Page 32 of Avalanche (Endless Winter #3)

Lily

Liam: He’s awake.

I stare at the phone in my lap, breath lodged in my throat. Antoine is still beneath me, but I can feel his heart hammering as he peers over my shoulder to read Liam’s message.

Liam: He’s going to be okay. Doc will tell you when you can come through. Just need to do a few things first.

“Dieu merci,” Antoine breathes. I nod in agreement.

He’s going to be okay.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful text message in my entire life.

“When do you think Eddie and Matty will be here?” I ask, suddenly anxious to have all of us together. “They shouldn’t be too far away, right?”

Footsteps sound down the hallway as if in answer and I turn in Antoine’s lap, a hopeful smile spreading across my face. Everything is going to be alright.

My smile falters when two police officers come into view. They give me and Antoine a cursory glance before making their way to the nurses station.

“We’re here to see a Mr Seth Baker,” I hear one of them tell a nurse from down the corridor.

The nurse says something in reply, the words too distant and far to be intelligible from the waiting room. Footsteps recede down the hall, out of sight. A door swings shut.

Antoine draws in a sharp breath.

I rise to my feet, staring down the hallway in panic, my phone clutched in my hand as I type out a reply to Liam’s message.

Me: We just saw some police officers arrive. They want to talk to Seth. What’s going on?

Three ellipses appear and disappear next to Liam’s name.

“They’re probably just here to interview him about the hit and run,” Antoine whispers, but his voice rises at the end as if he’s asking a question.

“Before he’s even able to see us?” I ask, craning my neck to peer down the hallway. As if somehow I can make the answer to the questions racing through my head appear from out of one of the doorways. “When he’s only just woken up?”

Those ellipses appear again, then disappear. I frown at my phone.

“What’s happened?”

I turn in relief at the sound of Eddie’s voice, at the sight of Eddie and Matty striding into the waiting room, bags of takeout clutched in their arms.

“The police are here?” Eddie deposits the paper bags on the seat beside Antoine, then shoots the pair of us a sharp look. “Why?”

“I think they’re questioning Seth,” Antoine starts to explain, but then Eddie’s phone rings.

Eddie pulls it free of his pocket, then widens his eyes in surprise. “It’s Liam.” He swipes to answer, then brings it to his ear. “Mate. What the hell is going on? Are the po-”

Liam’s voice sounds at the other end of the line. Eddie goes still.

“They want to talk to me? I wasn’t even there. How the fuck would-” Eddie’s words falter, his lips parting soundlessly as he listens to whatever Liam’s saying.

“Of course I’ve got that. No, why the fuck would I delete it?

I mean, yeah, in theory.” Eddie scrubs at his face as he shoots me an unreadable look.

“Don’t you think we should talk to Lily first, though?

Or like, at least ask her? No, I get that.

Yeah, obviously I don’t want to fucking protect that scumbag.

I’m just saying…” Eddie frowns at his feet as he clutches the phone to his ear, then lets out a resigned sigh. “Yeah. Tell them I’ll come through.”

He ends the call, pocketing his phone before fixing me with an apologetic look that I don’t quite understand.

“The police want to speak to me.” He scuffs one booted foot against the linoleum floor, his gaze dropping.

“About Tom.” He clears his throat, worries his lower lip with his teeth.

“About what happened at the start of the season, before he moved out. They, uh, want to listen to the audio recording I made. You know, after Seth beat the shit out of him…”

My stomach bottoms out, a sickening weight settling, twisting, making my breath catch and vision spin.

Eddie’s gaze flicks back up to meet mine, his brown eyes sharp, those usually smiling lips pulled into a frown. “Seth thinks Tom was the one who hit him. On the road.”

My feet falter, legs turning weak, heavy. Antoine rushes to stand, eyes widening in alarm, but Matty gets there first, his strong arm wrapping around my shoulders, holding me up.

“Tom?” I gasp. “Tom?”

“Edward Walker, could you come through please?”

We all turn in unison at the unfamiliar voice.

One of the police officers from earlier is standing there, a serious face with dark eyes beneath a tightly pulled back ponytail.

Her short nails tap impatiently against a clipboard but when her eyes land on me, she offers me what she probably thinks is a reassuring smile.

“You must be Lily.”

I nod wordlessly, my gaze drifting from her clipboard to the name badge sewn onto her vest. Smith . Beside me, Matty stiffens, his grasp on my shoulders tightening protectively.

