“When will we get a shot of the two of you?”
“What has she been doing all of these years?”
“Are you two going to get married again?”
Liam grabbed Julian by the arm and spun him around. Trying not to look at the reporters, he said in a quiet voice, “I need to speak to you. Now. ”
Julian had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sure thing, Doc. ” He threw the crowd a false smile. “This here is Liam Campbell. He’s Kayla’s … doctor. ”
The crowd had a dozen simultaneous questions. Liam ignored them. Hanging on to Julian’s arm, he dragged him into the lobby, past Rosa, and into an empty examining room.
An instant later, the door opened and Rosa walked in.
“Hi, Rosa,” Julian said, then turned to Liam. “I’m so sorry, Liam. I told my agent to keep the press away, but he ignored me. Really, I’m sorry. And believe me, they’re like termites—once they infest your house, you have to deal with them. If I didn’t talk to them, God knows what story they’d come up with. At least this way it’s the truth. ”
Liam looked at him. “Your truth, maybe. ”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve spoon-fed them a romance, haven’t you, with you as the hero of the piece, the white knight who arrived in a black limousine and pulled her back from the brink of death. ”
“You have not heard the worst of it, Dr. Liam,” Rosa said, shuffling toward the two men. “When I was walking into the hospital, I heard the questions. The reporters were asking about his daughter. ”
“Jesus Christ. ” Liam grabbed Julian by the shoulders and shook him. “Tell me you protected her. Tell me you didn’t say a goddamn word about your daughter. ”
Julian winced. “I protected her—honestly, but
Val … he told them that she was a cheerleader at the high school. ”
For the first time in his life, Liam punched a man. He drew back his fist and slammed it into Julian’s pretty-boy jaw. Pain radiated all the way up his arm. “There are only eight cheerleaders at the high school. ”
He turned to his mother-in-law. “You stay here with Mike. Keep the press away from her. I’ll get the kids and be back as soon as I can. We’ll come in through the back way. ”
Chapter Twenty-two
Please let me get to her in time.
Liam glanced at the clock on the Explorer’s dashboard: 3:05. Cheerleader practice ended five minutes ago …
He pressed harder on the gas. At the entrance to the high school, he knew he was going too fast. When he turned the wheel, the tires skidded sideways. For a split second, he lost control of the car. Then the tires grabbed hold. The car hurtled down the driveway and into the parking lot.
He was too late. Already there was a crowd of reporters outside the school’s front doors. Klieg lights stood on their perimeter like black insects. They were all talking at once; their combined voices sounded like the start-up of a buzz saw.
Liam lurched out of the car and ran toward them. The ground was slick and mushy with old snow, and twice he almost fell. By the time he reached the sidewalk, his heart was hammering.
“Jacey!” His voice was lost in the din.
Reporters circled the small group of cheerleaders like a pack of wolves, jockeying for position, making it impossible for Liam to get through. They were shouting out questions, one after another.
“Which one of you is Juliana?”
He heard Mrs. Kurek, the cheerleader adviser, answer, “There’s no Juliana here, now go away. ”
Liam tried to see above the crowd, but there were lights and cameras everywhere, and the reporters knew how to close access.
He screamed his daughter’s name, trying to push through the sardine-packed bodies. It was impossible.
“Which one of you has a mother in a coma?”