Page 131 of Forbidden Game

We leave the airport flanked by our two security cars.

I stare out the window at the red mountains in the distance as we make our way to The Covington on the Strip. The traffic is bumper-to-bumper, roads closed off for the championship.

I swallow down my nerves, trying to stop myself from thinking about how I’ll be playing in less than twenty-four hours. I focus on counting every desert palm tree we drive past and ignoring the cooing noises from the couple next to me.

My eyes snag on a Bugatti La Voiture Noire, and I just about piss myself. There’s only one in existence, and no one knows who owns it. I reach my hand out to tap Aleks and show him. He leans across Stevie, and we foam at the mouth. This is one of the many reasons I love Vegas; you can see some of the sickest cars here.

I distantly pick up on the sound of a revving engine over our conversation.

My eyes flick around, trying to locate the car, the deep rumble getting louder.

Everything stops as I watch a black Escalade blow right through the red light, right toward us.

I yell out a warning, but it’s futile.

Because the car swerves and hits the one in front of us.

The one with the girls in it.

The one with Sydney in it.

And I lose it.

***

“Sir, I will need to sedate you if you do not calm down.”

I shove against the security barring me from the room and glare at the doctor before me.

“She’s my girlfriend,” I growl. “Get them to take their hands off me.”

“I’m sorry, only family—”

“She is my family,” I bark.

“That’s not how it works.” The spindly man frowns.

They would regret this. They don’t know who I am. I will fucking find out their names and get them all fired. This doctor wouldn’t work at another hospital in his life.

The security guard’s hold lessens a little, and I use the chance to rip away from him. All decorum flees my body as I bodycheck the doctor and push my way into the room.

My heart shatters on the floor at the vision of the bruised woman before me.

Sydney’s body lies on a bed in the middle of the private hospital suite. An IV snakes into her hand, while a breathing tube feeds into her nose.

My knees give out.

I just about crash onto the vinyl when a strong hand grips me.

I look up into a set of dark blue eyes.

“Dad.” My voice breaks.

“It’s okay, son. I’m here.”

He steadies me and wraps his arms around me in a heavy hug. Sobs wrack my chest as I fold like a child against him, all my strength crumbling in his presence.

“Oh, Parker, darling.” My mother rushes into the room and cups my face in her delicate hands. “We came as soon as we heard there’d been an accident.”

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