Page 91 of Noah

"Direct. Nice." Liam pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back. Liam was a good hugger. He clung on for longer than most people. He really meant it.

"I love you," he whispered against the side of my head.

I stepped away and patted both his shoulders. "Love you too."

The moment broken; we went back to work. I was splitting my time between bartending and playing the host upstairs. I chuffed out a short laugh. Liam and I'd had quite the time getting Jamal up those damned stairs. My shoulders were going to be stiff for weeks.

Liam raced over, touched my arm, and handed me our house phone.

"Someone for you," he said. "Some guy named Charlie."

My brow pinched. I didn't know anyone named Charlie. I took the phone into the back hallway away from some of the noise. "Hello? Noah speaking."

"Hey … Noah. You don't know me … I don't think. Not sure if Brody mentioned me or not. Probably not … but I'm Charlie Carlisle. Brody's brother."

My heart sank.

Why the hell is Brody's brother calling me?

"What happened?" my voice shot out in a blast of pure panic.

"He's been in a car accident. A bad one." A long pause. "Big truck t-boned him."

I crumpled against the wall and slid my ass onto the floor. "Is … is he all right?"

"He's alive, but he's in surgery. I thought I should call you."

"Yes … um." I swallowed hard. "Which hospital?"

"Vic General."

My mind went a little haywire, playing out what I had to do to get there—fast. Liam wandered into the hallway; his brow dipped. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

I stared up at Liam as tears streaked down my cheeks. My man. The love of my life was walking the line of existence. I needed to get there but my car was at my apartment.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," I said to Charlie.

"It'll help if you're here for him."

"I hope so." I closed the call and scrambled to my feet. "Liam, I need to borrow your car."

"Sure. Anything. What's happened?"

"Brody was in a bad car accident." I could barely hold my emotions together, but I needed to stay focused. Brody needed me. "He's in surgery."

"Shit. Is he going to be all right?" Liam came at me to offer me another hug. I didn't have time for one. I put my hand on his chest gently and kept it there.

"We won't know until he's out of surgery."

Liam reached into his pocket and produced a metal ring of keys. He unwound his car key and handed it to me. "He's in the Bastion Street parkade. Second level near the elevator."

"Can you let Jamal know what's going on?"

"Absolutely. Don't worry about a thing. You go. We'll take care of everything around here."

Okay.

"Thank you." Then I took the key, retrieved my coat from the office, and dashed up the street and down Bastion Square to the parking garage. Lux was where Liam said he would be. For the first time since Liam bought his car, I didn't feel like snickering at the name he'd given it.

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