Ram Remy (Providence Family Ties 4)

Pulling the phone out of her hand, I wrapped my arm around her and gave her my support. “Do you want me to call them and find out what’s going on?”

Her voice was tiny when she answered, and I felt a tear trailing down my chest. “Please.”

The only time I put any distance between us was when I had to unlock the handset using her facial ID. But then I had her back, holding her tightly as I decided on Merrick likely being the best one to call back.

“Tana,” he answered in a rush, sounding rough. “Thank God!”

“It’s Remy, Merrick. She just came through freaking out when she saw the missed calls.” I wasn’t going to embarrass her by letting him know she’d stayed the night in my room, and it also wasn’t technically a lie because that’s what had happened. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” he rasped, sounding close to tears. “We’re packing to fly there now. Hart’s adamant he’s coming with us, and Jerry and Marie will be here in half an hour.”

He was talking so erratically that I was struggling to piece it together. “Flying where?”

“Croix—” he croaked, breaking off on a sob. “He’s- There was—“

I heard another deep voice in the background, and then Jerry was talking to me. “Tana, baby?”

“It’s Remy, Jerry. Where are y’all flying to?”

“I don’t know if it’s called Reagan National or DCA, but that’s the closest one. Croix was in an accident.”

My muscles stiffened, and I knew Tana felt it when she let out a sob. “What happened?”

“They were traveling from Arlington to a training camp for those exercises they do, and someone drove into the side of the vehicle going over a hundred. It hit where he was in the passenger seat, and he’s still in surgery.” He stopped talking, and I could hear him breathing rapidly. “They s-said the outlook wasn’t good.”

Oh, fuck me.

Wrapping my arm tightly around Tana, I lifted her up and carried her with her legs dangling over to the bed. “Right. You guys driving from DCA to Arlington?”

I didn’t know what hospitals they had in that area, so I had to hope the military had one close that he’d been taken to.

“They took him to Sibley Memorial, so we’ll drive straight there as soon as we arrive.”

Having heard Arlington, Tana knew it was Croix we were discussing now and broke down in hacking sobs that shook her body.

“I’m going to drop Tobe off with my parents or Clarice and Newt. They’ll love having him for however long we need to be there. After that, I’ll fly us down and meet up with you at the hospital. Are you going to be able to keep me updated?”

“You don’t want to be away from Bub for that long, Remy. That kid will miss both of you too much.”

He wasn’t wrong there.

“If it takes more than a couple of days, my parents can bring him to wherever we are. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure we keep you updated.” There was a moment’s silence, and I didn’t doubt he could hear Tana crying on my end. “You look after my little girl, you hear?”

“With my life,” I vowed. “You going to be okay, Jerry?”

I heard a door opening and closing, and then the noise around him disappeared. “The day that boy signed up, I was so damn proud of him. But fuck me, Remy, I was scared for him. The world’s a fucked up place, and each time he was deployed, I swear my heart beat more slowly, waiting for him to come back in one piece.”

I felt the burn as my eyes teared up at the emotions in the man’s voice. “I was always braced for it happening while he was away. I-I n-never ever thought it’d happen while he was home. I d-don’t know what to do. Those kids are my world.”

Anyone with a brain knew he worshipped his grandkids, so there was no way this wasn’t hitting him hard.

“Jerry, Croix is a strong guy with a will of steel. If anyone can fight this, he can, you hear?”

A choked sob sounded, but he took a deep, shuddering breath before replying. “I know. Just get my baby girl to me, okay? I’ve got my other boy here, and I can see he’s okay. I need to see her for myself.”

Swallowing loudly and blinking away the tears, I nodded, forgetting he wouldn’t be able to see it.

“I’ll get her to you, don’t worry. We’ll pack now and drive to Kissimmee and then fly to DCA. You tell Croix to hold on when you see him. He’s a warrior, Jerry. He’ll pull through.”

“He has to,” he whispered. “I can’t even think of any other outcome, Remy. Give my love to Tana and Bub, and I’ll see you soon.”

And with that, he hung up, leaving me staring at the wall for a moment while I tried to figure out how to break the news to Tana.