Page 55 of Finding You

Maximus is nowhere to be found.

Those words bounced inside of Zion’s head during the entire twenty-minute ride to the hospital. Raven was in a bad car accident and Maximus was missing.

Could it be connected? Was Maximus in Chicago?

Zion tried shaking the thoughts free as he searched the emergency room parking lot for a parking space. If he didn’t find one soon, he was going to create his own.

If anyone asked him how he’d made it to the hospital, he wouldn’t have been able to tell them. He was sure he had run a couple of lights and barely missed a few people crossing the street. All he’d been thinking was he had to get to Raven. He had to get to his kids.

This shit reminded him how things could change in a heartbeat. One minute he’d been thinking about his and Raven’s date, and then the next moment he was racing to the hospital.

Zion hadn’t heard back from Lynix, and his friend wasn’t answering his cell phone. Which only made Zion crazier. He was trying not to think the worst, but what if Raven and the kids were…

No. No. No. They can’t be dead. He had just found them. No way God would be that cruel and snatch away the best thing that’s ever happened to him. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Zion growled and had barely parked before leaping out of his truck and jogging across the parking lot toward the entrance.

Think positive, he kept telling himself. Raven was fine. The kids were fine. They had to be.

Zion ran into the hospital, his head pounding and his heart racing. The moment he was inside, he frantically glanced around, trying to get his bearings. He knew this place. Had questioned plenty of victims, as well as criminals in it. Yet, at the moment, he couldn’t think straight.

Just calm down. Breathe.

He rushed to the reception desk, glad there wasn’t a line.

“May I help you?” the older woman behind the desk asked.

“My babies and… my wife,” Zion said, swallowing hard against the lump in his throat. He felt no guilt lying and calling Raven his wife. In his heart, that’s exactly what she was to him. “They were in a car accident and—”

“Zion,” Lynix called from somewhere behind him, and Zion whirled around.

He searched his friend’s face, hoping to get a read on whether Raven and the babies survived the accident. Lynix had been one of the responding officers and would’ve seen the crime scene, but right now, his friend’s face was unreadable.

“Where is she, and where are my babies? Are they…” Suddenly Zion couldn’t breathe. Icy fear crawled down his spine, but he prayed his woman and babies were okay.

Lynix gripped his shoulder. “First of all, calm down. They’re going to be fine.”

Zion shook out of his friend’s hold and stepped back. “Goingto be? Are they hurt? Where the hell are they?” he roared as his heart pounded so hard against his rib cage, he was sure it wasgoing to beat out of his chest. “Lynix, I need to see them. I can’t do this. I can’t think straight until I see for myself that they’re okay.”

Lynix lifted his hands. “Just try to calm down. The babies are fine, and the doctor is just finishing checking out Raven. She passed out for a second after impact, and she’s a little banged up, but she’s going to be fine.”

Zion bent forward and put his hands on his knees, trying to get himself together. His baby was hurt, and he hadn’t been there. He should’ve had her go straight home like originally planned, and he should’ve picked up the kids.

“Stop. Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. Once you get your shit together, you can see your woman and my godkids. But you can’t let them see you like this. Get it together, bro.”

It took Zion several heartbeats to get his breathing somewhat normal, but his hands were still shaking. He loved his family, a family he never knew he wanted, and he could’ve lost them. He had never been so scared in his life.

After another few seconds, he stood up and then huffed out a breath. “What happened?”

On the ride over, many scenarios played through his mind, but the main one had Maximus involved. With the guy being off the grid, he could be anywhere, including Chicago. If Zion found out he was involved, he really would kill the man. Then he’d hide the body where no one could find it.

“Some kids were out joyriding, and the driver lost control of the car. They crossed the center line, and Raven couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. The kid slammed into the front, driver’s side of the SUV, and thankfully the airbags didn’t deploy. But Raven and the kids did get jostled around a bit. We think Raven might’ve passed out for a…”

“Oh God,” Zion said, his hands going to his mouth. He’d been the responding officer to so many accidents, and too many ofthem had resulted in fatalities. Like those, this could’ve ended so differently.

“She didn’t remember everything after impact, and when she did come to herself, the kids were her only concern. The babies are perfectly fine. When I arrived, all three were crying, and Raven was struggling to get the kids out of their seats.”

“I want to see them,” Zion said gruffly.

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