Page 62 of Found By Him

I like her idea better than sleeping, anyway.

I joltawake in the middle of the night when my phone vibrates from the nightstand. It stops as I pick it up, but starts again a few seconds later.

“What is it?” Gisella asks sleepily from where she’s cuddled under the blankets at my side.

“I don’t know, baby. Go back to sleep.” My sleep-filled eyes finally focus enough to see that it’s Tyler. I sit up in bed.There’s no good reason he should be calling me at almost midnight. “Tyler, what’s wrong? Is your mom okay?”

After hearing who it is, Gisella sits up next to me. The moonlight filling the room exposes the concern on her face.

“My mom is fine. I was working that event in Germantown with Matt.”

Rustling comes through the phone, followed by muffled shouts.

“Tyler, what’s happening?”

“Matt was shot, Jack. I think they were trying to shoot me. He saved my life.” His voice is panicked, and my stomach drops at what he’s saying. “They’re taking him to Vanderbilt now.”

I look over at Gisella as she gasps and grips my bicep. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Hanging up, I climb out of bed, adrenaline pumping.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, Gisella. Stay here. I’ll call one of the other guys to sit outside. But I need you to stay here,” I tell her adamantly.

She follows me into the closet, where I pull on a pair of jeans. “But I want to come to be there for you.” Tears are streaming down her cheeks. “For him. He sounded so scared.”

Seeing how concerned she is, I immediately soften. I stop buttoning my jeans and place both hands on her cheeks, tilting her face up to look into my eyes. “I know you do. I have no idea what I’m going to be walking into. I don’t want you anywhere near it, and I can’t keep an eye on you with everything else going on.”

Her voice breaks. “Why would he think someone was trying to shoot him? Tyler wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

I hug her to me, my lips pressing to the top of her head. “I don’t know, baby. But I’m going to find out.”

I finish getting dressed, give Gisella one last kiss as I tuck her back into bed, and call one of the guys to sit outside my house.

Once they arrive, I pull out of my driveway and call Nate. It barely rings twice before he picks up. “This can’t be good.”

“It’s not. Matt was shot. Tyler was with him. They’re on their way to Vandy.”

“What the fuck?” he barks, shock evident in his tone.

“I’m heading to the hospital.”

“See you there.”

He disconnects, and I call Ian to make the same request. After he agrees to meet me and Nate, I make the rest of the drive, lost in thought.

33

Jack

Nate and I arrive at the hospital minutes apart, and Ian is only about ten minutes behind us. We find Tyler pacing in the almost empty waiting room.

“Tyler.” He spins at my voice, eyes red-rimmed and agitated. I hug him tight.

“I’m so sorry, Jack,” Tyler whispers. His eyes snap shut as he sucks in a trembling breath.

I pull back but grip his shoulders tight. “Tyler, do not apologize. You did nothing wrong.” I release him and indicate we should go sit in the corner so we can talk.

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