Page 270 of By His Rule

“Come on, Wild Child,” I whisper, my eyes glued to the ball as it flies toward Wilder.

He’s ready for it. I can see the determination in his eyes and the set of his shoulders.

“Yesss,” I hiss when he makes the perfect catch and takes off toward the end zone. “Come on, come on,” I will, perched on the edge of my seat, waiting to celebrate right along with him.

He’s almost there, so fucking close he must be able to taste it, when one of the other team’s defensemen appears out of nowhere.

“Oh my god,” I gasp when he takes my little brother down on a dirty-looking tackle.

Wilder hits the grass hard and I jump to my feet, moving closer to the screen as if it’s going to help.

The defenseman gets up and shakes himself off, but Wilder doesn’t move.

“Get up,” I whisper, getting even closer to the screen. “Wilder.” My voice cracks with emotion.

But no matter how much I beg for him to get up, he continues lying there, lifeless.

My tears return, and I swear my heart shatters into a million pieces.

“Wilder, please. Please,” I beg brokenly.

When my cell rings this time, I go running to the hallway and pull it from my purse.

I don’t bother looking at the caller ID. I already know who it is.

“Everything is going to be okay,” I lie.

Honestly, I have no fucking idea if anything is going to be okay again. But Hendrix doesn’t need to hear that.

“He’s still not moving,” Hendrix whispers. He sounds like he’s in complete agony.

“I’m coming, okay? I’m getting on the first plane out of here.”

Putting my cell on speaker, I grab my suitcase from my closet and run into my bedroom.

“What’s happening?” I demand as I absently throw things inside.

“Nothing. He’s still lying there.”

“Where is the medical team?” I bark, frustrated that I can’t do anything.

It’s not the first time Wilder has been injured. But it’s the first time he hasn’t immediately gotten up. It’s also the first time I’ve felt that soul-deep fear when he went down.

“They’re there. Shit.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. I can’t see anything.”

“Get your ass down there, Rix. He needs you with him.”

“Excuse me. Sorry,” a soft female voice says down the line.

Noelle.

At least she’s with him.

“Excuse us. We need to get down there,” she says again, taking charge while Hendrix freaks out.

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