Last Chance - L. P. Dover Page 0,23
windshield. I’d never wished anyone dead before, but if he wasn’t, he’d wish he was after I got through with him. It was his fault.
“Move aside,” the paramedics shouted. There were two of them, a young man in his twenties, and another one, most likely in his forties. “Sir, you need to move,” the older one said. It took all I had to leave her side, but I watched them check her vitals and load her onto the stretcher.
“I’m going with her,” I told them. I followed them to the ambulance and the younger paramedic did a double take as they loaded her inside.
I heard him whisper to his partner, “Holy shit, I think that’s Luke Collins.”
Jumping inside, I sat beside Lara and held her hand.
The older EMT sat by her head as the younger one got into the driver’s seat. He asked, “Is there any information you can give me on the victim?”
Closing my eyes, I squeezed Lara’s hand, wishing like hell she’d squeeze back. “Her name is Lara Jacobs. She’ll be twenty-nine years old tomorrow.”
“And what is your relationship to the victim?”
I opened my eyes, my chest aching so bad I could barely breathe. “She’s my girlfriend.”
Other than seeing Lara’s limp and bloody body, having to call Summer was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I’d always thought of myself as invincible and strong, never one to show weakness. Knowing there was nothing I could do to help Lara made me feel useless. The thought of losing her terrified the fuck out of me. The only thing I could do was pace the waiting room floor, until the doctors were done.
“Luke!” Summer shouted. She ran toward me, with Evan following closely behind her, holding a sleeping Emma-Grace in his arms. They both looked just as bad as I felt. Summer jumped in my arms and broke down. When I had called her, I could barely talk. All I told her was that there was an accident and they needed to get to the hospital. “How is she? What happened?”
The pain in my chest was unbearable. I held her in my arms, wishing like hell it was Lara instead. And now I didn’t know if she’d be alive to tell her how much I loved her, and would always love her. Summer stepped back, eyes and cheeks red from crying.
Evan slapped a hand on my shoulder and hugged me, trying his best not to wake Emma-Grace. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”
I swallowed hard. “Hell.”
He let me go and I didn’t know if I could even speak. My throat was so tight, I could barely breathe.
“What happened?” Summer demanded. Evan put his arm around her and held her close.
“She was T-boned by a guy who ran a red light. The police were in here just a few minutes ago. They believe he was drunk. There was an open bottle of rum found in the wreckage.”
“Son of a bitch,” Evan growled. “Who was it?”
Teeth clenched, I shrugged. “Don’t know. All I know is the fucker’s dead. He deserves it, after what he did.” Now he couldn’t hurt anyone else. “Other than that, I don’t know much else. When we arrived, they rushed her away.”
“Oh my God,” Summer cried, collapsing into a chair. She rocked back and forth, holding her head in her hands. “What if she doesn’t make it?”
Evan sat beside her, consoling her. “She will, sunshine. Lara’s a strong girl.”
She looked up at me. “How did you even know she was in an accident?”
Before I could explain, Grayson charged through the door, his murderous glare fixed on me.
“Why is it every time Lara gets involved with you, she gets hurt?” Grayson shouted. He stormed my way and I was more than ready for a fight. He was the one who’d brainwashed Lara from the beginning, keeping her away from me.
Summer stood up and stepped in Grayson’s path. “Stop! I won’t have any of this macho bullshit right now. This isn’t helping anything.”
“That’s right,” Evan agreed. “You need to calm down.”
Grayson then fixed his glare on Evan. “What did you say to Lara? You were one of the last ones to see her.”
Brows furrowed, Summer turned to Evan. “What does he mean?”
Evan was about to speak, when one of the doctors walked into the room. His attention immediately went to Summer, probably recognizing her from the woman he just operated on.
“You must be Lara’s sister?” he asked.
She hurried