Page 40 of Hollis (The Moore Men #2)

Twenty-Five

Ford

T hunder claps, shaking the windows from its force. It’s nasty outside. It’s been like this for the last half an hour, and it came out of nowhere too. It’s been sunny and clear skies all day, and now it’s downpouring. Can’t imagine things will stay quiet with the weather the way it is.

I’m finishing up the dishes from lunch when footsteps pull my attention over my shoulder. Remi saunters in, lifting his chin when he meets my gaze. “Hey, Cap. Can we talk?”

“Sure.” My heart squeezes as I switch the water off and grab a towel to dry my hands.

I knew this was coming since Hollis told me that Remi knows about us.

It was through text, and we haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet since it was late, and I had an early morning.

I don’t know how Remi knows, or how the conversation went, but I’ve been on edge all day because of it.

“In here, or my office?” I ask, tossing the towel on the counter.

“Let’s go to your office. ”

Oh boy.

Walking through the station, I see some of my team in the rec room, watching the news.

Chandler being one of them. She catches my eye, then drags her gaze over to Remi, mock saluting me, as if she knows what’s going on.

Hell, maybe she does. Remi could’ve talked to the team about this before even coming to me.

In my office, I take a seat at my desk, gesturing for Remi to do the same. “So…” I clear my throat. “What’s up?”

Remi breathes out a small chuckle, shaking his head. “Happen to talk to Hollis lately?” he asks.

My chest squeezes, and my throat dries as I nod. “I have.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Just that you knew,” I say. “Nothing more than that.” Remi opens his mouth, like he’s about to say something, but I cut him off before he has the chance. “I’m sorry, Remi. We shouldn’t have kept this from you.”

Holding up a hand, he asks, “What are your intentions with him?”

I lift a brow, taken aback by the question. “Uh, I’m sorry?”

He chuckles. “I already talked to Hollis yesterday, and know where his head’s at, so now I wanna know where yours is.”

My curiosity piques. “And where is Hollis’s head at?”

“Ask him for yourself.” He bites back a grin before saying, “Answer the question, Cap.”

I don’t say anything right away, the knot in my stomach tightening as I consider the question.

He wants to know how I feel about Hollis, and the thing is…

I know how I feel, but saying that out loud, to Remi , of all people, is a little nauseating.

Hollis and I have done a great job at skating over any conversation even remotely close to how we feel, or what we want, and to be honest, I’m not sure who’s avoiding it more at this point.

“This is a little weird,” I murmur, sitting back in my chair, and linking my fingers together over my stomach.

Remi snorts. “Yeah, well, so is my boss bangin’ my best friend, yet here we are.”

A chuckle flies from me before I can help it. It’s right there on the tip of my tongue to give him the same answer I gave Chandler the other day: It’s complicated … But it’s not complicated.

Not anymore.

Heaving a sigh, I say, “Remi, I—” But I’m cut off when the alarm sounds, and dispatch comes over the radio.

“Engine 14, Rescue 14, respond to a single motorcycle accident. Location is northbound on Highway forty-three near mile marker thirteen. Caller reports one rider down in the roadway, not moving. Unknown injuries. Law enforcement en route.”

My body freezes, stomach dropping as Remi and I look at one another.

Something shifts in my chest, tightening and making it hard to breathe.

My mind shouldn’t go there—not with the job, not with protocol, and because it probably isn’t true—but it does.

Fast. Remi’s eyes are wide, the color draining from his face, and before he even opens his mouth, I know he’s thinking the same thing.

“It’s Hollis.” The words are like a bucket of ice as we both jump out of our chairs.

I shake my head, hands trembling as I throw on my gear. “No, he’s on the ranch.”

“It’s him,” Remi repeats, firmer this time.

The blood whooshes in my ears, my body on high alert as I work to steady the rapid beating in my chest. It can’t be .

“You don’t know that, Remi,” I snap harsher than I intend to, an edge of panic in my tone.

“The last I talked to him, he was headin’ into town to meet with a couple guys about some cattle.”

Fuck.

My crew rushes around me, but I don’t see any of them. Nausea churns in my gut, my skin on fire, yet I feel freezing. “When was that?”

He checks his phone as we climb into the engine and pull out of the station. “An hour ago.”

I can’t think straight. The siren wailing sounds sharper than usual, and every second longer we’re on the road feels like a second stolen or lost. My knuckles blanch from how hard I’m gripping the doorframe.

It doesn’t take long to arrive on scene, but with every red light we blow through, every car we have to go around, I do my absolute best to remain positive, to hold back the part of me that’s breaking loose at the seams. The part of me begging the universe to let it not be Hollis.

I’m trained for chaos—we all are—for control in the worst of situations, but as I jump out of the rig, rushing toward the scene, and see a helmet that looks all too familiar, I feel my heart stop.

Logic fades as I run over to the body lying on the concrete as fast as I can, Remi hot on my heels.

I’m grasping for hope as I scan his body and the scene.

Hollis is unconscious on the side of the highway, and there’s blood.

My gaze darts around, panic rising and burning a path up my throat.

Where is the blood coming from?

Is he okay?

What if he’s not?

Harsh breaths expel past my lips as my vision blurs. Just as I’m about to drop to my knees in front of him, as I’m about to assess the scene, strong arms wrap through mine, pulling me back.

“No.” Chandler spins us around before shoving me away.

“Get out of my way,” I growl, trying to move past her. “We need to help him!”

“And we will!” she shouts, her eyes wild as she shoves me in the chest. “But you need to step back—both of you!”

That’s when I notice Sam holding Remi back too. Face red, tears streaming down his cheeks as he, too, tries unsuccessfully to shove past them.

“You’re both too close to this call,” Chandler says. “You’re not thinkin’ clearly. Let us handle this.”

“Not fuckin’ happenin’,” Remi grits out.

“Wait by the engine,” Sam barks, leaving no room for argument. “We got this.”

The rest of our team is already on scene, accessing and helping Hollis, and as much as I want to be right beside him, doing whatever I can, I know they’re right.

And Remi does too. Standing off to the side, we watch everything.

Time warps, the seconds stretching cruelly.

There’s a heavy weight sitting on my chest. It’s crushing my lungs, making it impossible to get air.

My head throbs, the endless what ifs running circles in my mind.

I can do this job a thousand times over.

No matter how tragic or heartbreaking, I do it.

I help families, save lives. I can do it.

But not now.

Not when it’s Hollis.

Not when he could die, and I never got the chance to tell him how I feel. Tell him that I’m in love with him.

Please… He can’t die. Please don’t let him die.

I can’t lose him.

Please be okay, baby. I need you to be okay.