“You might as well come too,” the officer tells me, her smile unfaltering, tone forcefully casual. “If you don’t mind.”

My heart hammers wildly behind my ribs.

Police officers have always made me feel like I’m about to get in trouble. I don’t know why when I’ve never even had a speeding ticket. It’s completely illogical.

“Okay,” I breathe, swallowing back my panic and following the officer down the hall.

All my apprehension is completely forgotten the moment I step into the room and see Seth.

I’m practically sprinting to his bedside, his name on my lips.

The only thing stopping me from throwing myself at him is the sight of all those wires and tubes, the brace around his neck, the bruises distorting his features.

I pull up short, hovering anxiously by his side, my hands flexing and closing in protest as I stop myself from reaching out, wrapping my arms around him.

“Seth,” I cry.

Cracked lips smile up at me. “Lily, honey.”

“Here, sit down.”

Liam is there, pulling a chair up beside Seth’s bed, indicating for me to take a seat. I do what he says, suddenly aware of how crowded the small room is with two police officers, a frowning nurse and the three of us—me, Eddie and Liam.

“What about me?” Eddie complains, looking around the room. “Where am I supposed to sit?”

“You’re not,” Liam quips.

“I really think all this questioning should wait until he’s recovered,” the nurse complains from where she’s standing sentinel at Seth’s other side. She shoots the two officers a withering glare.

“It’s s’okay,” Seth rumbles. “I don’t mind.”

The nurse’s frown only deepens.

“We shouldn’t be long, ma’am,” the second police officer tells her, folding his arms defensively over his chest. “Shouldn’t be more than ten minutes or so.

” He offers the nurse an apologetic smile, then coughs into his fist when she doesn’t return it.

“Well, let’s see.” He flips over his clipboard, making a show of turning through pages of notes before fixing his attention on Eddie. “You must be Edward Walker.”

“It’s Eddie.” Eddie shoves his hands into his pockets, then leans against the wall of Seth’s hospital room with a slouching stance that has him looking like a delinquent teenager.

“Liam told me what you guys want. Well, I’m gonna be straight up with you—I don’t see what that has to do with this situation.

Seth has been hit by a car. Shouldn’t you guys be pulling traffic footage or something instead of asking us about some shit that happened a few months ago? ”

Liam makes a choked sound from beside me as I stare at Eddie in open-mouthed shock.

It’s the female officer who speaks first, her sharp eyes narrowing despite the unfaltering smile.

“We’re just collecting evidence,” she explains.

“It all goes to motive. Seth mentioned that the man he saw driving was Tom, a young man that used to be your roommate? But it sounds like there was some sort of… altercation… before he left. Something involving Lily?” That smile turns on me again, and I find myself inexplicably wanting to shrink away from it.

When I don’t respond, she makes an exasperated tut and adds: “Well, we just want to get a full picture.”

Eddie snorts. “The full picture is that Tom is a piece of shit. If Seth said Tom was driving, then Tom was driving. Shouldn’t you guys be tracking him down and questioning him instead of us?”

“Oh, we’ll do that, don’t you worry,” the male officer chuckles, but it’s a forced sound. “And they’re reviewing the traffic cam footage down at the station as we speak-”

“Good.” Eddie straightens, reaching up to flick a stray lock of hair off his forehead.

“It sounds like you two have it all under control then. I assume Liam’s got your contact details in case Seth wants to ask questions later on?

You know, once he’s not heavily sedated and doesn’t have fucking tubes sticking out of his nose.

I assume you’ve told him when he can expect to hear from you guys next? ”

“Well, we hadn’t quite gotten to that…”

Eddie rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone.

“Why don’t I do that now, then? Officer Smith and Officer Irving, is that right?

” His fingers fly as he taps out something in the notes of his phone.

“Assume you have a phone number he can call? And how long do you think it will take to review the traffic cam footage? Did Seth tell you what type of truck you’re looking for—a 2008 blue Ford, New Mexico plates, registration number EFT 567? ”

The female officer’s pen flies across the paper of her clipboard. “Can you repeat those numbers?” she asks.

Eddie obliges and I exchange a glance with Liam. Liam’s lips are pressed together into a thin line, grey eyes sparkling with mirth. How did he remember all that about Tom’s truck? I want to ask, but I don’t dare.