Kings of Linwood Academy - The Complete Box Set: A Dark High School Romance Series by Callie Rose (sight word books .TXT) 📕

Before I can answer, the tow truck I called while I was waiting for the guys to arrive trundles around the corner. I found a receipt from a mechanic in the glove box, and I told him to take it there.

We don’t speak as we wait for the guy to hook the bashed-up car to his truck and haul it away, but I can tell Dax and Chase are still trying to wrap their heads around what I told them.

When all that’s left at the scene of the accident is some broken glass and pieces of a busted taillight, we all pile into Dax’s car. Chase gives me the front seat, then sits in the middle of the back so he can poke his head forward between the two seats.

“We gotta tell Linc and River about this,” he mutters, chewing on his lip.

“Not over text. Nothing in writing.” I turn to face him too quickly, and the sudden movement makes my head pound.

“Right.” He nods. “I’ll tell them to meet us at our place. After we take you to the ER.”

“What? No, I don’t need to—”

“Fuck yeah, you do. You’re bleeding from the head, Low. You were just in an accident. I don’t care if you found out the damn Easter Bunny killed Iris; you’re getting checked out before we do anything else.”

I sputter uselessly, glancing at Dax to see if he’ll back me up—but the look on his face tells me I’m shit outta luck on that count. I’ve never been to the Lauder boys’ house before, but when he puts on his turn signal and takes a left onto a recently plowed street, I’m certain he’s not taking me to their place just yet.

Deciding it’s not worth putting up a huge fight about it, I lean back against the headrest, letting my eyes drift closed.

“He set my mom up,” I mutter. “He wants her to go to jail, maybe for the rest of her life, so he can get away with murdering the teenage girl he knocked up.”

“It’s not over, Low.” Dax’s voice is low in my ear, filling my senses as I block the rest of the world out. “We won’t let him get away with it. We’ll find a way to stop him.”

“From what you said, it doesn’t seem like he figured out you made the connection between him and the man in the mask—hell, he might not even know you saw anything at all, since he didn’t hear what you said to Dunagan the night your mom got arrested,” Chase adds.

“Maybe.”

My thoughts start spiraling again, and I blink my eyes open as the world I was trying to block out comes crashing back in. I can’t keep it away for long, no matter what I do.

The three of us fall into a loaded silence that stretches out until we reach the hospital. There’s so much to say, but I get the feeling we’re each waiting until we join up with the other two boys. We all need to be together for this.

And besides, I have no fucking idea what to say. I agree with Dax’s sentiment wholeheartedly. We can’t let Judge Hollowell get away with this.

But how the hell do we stop him?

I don’t have the first damn clue.

Our stint in the ER waiting room isn’t long, and after about fifteen minutes, we’re ushered into a room. A man named Doctor Liley comes in and examines me, asking me questions about the accident as he shines a light in my eyes and tests my reflexes.

He gives the twins—who insisted on coming in and are flanking me on either side, each holding one of my hands—the same look Walt gave them, like he’s trying to figure out exactly what’s going on between all of us.

Jesus. I wonder what kind of look he’d give us if all four of the guys were here.

After running his diagnostics, cleaning the cut on my forehead, and examining my bruise, Doctor Liley steps back.

“Everything looks okay, Harlow. That bruise will take a few days to go down, and you’ve got very minor whiplash. No need for a brace, I don’t think. Just be mindful of your activity levels for the next couple weeks and don’t strain it. You can take Advil for the pain.”

Relief floods me. I can deal with some pain. I became a master at handling discomfort during my cancer treatments, which made me feel like shit most of the time.

What I can’t handle right now is slowing down. There’s too much to do, too much to fucking figure out. I can’t waste any time.

“Thanks.”

I move to slip off the table, but Dax and Chase both tighten their grips on me, refusing to let me go just yet.

“That’s it?” Chase questions. “Just Advil? Anything else we should be doing? Or not letting her do?”

Doctor Liley’s lips tilt up at the corners, as if he finds it mildly amusing that these boys think they could stop me from doing something if I set my mind to it.

Which, you know, it kind of is.

“Just make sure she doesn’t play any contact sports for a few weeks. And keep an eye out for any changes in mood, behavior, or sleeping patterns. As I said, everything looks good, but those would be the symptoms of a more severe brain trauma, and we’d want to address that right away.”

“You got it, doc.” Chase gives my hand a little tug, helping me off the table. He wraps his arms around me, his blue-green eyes glinting with humor that can’t quite disguise the worry lurking in their clear depths. “Hear that, Low? No more rugby for you.”

I roll my eyes and poke him in the ribs, and Dax throws an arm around my shoulder when his brother releases me. The doctor is still gazing at us curiously as the guys escort me out of the room, but I ignore the feel of his stare. I guess this is stuff I’ll have to