Page 24 of Hard to Break

The floor hits me first.

7

BROOKE

Heels were not made for keeping up with a gurney.

But, there’s no way I’m leaving Miles as he bumps across the pavement between two paramedics from the ambulance to the hospital.

“He said he was feeling fine,” I call as I follow, one hand on the cold side rail because I’m afraid if I put it on his shoulder, I’ll lose my grip.

“You said he had several drinks?” One paramedic, a tall woman with a level voice, asks.

“More than usual,” I admit.

The ambulance techs continue into the ER, and a nurse meets them there. She directs the gurney into a private room. I try not to think about the people in the waiting room who have to wait longer now that a basketball VIP is in the building.

“Wait here,” one says as I try to head inside the room too.

I pace the halls, getting in the way more than once. I’m trying to wrap my head around what happened, but it’s blurring together given the couple of drinks I had myself.

Miles was in a great mood when we went out, and he had every reason to be. Sure, there was some tension between himand the team this week, but nothing they couldn’t set aside for a night like this.

But something changed at the club.

My phone rings—Nova.

“Where are you?” she demands.

Forty minutes later, she arrives along with Clay and my brother.

The earlier excitement in my friend’s eyes has been replaced with worry.

I fill them in. “I don’t know what happened. He wasn’t acting like himself.”

Nova nods. Gold glitter has started to flake onto her cheeks. “The all-star game is a weird night. He’s been under a lot of pressure.”

I instantly reject her assumption, which probably shows on my face. I can hide what I’m thinking but not in front of my best friend, not after the night we’ve had.

The halls are lined with people in all sorts of dress. I suppose that’s a Vegas thing. A kid with blond hair walks by, and I track him with my gaze.

“Excuse me. Did you come in with Mr. Garrett?” a doctor asks, consulting his clipboard.

“We all did,” Jay says from across the room, but I’m there first.

“That’s right.”

His gaze flicks down my body, then intently zeroes in on my face. “We’re still waiting for labs to come back. You said you were drinking. Anything else?”

“Like what?”

“Did Mr. Garrett ingest any other substances today or this evening?”

I cut a look back at my brother and Clay, who look every bit as surprised as I feel. “No.”

The doctor studies me a moment longer as if I might change my mind but finally nods. “Do you know if he left any of his drinks unsupervised?”

“You think he was drugged.” My mind is spinning.

---