Page 187 of Reckless Storm
“I know. But I don’t want to miss Reed if he wakes. I already fell asleep before.”
“I’m sure he’ll wake you.”
“It’s Reed, not Luke. Reed’s too nice for that.”
“Very true.” Keeley’s eyes flash to the door. “How about I stay here? I’ll wake you if Reed doesn’t.”
“Thanks, but I can’t let you do that. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“Okay. Well, I’m not going anywhere just yet. If you need to, take a nap.”
While I try hard to fight it, I must fall asleep because when I wake up some time later, Keeley’s no longer next to me and Reed’s still asleep.
If you removed the tube from his throat, he’d actually look peaceful. Though he’s far from it. And I’m terrified of how he’ll feel when he wakes up. But God, I hope it’s soon.
Soft voices drift in from the hall and a door creaks. “You’re awake?” Keeley gasps, pulling my gaze away from Reed. “Of course you’d wake the moment I leave the room.”
I smile, though it doesn’t reach my eyes. “It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to stay.”
A flash of dark hair appears in the doorway and I pause.
“I know I didn’t have to stay. But I wanted to and—”
“Is Luke here?” I cut Keeley off, my gaze over her shoulder.
“What?” She tries to look confused and this time I genuinely laugh.
“He is, isn’t he?”
“He’s in the hall. Probably listening in on our conversation.”
“I am not.” Luke pops his head in and I laugh again until guilt works its way into my chest. Reed’s unconscious. I shouldn’t be happy.
“How’d you know I was here?”
“Because I thought I saw you peeking, and it made me think that if Amelia couldn’t be here she’d make you stay.”
“No one left.” His lips pull into a soft smile as he steps forward. “At least none of Reed’s friends.”
“What?”
“D’Angelo put us up in a fancy hotel close by.”
“Wow. Um. What about…” I trail off, struggling to say his name.
“Landon?” Luke fills in the blank. “He’s here somewhere. But luckily he’s on police guard because if any of us saw him, we’d—”
“He’s on life support,” Keeley cuts in, her voice soft, and I gasp. “He hit his head pretty hard and—”
“What?” Luke and I speak in unison, both of us wide-eyed as we stare at Keeley.
“I quickly went to check on Zane and he told me. He was informed by the police. They stopped by here, too, but since you were sleeping, they said they’d be back.”
“I—” I swallow a lump in my throat. I don’t know what to say. He’s on life support?How?It wasn’t Reed and I didn’t… Oh, God. “Is Zane okay?”
“Not really. I mean, physically, yes. But mentally, I don’t know. His spark was gone, if you know what I mean.”
For the first time ever, Luke falls quiet. As do I. But while the guilt inside me thickens, I can’t bring myself to care. Reed’s unconscious and lucky to be alive. Zane’s lying in a hospital bed facing God knows what because he stepped in to protect me. And my world as I know it has shattered.
