Page 111 of Black Flag

“Jameson...she fell down the stairs in the terraceseating. They’ve transported her to St. Joseph’s hospital in Nashua.”

I felt sick. My stomachdropped out, my heart stilled and I could almost feel the blood drain from myface. Alley’s voice sounded garbled and distant, even though she was standingright next to me and I could feel her hand on my face. She continued to yell myname but my response was frozen in my throat.

Sway was hurt.

I fell to the ground...oh god...please no...don’ttake her from me.

Spencer and Aidenrushed over to me as the sobs broke through.

I suddenly felt therage boiling inside me. I knew Darrin had something to do with this.

All the warnings, allthe words between us over the year flooded my thoughts.

Never did I think he’dactually hurt her. It just never crossed my mind. And all this time, thewarning was there. But most of all, I had pushed him toward that. I had baitedhim to the one thing that had the power to destroy me. Hurt Sway. The worstfeeling of all, I knew it now, something he’d known all along.

A burning pain rippedup my veins and tore through my body. I clenched my teeth at the onslaught ofpain. I was absolutely furious that he went after her, the one person on thisearth that I loved more than anything—he went after. He knew that without her,there was no me.

Adrenaline coursedthrough my veins, burning like acid, begging for release, his words hauntingme.

I snapped out of mytrance at the sound of an engine starting beside us.

“Where’s Emma?” Ishouted. “I need to go with them!”

I looked over myshoulder when I heard the vociferation of my team getting the car inside thehauler as quickly as they could.

“Hold on a minute,”Spencer caught me in an iron grasp before I could leave by myself. “You don’tneed to see that...believe me. Emma askedthat you not go.”

Has everyone lost theirgoddamn minds today?

“What? If you think I’mstaying here you’re—” Alley was suddenly in my face.

“Jameson?” She forcedme to look at her. “Jameson? Look at me!” I turned my head reluctantly towardher. “She’s...okay.” Sobs brokethrough again. “You just...you don’t need to seeher right now.”

“What aren’t youtelling me?” I shouted again, she flinched. Spencer wrapped his arms aroundAlley, giving me warning look to stop yelling at her.

“Jameson...” she took a long pause. “Sway waspushed down the stairs...by Darrin...the baby wasn’t moving. They...have to run some tests so they airlifted her ten minutes ago.”

I gasped at her words.Spencer who had actually been rather quiet through all this, besides glaring atme for yelling at Alley, immediately began screaming profanities and wentrunning back inside the hauler.

No image was violentenough to encapsulate the force of what happened to me in that moment as shespoke those words. I couldn’t move. My heart began pounding horribly. Pain sostrong, so rough, so real I didn’t know if I could move...without exploding. I stared at Alley,numb. My knees went out on me again. For a second I thought I would surely diewith the anguish. I shook with grief, with overwhelming sobs. I found itdifficult to think...to imagine...his hands on her. In that instant, eachsecond, each breath, each excreting emotion...threatenedto overtake me.

I felt an abnormallydetached feeling as I rose to my feet, moving dream-like. The awful pressingfeeling in my chest grew tighter, more painful. I felt sick.

Spencer came runningout from the hauler, “Let’s go!”

No one hesitated as weall ran to the Yukon parked beside the hauler.

“Alley, do you know forsure they are taking her to St. Joseph’s?” Aiden asked climbing into the back seatwith me. I was to numb to speak—I wasn’t sure I could.

Why had I let Van takethe weekend off? Why wasn’t I with her?

“Yes, I’m positive Emmaand Jimi told me St. Joseph’s because...”she paused looking back at me. “They said with the baby only being 17 weeks, itwould be the only hospital that could help her now.”

Alley leaned over tocomfort me but I pushed her away, shaking my head violently. I didn’t wantanyone to touch me.

It seemed like it tookdays to finally reach Nashua. I hadn’t spoken a word since we left. WhenSpencer pulled up to the ER entrance, Aiden and I jumped out while Alley and heparked.

“What room is SwayReins in?” Aiden asked the front desk as we ran through the waiting room.

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