Hotshot (The Bennett Brothers 1)

“Claire, calm down! What’s happening?”

“Shaw! Move your ass and get in this fucking car right now!” Mathis screams at me, waving frantically.

Suddenly, I know whatever has him so tweaked is the same thing that has Claire so upset.

“What the fuck is happening?” Nick is at my side in an instant, taking the phone from my hand.

“Who is this?”

He goes still beside me, and I watch the color drain from his face. He leans into me, grabbing for support, and I try to hold us both up, my mind mingled with possibilities.

“God, no, please no,” he pleads as tears form in his eyes. “We’re on our way. Pull your shit together, Claire. Prepare them for us. I’m not going to like it if I arrive and have no information. Mathis can only do so much. You do what you have to do. I don’t care if you break every fucking rule and protocol in that goddamned hospital. You hear me?”

He hangs up and yanks on me, both of us jumping in the waiting car. The driver takes off, and my head starts to clear.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Shaw, there’s been an accident. Bizzy is unconscious. She was rushed into trauma, but then immediately cleare

d for emergency surgery,” Mathis explains, his own voice shaking.

My heart stops beating as I absorb the words. “What kind of accident?”

“Car accident. Multiple collisions. Her car hit a median, a barrier, and another car.”

“How the fuck?”

Both Mathis and Nick turn into me, caging me between them tightly. I brace for more. “Shaw, listen to me and hold tight. She wasn’t alone. Sasha was in the car. They’re prepping Sasha for a c-section. The baby is showing signs of distress.”

For the second time in a matter of minutes, my world stops. I drop my head to my chest and breathe deeply, trying not to hyperventilate. This can’t be happening.

“How the fuck?” I repeat.

“There are no answers, but the EMTs are still at the hospital. The police are there, too, and it seems there is a nine-one-one recording. We’ll know more soon.” Mathis goes into doctor mode, and I grind my teeth.

“Who was that on the phone?” I ask.

“Evie called me. She just got off the phone with Rory and Tom. They are on their way.”

I nod and remain silent the rest of the way to the hospital.

Once we drive up, the car isn’t even at a stop before Nick throws open the door and leaps out, me right behind him.

“I’m going to check in and get changed. I’ll find you as soon as I can,” Mathis yells, racing in a different direction.

Claire is waiting for us at the emergency entrance, and she collapses in my arms, hysterical. I pick her up easily and stomp through the hospital, looking for anyone who can give me answers.

I must look like a madman, because once I get to the registration desk, the woman flinches at me. “I need to talk to someone on the status of both Lizbeth Hastings and Sasha Crane.”

Claire scuttles out of my arms and lays a hand on my shoulder, suddenly much calmer as she pulls herself together. Her face is still splotchy, but she now has complete control and speaks to the woman in an authoritative voice.

“We need a private waiting room, and an update on both women immediately.”

The poor woman’s eyes pass over my shoulder and grow with recognition. I forgot about Nick. She nods and tells Claire where to go.

We trail Claire to a small waiting room, and then she disappears. Nick and I don’t talk, both of us lost in our own worlds. I pick up my phone to call Sasha’s parents, when Claire, Mathis, a police officer, and another doctor enter.

“Shaw, we need to make this quick. Sasha was alert, conscious, and mostly unscathed when she arrived. The attempts at calming the baby down have worked, and he is no longer is distress. However, they are prepping Sasha for the c-section because her water has broken. They have NICU ready, too,” Mathis tells me. “This doctor is here to take you to Sasha.” He gestures to the other doctor with the group.