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“It’s Axel and Sebastian. They were in an accident. You need to get to the hospital.” My eyes bug out of my head as I watch Royal, his face deathly pale. “Royal? Royal?” I hear Jenny, but Royal is frozen.
I take the phone from him gently and bring it up to my ear. “Jenny, it’s Soren. Which hospital?”
If she’s surprised I’m with Royal, she doesn’t say it. She just gives me the details and hangs up.
I put the phone on the bed and then cup Royal’s face in my hand, looking into his distraught eyes. “Baby, we need to go to the hospital. It’s going to be okay. But we need to get there.”
He doesn’t say a word. He’s frozen, his entire body stiff. His eyes have an empty gaze now.
“Royal, we need to go.” I drop my hands after giving him a quick kiss, then make quick work of getting us both dressed. I drive this time, and we make it to the hospital fairly quickly.
Jenny is already there, along with Maverick, Cash, Leslie, and a bunch of other people in their circle. Most of them are still dressed from the fundraiser. Jenny walks over to us, her heels clicking on the hospital floor as she does.
“What happened?” I ask with Royal standing stiffly at my side.
“They were going home from the fundraiser, and apparently, they were recognized by some dumbass teenagers.” I swallow hard, not wanting to hear the details but knowing we need them. “They tried to race them. Axel was driving. He, of course, didn’t engage, but it didn’t matter. They had the lane blocked off for construction, and Axel couldn’t get over in time. These kids...” Jenny’s eyes are red, and I realize she’d been crying at some point. “They sent Axel and Sebastian into a cement wall on the interstate.”
“Jesus,” I breathe. I notice Royal has taken my hand, and he’s squeezing it hard. I look at Jenny. “Are they...” Shit, the words are so damn hard to say. “Are they okay?”
There’s no real relief when she says, “They’re alive.” Because that’s notokay. “Sebastian is in surgery. He was hurt pretty badly. Axel is getting some stitches... but...”
She shakes her head solemnly, and then I notice Royal’s body become even more tense as his eyes move across the room.
I turn my head to look at what he sees. It’s his best friend.
Axel.
CHAPTER24
ROYAL
Axel is here. Axel is alive.
Holy shit.
My knees nearly buckle when I see him walking toward me. He has a bandage on his forehead and a cast on his arm, but other than that, he looks physically okay. But he’s also so not okay.
He looks distraught and heartbroken. Missing his other half. When he reaches me, he wraps his arms around me and just lets go. A harsh sob falls from his throat, “He can’t die. He can’t fucking leave me.”
I finally get control of my own body again and use one hand to hug him back. My other hand holds onto Soren in a death grip because I wouldn’t make it through seeing my best friend—the closest thing I’ve had to a brother—so damn broken without him.
“He won’t,” I barely manage to croak.
Axel releases me after that, pulling back to look at me. His eyes drift to my hand in Soren’s. But he doesn’t say anything. He looks exhausted, and his worry is palpable. “It doesn’t feel real. They won’t let me see him.”
I put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze it. We give each other a hard time. We compete like crazy out on the track. But there’s never been any doubt we’ll always be there for each other when we need it.
We’ve been there—side by side—for one another since we were angry, poor, and lonely teenagers learning how to race. Neither of us ever thought we’d be here. Rich and famous.
Never.
It was a hobby. Something to help us forget about all the bullshit. Something to make us smile.
But now we’re professional racecar drivers—that hobby turned into a career—and it seems everything has caught up to us.
“What happened?” I ask grimly. I’m aware of all the eyes on us, but in this moment, it’s just Axel and me. Two friends, who may as well be brothers, in the middle of the hospital waiting room.
Axel hangs his head, and I don’t release his shoulder. He finally raises his eyes to mine. “We were on the way home from Cash’s event. Driving on the road we’ve been on so many damn times. And some kids—fucking teenagers barely old enough to drive—recognized us. I have no idea how, but they did. The driver wanted to race me, but I shook my head at him. There was no way I’d do that.”
