be forced to go through this hell before the universe finally decided it had taken enough of my flesh? Fuck, what if it took her? What if that was the end game? Over and over, I would be forced for all of eternity to lose the woman I loved.
I was vaguely aware of Aaron climbing into the seat beside me, but I was a goner, buried six feet deep in the what-ifs.
The pressure in my head threatened to split me in half as I blew every single red light on the way there.
She had to be okay.
There was no other option.
As I weaved through traffic, squinting to see through the rain, Aaron was on the phone with the hospital.
What a fucking shit skill set to have, but I knew all too well how searching for a missing person worked. They asked her name. Her description. Then put him on hold for what felt like a decade.
And then, just fucking like the first time I’d lived through hell, they had no answers. Remi wasn’t in their system, and no Jane Does had been brought in, either.
But she was there. Or at least her phone was. And within fifteen minutes, that was exactly where I was too.
I had no idea what I would find as I threw my truck into park at the curb in front of the emergency room. Truthfully, I didn’t even know if I’d find her at all.
But no matter how many times my world was rocked, my heart was shattered, or the cruel universe tried to ruin me, for Remi, I would spend the rest of my life desperate and determined to keep her, no matter the cost.
Remi
“I can’t believe I let this happen,” Tim said with tears in his eyes.
I gave his shoulder a squeeze. “This isn’t your fault. That nurse never should have left her alone.”
He let out a humorless laugh. “Are you kidding? Knowing Katherine, she probably told her to go. She’s so damn independent, but no matter how many times I try to remind her that she’s not Superwoman, I can’t slow her down.” He closed his eyes, helplessness etched on his round face. “That woman is my entire life, but until the settlement check comes in, I have to keep working and sometimes that requires me to be on the road.” His lids fluttered open, a single tear rolling down his cheek. “I don’t have a choice but to rely on nurses, and this is the shit that happens.”
“Hey,” I soothed, dragging him into a hug. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re an amazing husband. Working to keep the bills paid doesn’t change that. Look, she’s okay. It’s just a broken arm.”
“This time,” he scoffed, releasing me before blowing out a hard breath. “I don’t know how to thank you for being with her today. I have no idea what I would have done without you.”
I smiled. “No thanks necessary. She’s my friend.” I poked a finger in his chest. “And you, just so you know, aren’t Superman, either. I’m happy to help, both of you, in any way I can. If you go on the road again, you call me.”
“Remi,” he whispered. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You can. And you will. We’re in this together, Tim. I may not have known you guys before the crash, but we’re family now. Family leans on family. End of story.”
Tears once again filled his eyes. “Thank you. You have no idea how much—”
That was all he got out before a commotion came from the other side of the doors to the waiting area. The sound alone was startling, but my back shot straight when I recognized the two syllables of my own name.
“What the hell?” I mumbled.
Oh, but I knew that voice, raw and jagged as it might have been. My throat got thick, and with hurried steps, I left Tim in the hallway and pushed through the doors to the waiting area.
