“We need you both to come with us,” the shorter, rounder female officer stated.
“What’s going on?” Noelle asked, looking from Archer to Keith. “Did you two break the law?”
Archer shook his head. The fleeting thought that this might be some kind of prank faded when he met Trey’s eyes. There was something more than just his usual professional stoicism there.
There was worry.
“What happened?” Archer asked.
“There’s been an accident,” Officer Ziehl said, speaking quickly and concisely. “We’re still getting the details, but Ms. Montgomery and Ms. Ward are both en-route to the hospital. We were sent to bring you there.”
“That can’t be,” Keith said, though he fell into step with the officers and their security detail as they hurried away from the set. “Sydney’s at work.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Officer Lowry replied. “Ms. Ward has been positively identified. She is a confirmed victim involved in this accident.”
“Jesus,” Xander said as he and the rest of the band hustled to keep up with them. “What does that mean, positively identified? Are Lily and Sydney all right?”
The officers exchanged glances as they opened the door leading out to the building’s lobby area. “We’ll know more once we reach the hospital,” Officer Ziehl said.
Archer’s heart pounded so hard in his chest that it physically hurt. He saw the same sense of shock and panic reflected in Keith’s normally impassive gaze when they looked at each other. Neither said a word as the officers led them to their patrol car and guided them into the back seat. They both pulled out their cell phones as the officers climbed into the front. Archer was vaguely aware of the rest of the band scurrying with Trey and Iván to get their own transportation as he dialed Lily’s number.
It rolled to voicemail. When Keith cursed and hung up his phone, Archer knew his friend had gotten the same outcome when calling Sydney.
The officers hit the lights and the siren and tore out of the studio’s parking lot. Archer dialed Ryan’s number next. The security specialist answered on the second ring.
“Archer, I was just about to call you,” he said. The noise in the background told Archer that Ryan was in the car. “I don’t know anything about Lily’s status. I’m on my way to the hospital. Traffic’s a fucking mess.”
Archer hadn’t ever heard the security specialist swear before. That and the frustration in Ryan’s voice raised Archer’s level of fear up another notch. He put the phone on speaker so Keith could hear the conversation.
“What the hell happened?” Archer asked.
“We’re still piecing it together. It was a single-vehicle car accident. I just—goddamn it. That’s Red on the other line. Let me call you back.”
The line went dead. Archer stared at it numbly.
His hands started shaking. Was Lily alive? Was she hurt?
Was she dead?
Emotion crept up and seized him by the throat. He’d been thinking of her all day, knowing she was with her mother and how much Rhonda stressed her out. He’d wanted to be with her but she had insisted he needed to stay focused on the band and not her.
Why hadn’t he gone with her?
“Sydney should be at school,” Keith said hollowly.
Archer hadn’t ever seen his friend so pale. Not knowing what else to do, he reached over and placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder.
They arrived at the hospital minutes later. Still no word from Ryan.
Archer and Keith bounded from the car as it stopped in the Emergency Room drop-off zone. Officer Lowry exited the car with them, leading the way through the ER’s main lobby and heading to two double doors marked “Trauma Center.”
Archer had done enough studying for his upcoming guest role on Sacred Grace to understand what that meant. If Lily and Sydney had been admitted to the trauma unit, that meant there were significant injuries.
Or death.
His throat had gone bone dry. He could no longer feel his legs, yet they propelled him after Officer Lowry into the Trauma Center. The sound of moans and weeping and the overwhelming scent of antiseptic met him as they passed through the doors. Rows of beds separated by fabric curtains lined the left side of the area. A long nurses’ station took up the right. Archer counted at least four sets of doors leading into and out of the center.
Somewhere, a child was screaming. Medical personnel in scrubs and surgical gear rushed from one patient to the next. As Archer watched, a crew shoved through doors from another area of the unit pushing a gurney bearing a large guy with lacerations all over his face and chest. Two of the nurses leaped up from their chairs and grabbed face masks and surgical gloves, racing after the gurney as it disappeared through other doors.
