Donovan

Her heart stopped.

She coded for two minutes.

The tracking on her phone led us to a car laying upside down with all the windows shattered, glass surrounding the inside and outside, the front completely totaled, airbags deflated, and blood.

Blood everywhere.

Panic gripped my chest like a vise taking in the sight in front of me. There's no way she would've survived.

"Excuse me sir, you need to stay behind the line," the officer directs me.

"I think my girl—"

"My sister is missing, and we tracked her phone to this spot," Josiah interrupts me as he gestures toward the wrecked piece of metal.

"NO!" Tia's violent scream causes all heads to spin in her direction. She runs toward the car until one of the officer intercepts by wrapping his arms around her waist. Tia kicks and tries to escape from his grip.

"Tia! What the fuck are you doing?" Josiah yells, trying to reach her through the crowd of cops.

"That's Sade's phone! That's her purse! Oh my God!" Raw panic erupts as she sobs. The cop lowers her to the ground, trying to console her.

No. Please don't tell me she was in the car.

The color drains from Josiah's face.

None of us move.

We stay frozen in place.

Ash's face ashen.

The dread gnaws at my insides as fresh terror rears its ugly head.

This can't be happening.

I can't lose her again.

The beast inside of me takes over as I push my way through the barrier. No fucking tape is going to hold me back. Josiah is right behind me as we bulldoze through the paramedics and cops. I need to know if she was in the car. Somebody's going to tell me one way or the other.

"Sir! This is a crime scene. You can't go back there!" one of the cop shouts but I ignore his ass.

"I need to know if my girl was in that car!" My broad shoulders slam against him, but I'm tackled to the ground by two officers.

"Get off me!" I try to shrug free.

"Calm down! I don't want to arrest you."

"Well then fucking tell us if my sister was in the car!" Josiah demands as he's being held back by an officer. My chest heaves as my worst fears have been confirmed. Right beside the passenger side lies a black wristlet soaked in blood and a smashed red cellphone.

Both belong to Shorty.

"NO! NO! Let go of me!" I roar, trying to break free.

Jesus Christ. Please let her be ok.

"Young man! Please calm down or I will have to restrain you." His voice is calmer, but it doesn't ease the pain that is killing me from the inside. A bald middle-aged man dressed in a suit approaches me as the officers force me to my knees. The man in the suit bends down to my eye level.

"Sir, I'm going to have the officers release you, but I need you to stay calm. If not, I will have you cuffed and taken down to the station. Are we clear?"

"Yes," I mutter, trying to keep my temper under control.

"Good. You can release him, officers," he instructs the assholes holding me down.

"I'm Detective Bosco. How do you know the victim?"

I explain that the purse and cell phone belong to Shorty, and how she was taken from the club which is how we were able to track her.

"There were two people in the vehicle. The victim was found in the passenger side, but the driver was nowhere in sight. We think he or she escaped," he explains. "The victim was taken to Milwaukee Medical Center."

Ash and Tia quietly sit side by side in the visitor's room outside, anxiously waiting for the doctor to come out with an update after they had to use the paddles to bring Shorty's heart to life.

There are two cops sitting outside the surgery room, and they guaranteed that they will stay with her until she's released from the hospital. Josiah stands up to the window with a blank stare on his face. He's been in that same position since we arrived. Hasn't said a word.

After pacing for the last hour, I sit across from Ash with my elbows on my knees, to control the bouncing.

"Has anyone called Shorty's mom?" I cringe when Tia speaks.

Clearing my throat, I respond, "I don't think so."

"I'm going to call her." Tia gets up and walks out of the room.

"This is so fucked up, man. Who would do this? Who fucking took her?" Ash's voice breaks at the end.

"I don't know."

"It was Christian." Seb stands at the door with the rest of the crew behind him.

"What? Are you sure?" Josiah walks toward Seb.

Seb nods.

"How can that be? That fucker is locked up!" Josiah raises his voice, clenching his hands into fists.

"Didn't you hear? He was let out early for good behavior. Good behavior my ass. I knew he had connections, but this is…he's got someone from the inside." Seb scoffs, twirling his keys through his fingers. "Fucker has connections."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ash and I both stand up quickly.

"FUCK!" Josiah roars and punches the wall, a picture frame falling to the floor. "How can they let him go? They saw what he did to Sade."

"Apparently, there are witnesses that deny he was ever there." Gio explains. "Sophia?" Josiah's voice is torn.

