His heart struggled fiercely with his head. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the whole situation. His head told him without question Colt would be in one of these rooms. There had been no note at the house, and he wouldn’t have been gone this long, but his heart desperately wanted Colt safe, tucked away at home, waiting for him to return.
They entered the hospital room and the harsh smell of the astringent overwhelmed him. His focus trained on who was in the bed, but all Jace could see were the many machines pushed close by. The machines beeped every few seconds, dozens of tubes ran from the machines down to the person lying on the bed. Jace could only see covered legs. Nothing to give away their identity. The officers came to a complete stop in front of him, blocking his view. It was a frustrating minute as Jace pivoted on his heels and snaked around the two. A dark-headed nurse in happy pink flowered scrubs worked on a chart at the head of the bed, Jace couldn’t see around her.
Jace walked to the bed, his eyes slowly moving up the legs then torso. Panic filled him. Please, God, let this be anyone but Colt. Oh, God! His heart stuttered, agony gripped him like a vice threatening to squeeze the life from him. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t pull enough air into his lungs. Jace reached out for the bed to steady himself, his knees weren’t doing the job.
Everything he’d been fighting since the officers stood at his front door came crashing down around him. All those walls he had immediately constructed to protect himself fell away as he saw Colt’s right arm strapped down in some sort of a semi-cast, and a left arm in about the same condition. A stark white sheet covered part of Colt’s chest, and from what he could see, there was very little left unmarked. Dark ugly bruises marked Colt from his chest leading all the way up to his face.
Everything around Jace slowed, centering straight into the two of them. Every beep of the machine was more pronounced as he stared at Colt’s swollen and badly bruised face. The nurse who stood at the front of the bed took a step back, and Jace moved up, taking her place. The moment wrenched his soul and his prayer instantly changed. Please, God, don’t let him die.
Bandages and tape covered a large portion of Colt’s head, with the exposed half, puffy, black and blue, and covered with cuts. Part of Colt’s hair was pushed back off his face, tangled and matted together. Jace could see the bruising went up into his scalp. Shit.
“Is it him?” Jace reached out to touch Colt, but he stopped for fear of hurting him more.
“Yes,” Jace whispered. A silent tear slid down his cheek. “What happened?”
“He was in an automobile accident. We believe he was found right away, but aren’t completely certain until we get the doctor’s report. We don’t know who hit him.” Jace had no idea where the cops were standing behind him, but he could barely hear their voices over the sound of his own heartbeat. He never took his eyes off Colt. I need you, please don’t die.
“It was a hit? Someone hit him,” Jace said after the words had time to sink in.
“Yes, sir. Could you step outside, please?” Again, an undeterminable amount of time passed before Jace reluctantly left Colt’s side, only to walk to the front of the hospital room. He refused to walk out that door.
“Someone hit and left him?” Jace asked in a hushed tone. Confusion set in, the processing part of his brain wasn’t working right no matter how hard he tried to focus. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the investigation was important. Yet the simplest thoughts seemed to be too much, and he cut his eyes back to the bed. Anguish filled his soul. Jace moved slightly to the left where he could keep his eyes on Colt. It took a full minute for Jace to realize the officers were trying to get him to understand something, without actually saying the words.
Officer Laemoa kept watching him closely, while Officer Kahala nodded his head.
“Like this was done on purpose?” Jace asked. He’d apparently gotten to where they needed him to be. Reality came crashing down, and right then, Jace remembered he was in a tricky spot. He wasn’t family. He couldn’t make these decisions for Colt. He technically shouldn’t even be in this room right now, but they needed information from him. Panic set in for real this time. Colt’s only family was his father. His father. Fuck!
“Who do you know would want to cause him or you harm?” Officer Kahala asked. The other officer just continued to stare at him. They also asked a very loaded question, too loaded. How should he answer? Think, Montgomery! His brain went in overdrive, trying to remember who helped Colt during his alcohol rehab. Think! His eyes cut back to Colt, and dread filled him when nothing came to mind. Jace just wasn’t the type of person to hide things.
“I think his father would do this. I need to call his team. I think the team physician should be involved in this,” Jace said. Still struggling with what to say and what not to say, he turned back to the two officers. “Wait, how do you know it was done on purpose?”
“It’s still under investigation, but we believe the brake lines were cut. We’ll know more soon.” Officer Kahala responded in a matter-of-fact tone.
“He was in my car.” Jace crossed his arms over his chest and took a deep breath in an unsuccessful attempt to calm his racing mind. Whoever did this, didn’t want them together, but to hate enough to try to kill one of them? Damn, what an incredibly sobering thought that changed everything.
“It appears that way.”
“Then whatever they had planned was aimed at me,” Jace concluded. Colt had driven his car because he had parked right behind his this morning. Colt wasn’t the intended target. Jace would have been without brakes driving to the airport this morning. His attention moved back to Colt, and right then, he desperately wished he was lying in that bed, not Colt. Colt didn’t deserve any of this. Hell neither of them did. For what, loving each other? Jace didn’t have any enemies, not like this.