Archer exchanged another look with Keith as Officer Lowry approached the nurses’ station. They both moved as though they shared the same thought, going from one bed to the next in search of Lily and Sydney.
Archer saw more trauma and grief in those few minutes than he’d ever imagined in his life. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified when he didn’t see either Lily or Sydney.
When he and Keith met up again without success, they looked for Officer Lowry. She was still waiting at the nurses’ station.
“Fuck this,” Keith said, turning and marching through a door that read “Authorized Personnel Only.”
Archer didn’t think twice about following him. It was a testament to how busy the hospital was that no one stopped them.
It was quieter on the other side of the doors. They rushed through a long hallway with patient rooms on either side. A quick glance in each room told Archer that Lily and Sydney weren’t there either.
At the other end of the hallway was a sign reading “Surgery.” Before Archer and Keith reached the doors, they burst open. A male who looked no older than thirty came through them at a jog. He wore surgical scrubs and sneakers, telling Archer he was likely a doctor. There was a face mask tied around his neck but it wasn’t covering his mouth. Smears of blood decorated his gown like a horrible abstract painting.
“Hey, you,” Keith said, stopping the guy in his tracks.
“You can’t be back here, sir,” the doctor said.
“The hell I can’t. No one will tell us anything. Sydney Ward and Lily Montgomery. Where are they?”
The doctor frowned. “You both need to go back to the waiting area before I call security.”
Keith got close enough to the man to have him backing up. “We brought our own security, doc. These would be high profile patients. Sydney Ward and Lily Montgomery.”
The doctor must have seen the barely banked violence in Keith’s expression because he issued a deep sigh. “I don’t know every patient’s name,” he said. “This place is a madhouse today. What were they admitted for?”
“Single vehicle car accident,” Archer said, repeating what Ryan had told him over the phone. “Lily is around five-four and has strawberry blonde hair. Sydney is about five-seven and has blonde hair.”
Something flickered over the doctor’s face.
Archer felt the room start to spin. “No,” he whispered.
“The redhead is in surgery,” the doctor said soberly. “I don’t have an update on her. But I worked on the blonde myself. I’m very sorry.”
“Sorry about what?” Keith demanded.
“She didn’t make it. She was DOA.”
Keith stumbled back a full step. Archer reached out to steady him.
“We worked to resuscitate her,” the doctor said, “but there wasn’t anything we could do.”
“Dr. Pham,” droned a voice over the hospital’s paging system. “Report to O.R. Three. Code Blue.”
“Damn it.” The guy, seemingly Dr. Pham, reached out and placed a hand briefly on Keith’s upper arm. “I’m very sorry for your loss. Please return to the waiting area so someone doesn’t call security on you. You’ll be updated as soon as there is news to share.”
He turned and ran back through the doo
rs to Surgery, tying his mask around his face as he went. Archer felt as though he took all of the air in the room with him.
“That’s not right,” Keith said. His voice sounded like his vocal chords had been rubbed raw with sandpaper. “Sydney’s at school.”
Archer looked at his friend. Keith stood still as a statue, staring blindly at the doors to Surgery.
“We have to go back to the waiting room,” Archer said, reaching for Keith’s arm.
“No,” Keith said, this time with more heat. He yanked his arm from Archer’s reach. “That’s not right. This isn’t right. Sydney’s not...she can’t be...”
Archer saw the raw emotion in his friend’s eyes. He felt completely helpless. “God, Keith. I’m so sorry.”
Keith made a wounded sound in the back of his throat. He started determinedly towards the doors to Surgery. Archer jumped into his path to stop him.
“Get the hell out of my way,” Keith roared. “I have to see her. I need to see her.”
Archer felt his friend’s grief like it was his own. “I know you do,” he said, using all of his strength to keep Keith contained. “We will. We will see her. I promise. But we can’t go back there right now.”
“Fuck that.”
