Page 130 of Hollywood Comes Home

He shoved the phone into my hand as he paced the intersection.

Hello?

Hello Amber.

Jake, oh my… thank God it’s you. Dragon was T-boned at Beacon and Park. He’s dead.

Get out of there now. I’m on it.

He hung up on me. I grabbed Chance’s hand, tugging him to the car. He resisted a bit.

“Chance, Jake said we have to get out of here. We need to go, now!”

He backed away, dropping his head and sprinting for our car. After helping me in, he ran to the driver’s side, sliding in, then peeled away from the scene. We rode in silence while he glared at the road, speeding home.

I slid my phone out of my pocket. I needed to let Ian know what happened.

Called Jake to let him know already.

Dragon was in a car accident following us home.

It was bad.

25

SURPRISE

CHANCE

In the weeks following Dragon’s funeral, I moped around. I knew he was just an employee of mine, but he was someone I trusted, and I wasn’t sure I ever showed him how much I valued him in my life. Restoring his position was almost impossible. I declined everyone until Amber finally made me choose a replacement.

Ian and Luke interrogated the tattooed man with Vito Aggio at their side. He was reluctant to give up any whereabouts or information until Ian used brute force. He didn’t elaborate on his methods, and I wasn’t around to witness it.

Of course, it turned out he worked for Alejandro. He’d been sent to the club to take Amber. Unfortunately for him, when he noticed all the extra security, he wasn’t sure how to pull it off. He’d only planned to report back his findings.

Alejandro went deep into hiding, which meant eventually he’d resurface. Not even his men knew his whereabouts, or they were just exceptionally good at hiding their knowledge. Ian had them observed at all times. So far, it was like he’d just fallen off the face of the earth.

Ian needed to remain alert for the safety of his family, so he took a back seat at the club for a while. Luke continued to run operations, and Ian worked from home, focusing on his other companies while looking for solutions to the lingering problem.

Jenna and I were spending the beautiful autumn day together. While our mandatoryhang outday was long overdue, I was distracting her for Amber and Jade. She obviously had no idea I had ulterior motives.

Fall in Boston brought theleaf peepersand die-hard sports fans to town. The trees clung to the rich colored foliage, providing a picturesque kaleidoscope of autumnal colors; yellow, orange, red, and brown. Crisp breezes wafted through the air. Short sleeves were replaced with sweaters and jackets.

Our first stop was to visit Tyler. Mila and Jenna had been taking turns watching each other’s kids so they could visit him. Amber was watching Dylan and Kira today. Though he was healing on the outside, the internal damage was the main concern. He remained in the Intensive Care Unit and children under twelve weren’t permitted to visit unless they were saying their goodbyes. Thankfully, it hadn’t come to that.

As I pulled into a vacant parking space, I cut the engine. Jenna sniffled, pulling a tissue from her jacket pocket. I hovered my hand over the center console. She slapped her palm on mine, locking our fingers.

“Jen, these things can sometimes take a long time.”

Nodding, she lowered her head, erasing her tears with the tissue. “I know. I just need to get it out now so he can hear my positivity when I talk to him.”

“I understand.”

Jenna always wore her heart on her sleeve. She looked lost, her arm hooked in mine as I led her to her brother’s room. I peeked my head through the door. She took a forceful breath behind me.

He was still hooked up to so many machines. Bandages covered his body, tubes obstructed his face, though the sutures had since been removed. A deep scar on his left cheek and around his eyes remained etched in his body forever. The scene from that moment and bullet scar would be engraved in my mind forever, but the scars I wore could be hidden. Swallowing hard, she inched toward him with the coaxing of my hand on her back.

“Hi Ty,” she greeted him with faux happiness, fighting back a plethora of emotions. “Chance and I came to see you.”

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