"She's safe. We have people watching the house," Seb says.

All kinds of fucked up emotions tighten around my chest.

I can't fucking breathe.

I may just pass out.

He's out. Motherfucker is out and tried to take Shorty from me.

Josiah's phone rings the same time mine goes off; unlike me, Josiah ignores the call.

"D. I found something." Dad's voice comes from the other end of the line.

"Tell me." I put him on speaker.

"We ran the license plates; the car belongs to a Joyce Evergreen. She lives in the suburbs with her husband and three kids..

"That means it was stolen."

Fuck.

"Yep."

"What about the cameras?"

"We couldn't get a good look at his face but based on his build we can confirm it's a guy who dragged Sadie to the car from the club. The DOT cameras show him running away from the car after it flipped over. He was trying to get Sadie out of the car but ran once he heard the sirens."

"Ok, thank you."

Now we just need to find the fucker.

"One more thing," Dad says before I hang up.

"Sadie was the one that made the car flip."

The fuck?

"How?" Ash asks.

"She reached for the wheel and caused the car to crash."

"Fuck," Seb and Josiah whisper under their breath in unison.

"She was either trying to kill him or give her enough time to break free," Seb explains. After ending the call, we stay silent, absorbing all the information. Blowing out a frustrated breath, I hang my head low in my hands, trying to focus, but I'm so fucking exhausted.

I feel like I haven't slept in days.

The silence in the room is unbearable. I feel like I'm suffocating.

My phone dings to a group text.

Mom: I'm going to bring you clean clothes and food. Both of you.

Mom: And before you say no, too bad. You need to eat. You need to be strong for her. Both of you. How's our girl?

Me: Still waiting 2 hear from the Doc.

Mom: She's tough. She will make it.

God, I hope so. She has to pull through. I can't do this again.

Mom: I'll be there shortly. Dad is on his way too. Love you, my loves. xo

Twenty minutes later, the doctor walks into the room with a clipboard. We stand quickly and wait to hear the news.

"She's going to be fine." The doctor smiles, sending warmth to my heart. A huge sigh of relief is emitted from everyone in the room.

"She will make a full recovery over time. There's a high risk for infection, so we will we keep her for observation."

"Can we see her?" My voice is hoarse.

"Yes, you can. But she has been sedated. She needs to rest."

"Thank you, doctor." He shakes my hand and nods, walking out of the room as Tia barges in.

"Is she ok?" she pants with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, she's going to be ok," I respond.

"Oh, thank fuck." She sighs heavily and drops onto one of the chairs that faces the window. "I left a message for your mom, Jo."

He nods and thanks her.

Thirty minutes later, Mom shows up with Taco Bell for everyone and a change of clothes. We eat in silence and play a few card games to pass the time. That's Mom for you. She's always prepared. I guess that's what happens when she spent a lot of time in the hospital waiting for Shorty's mom to recover from her injuries. Gio, Máximo, Lupe, Telle, and Tiny left an hour ago with Seb.

Josiah's phone rings again, again, and again.

"Dude. You going to answer that?" I ask in annoyance.

"Fuck off," he mutters, trying to finish his burrito and making me grin.

"Yeah."

He pauses.

"What did you say?" he asks wearily.

He shakes his head violently.

"No. No. Don't fucking tell me that." He paces back and forth, throwing his hat on the chair, rubbing his head.

What the hell is going on?

He looks to the ceiling and sighs heavily, lowering his head to his chin. "Yeah, ok.." He hangs up and stands still for a few seconds, seeming to ponder what he should do next. He dials a number and swears under his breath when the call goes to voicemail.

"I have to go." He reaches for his hat and starts toward the door.

"Thanks for the tacos, Mama J." His voice comes out shaky. He gives her a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Of course." Mom hugs him back.

"What's going on?" I ask but he doesn't answer me.

"Where are you going?" I try again but he keeps his back to me.

"I need to check on Mom. That was Carter. They found Dad a few hours ago, but he escaped custody," he says over his shoulder.

"What!?" Tia screeches.

"What do you mean he escaped custody?"

I swear to God, if he comes anywhere near her, I'll fucking kill him myself.

Josiah turns around in slow motion with a look of fury on his face. "It's exactly what I just said. He. Escaped. Custody. I need to go check on Mom to make sure he didn't… She's not answering my call."

"Do you want us to go with you?" I ask but he walks out before he responds.