and a voice screaming his name on the other end. But he couldn’t hear them. It seemed all he could do was curl into himself and cry, like he’d been punched and was unable to stand.
“Kai!” She ran to him, falling to his side and knew he didn’t see her, that her presence likely didn’t register. He was too deep in his grief, in whatever it was that had toppled him. “Please,” she tried, holding his face up so she could see him. His expression was devastating—eyes already swollen and red from crying, lips pulled against his teeth as he sobbed. “Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” Gia let him collapse against her, let him curl his arms around her waist and wet her shirt with his heavy tears.
It was like a wave Kai needed to ride and Gia let him. She would be that ocean he needed, the movements that guided him away from this pain as long as he needed her. He was her player. She would take care of him. He was hers, if only a little bit, she would hold him.
He held onto her for what felt like forever, fingers digging into her arms, his large body feeling like lead against her. She reached for the cell next to them on the floor, but couldn’t quite grab it, still hearing the crying caller on the line. Gia couldn’t move him, not just yet. She wouldn’t disrupt him from this grief.
The doors behind her opened, and Gia looked over her shoulder, relief filling her when she spotted Pérez jogging into the room. “What happened?” he asked her, his skin pale as he looked down at his friend sobbing against Gia’s chest.
She nodded to the phone and the man grabbed it, jerking when he heard the caller’s voice. “Hello? Si…yes, this is Anthony… Pérez. I’m Kai’s friend…his teammate. What’s going…” He stopped, turning away from Gia, from the sight of the big linebacker weakened by whatever news had devastated him and Gia began to pray that it wasn’t the worst she could imagine. In that dark locker room, with that big man clinging to her like she was a buoy that would keep him from being toppled by the waves, Gia begged God to protect Keola. She prayed nothing had happened to that sweet, precious girl.
Pérez muttered replies, indistinct things Gia couldn’t make out and then he turned, dropping onto one of the benches situated in front of the lockers. He slouched, nodding to himself, face constricting the longer he listened before he leaned forward, moving his elbows to his knees. “Yes,” he told the caller. “I understand. I’ll tell him.” And then he ended the call, his gaze moving straight to Gia.
She tilted her head, eyebrows moving up as she watched him, her patience getting thin, her worry threatening to smother her and the man scrubbed his face before he finally answered.
Pérez cleared his throat, his gaze jumping from Kai, still leaning on Gia, to her face. “There was an accident. Drunk driver. Keeana… she was killed.”
Gia told herself not to cry, she had to be strong, but she couldn’t help the burn that surfaced in her eyes or the heavy moisture that collected in her lashes. “Is…was she…” She tightened her hold on Kai, fighting to keep the tears from her throat. “Where’s Keola?”
Pérez nodded, rubbing his neck. “Injured, but okay. In the hospital.” He motioned with the cell. “That was Kai’s sister, Nalani. She’s at the hospital now and says Kai needs to get back to Maui.”
“Okay,” Gia said, rubbing his back when another racking wave of tears overtook him. “I’ll…take care of it.” She brushed her nails through his hair, silently telling herself she would let go of him. Gia didn’t know Keeana well but had liked her immensely. Kai and Keola adored her. They both looked up to her. This would devastate them. It would break them. Gia remembered how badly this hurt, how deeply those wounds ran and when she did, her stomach dropped again. She’d never wish this sort of grief on anyone, especially someone as devoted as Kai and as innocent as Keola.
“I’ll…go get Wilson. He’ll want to go with us,” Pérez said, forehead wrinkling when Gia wiped the tears from her cheek. She didn’t care what he thought or what assumptions the man might make about her reaction.
“Go,” she told him, not bothering to look up at him. “I’ll call to book tickets. Meet me in my office in