A sob escaped her lips and she clutched her stomach. Sitting back in the chair, she lowered her head and cried. “Brianna’s dead. From what the doctor said, she died on impact.”
“Oh my God,” I cried, falling to my knees. Tears streamed down my cheeks and my chest tightened. It wasn’t just Brianna’s life that was lost.
“She was pregnant, Summer.”
“I know,” I whispered hoarsely. “She told me.”
“I don’t know what to do. I told the doctor I would tell Derek myself, but the thought of telling him he lost not only Brianna but a baby as well rips my heart to pieces.”
“I’ll tell him,” Evan murmured.
Gasping, I quickly got to my feet. “Evan.” I hovered over him and cried when he lifted his hand to my face. His weary gray eyes stared back at me.
“I’m okay, sunshine.”
“I was so worried about you when you didn’t come home. Thank God you’re okay. The thought of losing you…”
He wiped my tears away and put a finger to my lips. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
Kate came around to the other side of his bed. “You saved Derek’s life, Evan. He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”
He scoffed. “He’s probably not going to forgive me for bringing him back once he finds out about Bri.”
“I don’t mind telling him,” Kate murmured. “You don’t have to do it.”
Evan nodded. “Yes, I do. He’s going to be angry, and the last thing we need is for that stress to be on you when you’re nine months pregnant. He’s my friend, sis. I was there through it all.”
“Speaking of which,” I cut in, glancing at them both, “what exactly happened?”
“The police want to know, too,” Kate insisted.
Evan closed his eyes and growled, “Someone ran us off the road.”
“What?” I shrieked. “Like, literally ran you off the road, or by accident?”
“No,” he replied, opening his eyes. “The fucker ran into our car and forced us off the road. If the police look at the car, they’ll see the marks on the left side where they rammed into us. It was a lifted blue truck. That’s all I can remember.”
Kate backed away toward the door. “I’m calling the police.”
“And I’ll call Mason,” I offered. “He always knows what to do.”
Kate nodded and disappeared out the door. So many scenarios had gone through my mind, but I definitely couldn’t have imagined someone running them off the road. Evan grabbed hold of my hand, his voice full of anger. “When I find out who did this, they’re going to wish they were dead.”
“You didn’t see who it was?”
He shook his head. “No. It was dark.”
“Do you know of anyone who would want to see you hurt?” As soon as I said it, Levi Milner came to mind. But surely he wouldn’t have come all the way to North Carolina from Arizona, would he?
“We all have enemies, Summer. I’m sure Lindsey would like to see you fall flat on your face, but she would never do anything to physically hurt you. I can’t think of anyone who would do this.”
“What about Levi? He was adamant about making your life hell.”
“That’s just bullshit talk. We were on their turf. There’s no way he’d come out here and do this.”
“Are you sure?” It didn’t matter what he thought. I was going to have Mason look into it anyway. I’d learned not to trust anyone after what happened to my husband.
“To be honest, I’m not sure about anything anymore. All I can think about right now is the look on Brianna’s face. She was so scared. I don’t know what I would’ve done if it was you in the car and not her. I would’ve wished I was dead rather than wake up and find out I had lost you and our child.”
Lips trembling, I hung my head, the ache in my chest making it hard to breathe. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. Brianna was one of the sweetest girls I know.”
“Same here. Before we left the bar, she sat and talked to Luke for over an hour on how to get your sister back.”
The thought brought a smile to my face. “I can only imagine what she told him.”
About that time, Luke barreled through the door with his T-shirt on backward and his blond hair a mess. “What the hell happened?”
I squeezed Evan’s hand and kissed him gently on the lips. “I’ll be right back. I just need to make some phone calls.”
Leaving them alone, I walked past the waiting room where Kate and Cooper sat with Coach Joel. It was going to be a sad day for the team. At the end of the hall, there was a quiet, vacant corner. Pulling out my phone, I read a text from Lara saying she was on her way and a few older ones from Luke asking if I’d found Evan yet. It was late in California, but I needed Mason’s help; it couldn’t wait. Scrolling through my contacts, I clicked on his name and waited for him to pick up and curse at me for calling so late, but luckily he didn’t.
“Summer?” he answered.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly so I wouldn’t choke. “Yes, it’s me.”