Page 36 of Secret Betrayals

She’s happy.Stillhappy.

And I’ll be damned if I let any of this ruin her day.

I exhale through my nose, trying to block out Heather’s voice grating in the background. She’s mumbling about the cake being late, the balloons not matching, and who the fuck knows what else.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I don’t even check the screen.

I answer, hoping—praying—it’s Talon, finally manning the fuck up and telling me he’s on his way back. Because he owes mebigfor sticking around and cleaning up the circus his life just turned into.

And when he gets back, I’m gonna make damn sure he knows he owns my ass.

“Speak.”

“Um, hi, this is Nurse Bethany Carter from Mercy General. To whom am I speaking?”

My brow pulls tight.

What the actual fuck?

I yank the phone away from my ear and glance at the screen. Call connected toTalon’snumber.

My stomach drops. The fuck?

My heart pounds like a drum in my ears. This ain’t good. This isnevergood.

I bring the phone back up.

“Hello—”

“Hello?”

“Hello, are you still there?”

I clench my jaw, every instinct in my body telling me this is bad. Real fucking bad. I force myself to stay calm, but my blood’s already moving hot. People around me are noticing. Nitro’s eyeslock on mine, brow raised.Shit.My twin’s always been able to read me like a damn book. I can’t hide this from him. Can’t hide it from anyone. I shake my head once. That’s all he gets before I turn and walk away without a word.

The party noise fades the further I get from the crowd. Laughter, music, the clatter of glasses and bottles—none of it reaches me now. My focus is on this damn call. On what this woman has to say. On what thefuckhappened to my brother?

“Yeah, I’m here,” I say, voice flat, tight. “Why are you calling me on my brother’s phone?”

“I’m… Sir, as I said, my name is Nurse Bethany Carter from Mercy General. If this is your brother’s phone, I called the emergency contact listed. I’m sorry to say—”

“Wait.What?”

No. No. No.

Those words. Thattone.

My lungs constrict. Blood roars in my ears. I stop pacing and double over slightly, palm pressed to my thigh. The world tilts just a little bit, like it’s trying to knock me off my feet. I can’t breathe. Can’t fucking think.

NotTalon. Not my big brother. Not like this.

“Sir… are you still there?”

“I’m here,” I bark, harsher than I mean to. “Just tell me.”

Damn it.Tell me.

“There’s been an accident,” she says. “We’re unsure of the full extent of injuries—”