Jason elbowed him in the side. “We’re not here for your love life, asswipe. We’re here for Townsend.”
Luke huffed and shut the door. “Then let’s get to it.”
We sat down at the kitchen table and Jason pulled out a notebook. I told him everything I knew. I mentioned Levi and what had happened in Arizona along with everything Evan had told me about the accident.
“Personally, I think you should investigate Jax, too,” Luke suggested. “It’s obvious he hates Evan. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had something to do with all of this.”
Jason wrote Jax’s name in his notebook. “Good point. After what you told me he and Lindsey did, it could be possible. I’ll investigate them both.”
“Do you think that’s enough to go on?” I asked him.
He shut his notebook and stood. “Oh, yeah. It might take a few days to get everything I need, but I’ll do it as fast as I can. Tell Evan I’ll be in touch.”
“I will.”
I walked them to the door, but Luke stopped and turned around. “I’m sorry for losing my shit earlier. I didn’t know Lara was going to be here.”
“It’s okay. I think she’s a little confused right now. Love seems to do that to people.”
He snorted. “No shit. I’ll see you back at the hospital tonight.”
“Good, because Evan and I are going to watch the game. The more the merrier.”
“Then I’ll bring the chips and dip. I’m sure Evan’s going to be sick of hospital food by the time everything’s said and done.”
I laughed. “I’m sure he will. See you tonight.”
After I shut the door, Lara came out of hiding. “So you’re hanging out with him now?”
Sighing, I grabbed Evan’s bag and slung it over my shoulder. “He’s Evan’s best friend, Lara. He’s going to be around, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Straightening her shoulders, she marched to the door. “Whatever you do, don’t ask me to hang out with him. I don’t think I can do it.”
“Are you ever going to talk to him?”
With her hand on the knob, she glanced back at me, her gaze sad. “I don’t know. My anger keeps me away, but I can feel my control slipping. I think it’s best I stay away from him.” And with those words, she opened the door and said nothing more about it. I could only hope she was making the right decision.
Chapter 24
Summer
Before going back to the hospital, I dropped Lara off at the restaurant and stopped at a favorite café of mine and Evan’s so I could buy him some apple fritters and me some blueberry scones. They had only four of each so I bought them all.
“Hungry this morning?” a voice called out behind me. Gasping, I turned to find Philip, dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a tank top, smiling widely. But his smile disappeared when he got a good look at my face. “What the hell. Are you okay?”
“Not really, but I will be.”
Gently grabbing my elbow, he pulled me over to a table. “What’s wrong? Do you want to talk about it?”
I sat down and rubbed a hand over my face. “You haven’t seen the news?”
“No, not yet. As soon as I got up, I went out for a run and then came here.”
“Evan and two of our friends were in an accident last night.”
His eyes went wide. “Are they okay?”
“Evan and Derek are, but Brianna’s dead. She was pregnant, too, which makes it even harder.”
Philip grabbed my hands. “I’m so sorry, Summer. Does anyone know what happened?”
I shrugged. “Evan says that someone in a truck pushed them off the road. He couldn’t see who it was.”
“Well, hopefully they’ll find out who did it. I hate seeing you go through this again.”
I chuckled, but there was nothing humorous about it. “Me, too. It’s like I can’t escape tragedy.”
Philip squeezed my hands. “If you ever need to talk, you know where I am. I’m always here for you.”
“I know, and it means a lot to me.” Letting his hands go, I stood and he followed. “I should probably be getting back to the hospital. Evan’s really torn up over the accident.”
Philip nodded and walked me out to my car. When I got inside, he was about to shut my door and then stopped. “I just want to say one thing before you go,” he began.
I put the key in the ignition and started it up. “What is it?”
“If someone has a death wish for Evan, I’m sure as hell glad you weren’t in the car. I’m sorry about your friend, but you need to be careful. Running them off the road wasn’t an accident. I hope they catch whoever it is, because next time it might be you. Just be careful out there with him.”
Shutting the door, he glanced at me one more time before turning on his heel and starting off down the sidewalk. He had a point, but I wasn’t going to let anyone scare me away from Evan.