Keith shoved against him, struggling violently to get past. Archer saw a pair of nurses approaching from down the hallway. When they saw them, their eyes widened. One of them lifted the phone she wore strapped to her waist and started dialing a number.
“They’re calling security,” Archer said. “Come on, man.”
“Fuck you, Arch,” Keith shouted, taking a wild swing that Archer managed to duck. “Lily’s not the one who’s dead. Sydney is. Sydney’s dead.”
His voice broke. The fight seemed to go out of him all at once. Archer grabbed him when he slumped.
“No, she’s not,” came a woman’s voice.
Archer and Keith turned to see Ryan and Officer Lowry rushing down the hall with a gray-haired woman in surgical scrubs. It looked like Ryan and Officer Lowry had been searching for them. The nurses must have reported seeing them.
“Mr. Connors, Mr. Archer, I’m Dr. Kreitner,” the woman said as the group reached them. “I’ve been trying to find you to update you on the status of your loved ones.”
She turned to Archer. “Lily suffered several broken ribs, a concussion, and some contact burns from the deployment of the airbag. She also suffered some rather serious contusions to her scalp that required the work of a plastic surgeon to repair. Her most serious injury was a fracture to her left radius. She should be moved to a recovery room within the next hour or so.”
Archer took the first full breath he’d been able to manage since learning about the accident. His throat was so thick with emotion that he could only nod.
“Mr. Connors,” the doctor said as she turned to Keith. “Sydney is being treated for minor bumps and bruises. She’s going to be fine.”
Keith grabbed Archer’s arm as though seeking his friend’s support. Archer grasped Keith’s arm to let him know he was right there.
“And so is the baby,” Dr. Kreitner reported with a warm smile.
Archer would remember Keith’s reaction to those five words for the rest of his days. He looked like the doctor had just pulled a salami out of her scrubs and threatened to slap him with it.
“The what now?” Keith choked out.
The doctor’s smile faded. For the first time, she appeared disconcerted. “Oh, my,” she said, bringing a hand up to her chest. “I just assumed...she knew to ask if the baby was okay, so...I’m terribly sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Sydney’s pregnant?” Keith said, sounding like he had no idea what the word meant. “She’s not dead...she’s pregnant?”
The absurdity of it struck Archer all at once. He burst out laughing.
“Holy shit, man,” he said between chortles of laughter. “You’re going to be a dad.”
He expected Keith to possibly sway again, this time maybe making it all the way to the floor. Keith astonished him when his face broke into a wide smile.
“You’re going to be an uncle,” Keith said.
Archer pulled his friend in for a quick, fierce hug. “Congrats, man.”
Keith turned back to the doctor. “Why did the other guy tell me Sydney was dead? He seemed pretty damn sure.”
“I’m not certain,” Dr. Kreitner replied. “Perhaps he mistakenly thought you meant Ms. Calvey. They both have similar builds and coloring.”
Keith frowned. “Nikki? What the hell does she have to do with this?”
“I can take it from here,” Ryan said, reassuring the doctor that she could leave. “Please let us know when they can go back and see Lily and Sydney.”
“We will,” the doctor said before hurrying off.
“Who’s with Lily now?” Archer asked, picturing her without any protection and her stalker potentially anywhere.
“Caldwell is with her,” Ryan replied, offering Archer some relief.
“Gentleman, please come with me,” Officer Lowry instructed them. “I was finding us somewhere private you could wait when you two decided to go rogue.”
“Sorry,” Archer and Keith said at the same time.
Archer resisted peppering Ryan with questions as they walked back down the hall he and Keith had investigated a short while before. They ended up in a windowless conference room lined with the illuminated boxes doctors used to view X-rays. The rest of the band, including Christopher, was already there waiting for them.
“Are you finally gonna tell us what’s going on?” Xander asked.
“Yes,” Ryan said as everyone grabbed a seat around the table. “I’ll begin by saying this is all my fault, and I’m sincerely sorry.”
