Page 204 of Off Limits Mogul

“Hey, Piers,” Shane says.

The three guys greet each other.

“Shane and I weren’t able to find out which room Keira is in,” Collin says. “That information is reserved for family members only. We told the nurse she’s an orphan, and her brother lives abroad. It didn’t help. When we explained her boyfriend would be showing up soon, she said you need to go to the nurses’ station when you get here.”

“I’ll head there now.” I rush off.

After a few keystrokes, the black woman sitting behind the computer informs me someone will come for me when Keira is out of surgery. That’s all she had for me. At least, I have my girl’s room number. Resigned, I return to the waiting area.

Standing at the threshold, I call Shane over.

He approaches me. “So?”

“I’m on standby.”

“Figures.”

“Can you walk me through what happened again?” I’m desperate to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Everything happened so fast, it was almost a blur,” he says. “Collin and I were test driving a new McLaren he’s considering buying when we stopped at a red light. As were debating about the car, a kickass custom Softail Breakout bike catches our eye––”

“The Softail is my bike. I added Keira to the insurance.”

“The bike is in pieces…”

“The bike isn’t important. It’s replaceable. Keira isn’t.”

“Thank God for her quick thinking. It saved her life.” Shane gives me the play-by-play. “Once the police arrived, the area was taped off, so it’s not like I could get close,but based on the wreckage and the magnitude of the impact, I’m guessing the asshole responsible for the nightmare was drunk.”

Anger causes my lip to twitch.“Motherfucker.”

“The motherfucker didn’t make it.” Shane shakes his head. “He was propelled through the windshield of his car and crashed against the asphalt, face down. By the time the EMTs got to him, he was swimming in a pool of his own blood. Seems he wasn’t even wearing a seatbelt.”

“What about the other car? The one that was hit.”

“Not sure. The EMTs took the person to a hospital.”

“Okay, thanks.” The tale is as unbelievable as it was when he offered fragments of the story when he first called me.

Once Shane is done recounting the tragic facts, we join Piers and Collin in the waiting area. As we do, my mom, Arianne, and Beckett arrive. They’re full of questions. Since the Dennison brothers witnessed it all, I let them tell the story. Hearing what Keira went through again, twists my gut. If the motherfucker weren’t dead, I would’ve tracked him down. When everyone is all caught up, the nail-biting procession of waiting begins. We wait, and wait, and wait. After what seems like a lifetime, someone calls my name.

“Mr. Rhys Hartford.”

I jump to my feet. Pure adrenaline carries my legs as close the gap between me and the black woman scouring the room.

She looks me up and down. “You’re Keira Weatherly’s boyfriend?”

“Yes, I am. We live together.”

“I’m Dr. Cuthbert,” she says.

“Can I see her now?”

“Does Miss Weatherly have parents? Siblings?”

Is her evasiveness the precursor to bad news?

“No. I mean, yes.” I shake my head.Breathe.“Her mom passed. Same for her grandmother. Her father isn’t in thepicture. Her older brother lives in New Zealand. He’s doing his best to return to LA as quickly as he can. So, right now, I’m all she’s got. Is she out of surgery?”