Years of training as a paramedic finally shoved his brain past its shock. He’d worked through plenty of traumatic experiences and this was no different. He ran into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans from his drawer, moving more on instinct than clear thought. “Which hospital?”
“UC.” She continued to cry.
Snow hurried into the room and handed him a sweater before rummaging for his own clothes.
“I’m on my way.”
“Hurry!”
He clicked off his phone and jerked the sweater over his head. His gut was in knots, his mind scrambled because he couldn’t think of one situation that would put his baby brother in front of a gun. Jordan worked construction for their uncle. He was a good kid. Different scenarios ran through Jude’s head as he tugged on his socks and shoes.
“Your brother was shot?” Snow asked as he tugged a sweatshirt over his head and slipped on his shoes.
“That’s what she said.” He ran for the stairs, Snow at his heels.
The whole drive, his hands remained tight on the steering wheel. He barely noticed the lights of the city passing as he made the familiar drive to the hospital where both he and Snow worked. All he could think about was his little brother.Chapter 2Snow rushed through the emergency room with Jude. His heart was pounding so hard it was like he could feel it in his throat, threatening to choke off his airway. A sinister nagging voice in the back of his head kept repeating, Three years, three years, three years.
Roughly three years ago, he’d run into this same hospital to find one of his best friends on the floor, his entire world falling apart because his wife had been killed in what had appeared to be a car accident. And he hadn’t been there to operate on her. To save her life.
Melissa Ward had been light and laughter and happiness. She’d brought joy to all who knew her.
And Rowe Ward had been devastated to lose her. They all had been.
They’d nearly lost Rowe to his grief.
Now Snow was running through the hospital where he and Jude worked nearly every day. He was vaguely aware of familiar faces registering surprise and flashes of sadness as they passed by, but it didn’t matter. They stopped only long enough to find out that Jordan was in surgery and that Jude’s family was already in the surgical ICU waiting room.
“Snow,” Jude said in a low, shaky breath as they waited for the elevator to ascend to the correct floor. That broken sound gutted him.
He reached over and wrapped his hand around the back of Jude’s neck, pulling him tight against his taller frame. “We’ll figure this out,” he replied, forcing the words past the lump in his throat while telling himself that this was not going to be like Mel.
Jordan was a strong young man. Not even twenty-one yet. A good guy who loved to laugh. Definitely not the sort to seek out trouble. This had to be nothing more than him being in the wrong damn place at the wrong damn time. The doctors on call would be able to fix him up and get him safely on the mend.
But he couldn’t give Jude promises that he couldn’t keep or offer fake platitudes. Jude had worked as a paramedic for several years now. He’d been the paramedic first on the scene for Mel. He knew how quickly things could turn bad with nothing anyone could do to stop them.
“My brain won’t accept it. Not Jordan.”
“I know,” Snow said. “But he’s young and he’s strong. That works in his favor.”
The elevator doors parted, and they were quickly moving again to the large, quiet waiting room. There were three different groups spread across the waiting area, huddled together, talking only in whispers. A few stared dully up at the TV that had some game show turned on, but the sound was muted.
At the far end of the room, Anna Torres stood up from where she’d been sitting next to Jude’s other brother, Carrick. Her face was splotchy and smeared with tears. Her normally neatly styled hair had been pulled back into a messy bun, and she wore a pair of older jeans and an oversized T-shirt. She looked like she’d already been settled in for the night when she’d gotten the call. Just grabbed some shoes and a coat before running out the door.
But that was Anna. Jude’s mana had swept into his life much the same way her son had, claiming him as one of her own without so much as asking if Snow wanted her to. Anna took one look at him and loved him, dark shadows and all. He didn’t know what she saw when she gazed up at him, but it must have been enough to convince her that he was worthy of her son, because she accepted him the first time she met him.