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I spun on my heel, finding a young woman dressed in colorful scrubs, coming toward me. “I’m here to see Ainsley Cloet. She was just brought in and I’m assuming she’s in surgery. She was stabbed.”

“Are you family?”

“She doesn’t have...yes, yes, I’m her family.” Her only family. The only family who mattered.

The woman nodded and went behind the desk, clicked a few keys on the computer. “Yes, she’s still in surgery. You can sit in the waiting room and the doctor will be with you after.”

“He can call me.” I gave her my cell number and left the area, needing fresh air and to call my brother. When I stepped outside, I lifted my phone to my ear.

“Hey, C,” Sammy answered a second later. “What’s up?”

The words became stuck, unable to break free from my throat.

My knees shook, giving out on me when a sob finally broke free.

“Cyrus,” Sammy barked. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Hospital,” I was finally able to get out.

“On my way.”

***

“Cyrus.”

As soon as I heard my name, my head snapped up. I saw Sammy coming toward me and did the only thing I knew. I rushed to him.

“What’s going on?” Sammy demanded.

I charged into him, throwing myself around my brother and needing his hug. Fuck, I needed him to tell me that I was losing it and that everything was going to be fine. I needed him to say that I was worrying for nothing, and that Ainsley would pull out of this.

“Cyrus,” he murmured, hugging me back.

We weren’t huggers. Not lately anyway. Sammy had walls up because he hated to let anyone get too close for fear of getting hurt. I almost expected him to push me away but when he didn’t, it forced this ache in my chest to grow even more.

“What happened?” he demanded.

I pulled away from him and began pacing. “We were at Ainsley’s apartment. She was coming to the clubhouse with me. We want to move in together.” I looked at him then, waiting for some sort of reaction to what I just told him but when I got nothing, I took a breath and continued. “We think someone’s been stalking her. It’s just been small things but a few months ago, she ended up at a deli that I was at, and someone was following her.” That had been so long ago. My lips still tingled with the memory of the first kiss we shared.

“And what happened tonight?” Sammy asked gently, lighting up a smoke. He handed it to me before lighting one up for himself.

“We were walking to the SUV and some fucker bumped into her. I thought he just hit her really hard but she...I...” I swallowed hard. “She suddenly wasn’t feeling well and she...fuck, Sam, he stabbed her.”

His eyes widened. “Fuck me.”

“She’s in surgery now but I...I can’t lose her. Not when I just found her. I’ve spent years looking for someone like her.” My knees shook, threatening to collapse beneath me.

Sammy clapped my shoulder. “Have you called anyone else?”

I shook my head. “Just you. I should call Jaron but I just...I didn’t...I...” I felt like I was losing myself. The part I built walls around to protect for years.

“Where does she live? I can get Rowan to look into the security tapes.”

I grunted, rising back to my full height and began pacing. “He’s still pissed at you.”

Sammy scoffed. “I didn’t know she was his. Last time I saw him, he was with a guy anyway. I can’t keep up with the things he’s into or not into.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Give me his number and I’ll call him anyway. I know he’ll do it for you.”

There was no point in arguing with him. Sammy had slept with someone Rowan was dating for half a second. It didn’t end well for either of them. That was before Red from what I could tell, but I wasn’t even sure anymore.