High-Sided (Armed & Dangerous #3)(54)

Logan pushed them apart. “That’s enough. It’s not the time or place for this shit.”

I held my breath, suffocating in the tension that filled the room. Janie’s parents and brother were nowhere to be seen. Luckily, both Sean and Mark backed up and I could finally breathe.

Sean stormed to the opposite side of the room, running his hands angrily through his hair. I approached him cautiously, gently placing my hands on his back. “Sean,” I whispered.

“The f*cker knew,” he growled.

“Knew what?”

“That she’d been in the hospital since this morning and nobody felt the need to call me. She probably thinks I don’t care.”

My blood boiled as I turned to glare at Mark. It was obvious by the smug look on his face, he knew what was going on. Turning back to Sean, I put my hand on his arm and squeezed. “That’s not true,” I murmured softly. “She knows you care.” I guided him to the nearest chair and sat beside him. I didn’t realize how much he loved her until that moment. He was torn and it broke my heart. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. Maybe you’ll get to see her soon.”

About an hour passed, when Janie’s brother, Brandon, trudged into the room. His face was red and his eyes tired. I didn’t care how upset he was; I was angry no one felt the need to call Sean. Sean jumped to his feet and I joined him.

“How is she?” he demanded.

Brandon swallowed hard, his voice so low I could barely hear. “She’ll be fine. A piece of the windshield had lodged in her neck, narrowly missing her artery. She lost a lot of blood, but I donated mine.”

Sean let out a big breath, running his hand through his hair. “Why didn’t anyone call me?”

Brandon’s brows furrowed. “I thought you knew. Mark said he was going to call you.” Sean’s body shook with rage. It was then we all realized what was going on. Brandon turned an angry glare to Mark. “Why didn’t you call him?” he shouted.

Mark shrugged. “Lost track of time.”

“You son of a bitch!” Sean lunged, but Logan stepped in his way.

I grabbed Sean’s face, his eyes wild with rage. “Calm down, Sean. If security comes in here, they’ll kick you out. That’s not what you want right now.”

Logan put as much distance between Sean and Mark as he could. However, that didn’t stop Brandon from punching Mark in the face. “Get the f*ck out of here. I don’t want to look at your face right now.”

Mark wiped his bloody nose onto his shirt. “I’m not leaving until I see her.”

Sean tried to push his way past Logan, but I grabbed him around the waist. “Don’t.”

Logan joined Brandon, towering over both him and Mark. I half expected a fight to break out, but thankfully, Mark backed up and snarled at them before storming out of the room.

Brandon collapsed into one of the chairs and sighed. “I don’t understand what the hell his problem is.”

“What happened to Janie?” I asked him.

He rubbed his eyes, his shoulders slumped and defeated. “She lost control of her car this morning on her way to the school. The guardrail stopped her from going over the side of the mountain.”

“Oh my God,” I gasped.

“She’ll be okay though. You can go in and see her if you want. She’s been in and out all day.”

“What room number?” Sean demanded.

Brandon told us her room number, and we all three went down the hall. Logan stood outside the door, so Sean and I could see her. When we got into her room, the lights were dimmed, but I could still see the damage. Her eyes were black and blue, with cuts all over her face. Her neck was bandaged where the shard of glass had penetrated her skin.

Sean slowly sat down beside her, gently taking her hand. “I had a feeling something was wrong when she didn’t call me back.”

“And you were right. I’m so sorry, Sean. About everything.”

“When you say everything, do you mean the shit about Logan?” he hissed low.

I knelt down beside him and grabbed his other hand. “I was wrong. I knew I was the second I looked into your eyes. I even told Logan the same thing. Please tell me we can get past this. I don’t want you mad at me.”

A sad smile spread across his lips. “I could never stay mad at you, Kass. You’re the one who brought Janie into my life. I’ve never been happier.”

I squeezed his hand. “Glad to hear it.”

“Me too,” Janie whispered gruffly.

Gasping, I let his hand go and made my way around to the other side of the bed. “Janie,” I breathed.

Sean kissed her hand and tears fell down his cheeks. “Thank f*cking God, you’re okay. I was so worried about you.”

She tried to swallow and tensed with pain. “I was worried about me too. Don’t know what happened.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“My brakes stopped working as I was going down the mountain. I thought I was going to die.”

“So that’s it? Your brakes just stopped working?”

Closing her eyes, she placed a hand over her neck, hissing in pain. “Yes. It was so strange.”

Yes, it was, and I didn’t like the sound of it. “All right, you two, I’m gonna give you some privacy. Sean,” I said, heading toward the door, “call me if you need me.”