Archer listened in silence as Ryan described what the Ordinem team had been able to piece together through testimony by Lily’s mother, the boutique owners, video surveillance of the shopping plaza where the boutique was located, and eyewitness testimony collected by teachers and students at Sydney’s school as well as the first responders to the accident scene. By the time he finished, Archer’s entire body felt chilled to the marrow.
“The vehicle struck a tree after breaking through the guardrail, stopping it from a dangerous descent down the hill,” Ryan said. “The airbag saved Lily’s life. Sydney was fortunately wrapped up in a heavy blanket, we assume so that she wouldn’t instantly be identified as a kidnapping victim if anyone happened to open the trunk. The blanket helped protect her during the collision.
“We recovered the firearm Ms. Calvey was seen aiming at Lily,” he went on. “It was thrown from the vehicle along with Ms. Calvey, who wasn’t wearing a safety restraint. There will be a tox screen run as a standard part of the autopsy. There was alcohol and drug paraphernalia found within the vehicle, however.”
There was a long pause when Ryan finished his report. Archer couldn’t seem to process it all. Beside him, Keith pushed to his feet.
“I need a minute,” he said.
When he rose and walked out of the room, Archer started to go after him. Christopher waved him back down, indicating he would go after Keith. Archer eased back into his chair.
“Has Rhonda been arrested?” Archer asked Ryan.
“She’s been detained for questioning,” Ryan replied. “So far she has admitted to accepting money from Ms. Calvey to post about the meeting with Lily to give Ms. Calvey a valid reason to show up at the appointment that wouldn’t raise suspicion. She also admitted to calling Ms. Calvey to keep her informed about what was happening at the appointment. But she adamantly denies knowing anything about kidnapping or attempted murder. She claims she thought she was helping Ms. Calvey meet with Lily to apologize because Lily had been refusing to meet with her otherwise.”
Archer’s blood went from chilled to boiling. “If there is so much as a shred of evidence that Rhonda knew about this...”
“I know,” Ryan said. “Believe me, we’re looking into it.” He paused and cleare
d his throat. “I want to apologize again, Archer. This should never have happened. If you want me removed from Lily’s security detail, I would understand.”
Suddenly weary, Archer leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face with both hands. “This wasn’t your fault,” he said. “You checked Nikki for weapons. You knew her well after all of the weeks with her on the tour. None of us had any reason to believe she’d do something like this.”
Despite his reassurance, Ryan looked doubtful. Archer knew he was going to beat himself up over what had happened far more than anyone else could.
Keith and Christopher didn’t return. Archer waited for what felt like an eternity before a nurse finally came to get him to bring him back to see Lily. They followed the signs to the Recovery Unit, passing through a series of doors until Archer was thoroughly lost. Finally, they reached the room where Barney stood outside the door.
“We placed Ms. Montgomery and Ms. Ward together,” the nurse explained. “They might both be sleeping, but you’re welcome to go in.”
Archer didn’t need to be told twice. He exchanged nods with Barney and hurried through the door. When he saw Sydney in the nearest bed with her eyes closed, he made sure to close the door quietly behind him. A dark pink curtain split the room in half, so he couldn’t see Lily until he walked over to her side of the room. The sight of her nearly knocked him to his knees.
God, she looked so fragile.
Her eyes were closed. The sunlight streaming in through the room’s windows highlighted the bruising on her face. She was pale enough that he could see every one of the ginger freckles dusting her soft skin. The gauze bandage covering the stitches in her scalp wrapped completely around her forehead. Her arm was in a splint that the nurse had explained would likely be replaced with a cast once the orthopedist had a chance to review the scans and make treatment recommendations.
He wanted to touch her but was afraid to. He didn’t want to hurt her.
Her eyelids slid open. When he saw her beautiful violet eyes focus on him, he felt all of his earlier emotion surge back through him like a dike had cracked.
“Dane,” she said, giving him a smile. “Thank God you’re here.”