He released me from his grasp, his gaze intense. “All I know is he and Eli went to Florida yesterday to chase down a lead.”
My heart sank, a horrible premonition forming. “Do you think something happened?”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” he replied, his voice distant. Snapping his eyes back to me, he led me toward the bank of elevators and pressed the call button, the doors opening immediately. “Go upstairs and relax. I’ll do what I can to get in touch with him and make sure he contacts you immediately.”
“But–”
“Please, Miss Delano. Don’t stress about this. I assure you. I will let you know when I find out anything. Okay?”
I nodded just as the doors closed and the elevator whisked me to the twelfth floor of my building.
A thousand scenarios ran through my brain as I walked down the hall and into my condo, disarming the alarm. I fell onto the couch and closed my eyes, keeping my phone clutched in my hands, praying Tyler’s phone call would come.
~~~~~~~~~~
A LOUD KNOCKING ON my door startled me and I flung my eyes open, staring at my darkened living room. Slightly disoriented, I sat up on the couch, wondering for how long I had fallen asleep. The last thing I remembered was talking to Martin about Tyler, then going to my condo. I had planned to relax and watch some mindless television while I waited to hear from Tyler…
Tyler.
I snatched my phone off the couch, hopeful to see a missed call or text. When I looked at the screen and saw nothing, I grew more worried. The knocking at my door continued and I jumped up. I took several determined steps into the foyer and pulled open the front door.
“Did you find…?” I stopped short when I saw Martin standing there, panic in his eyes. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, the fear that something had happened returning. I didn’t know Martin well, but I knew enough to sense that something had to be amiss.
“What is it?” I asked in a small voice.
He unexpectedly reached for my hand and clasped it in his, his expression soft as he looked down at my small hand enclosed in his.
“Martin, please…,” I begged.
He cleared his throat and met my eyes once more. “There’s been an accident.”
“An accident?” I shrieked, my hands beginning to shake as a chill ran through me. “What kind of accident?”
“It took a great deal of digging to find out what I could. Tyler and Eli went to Florida yesterday to question someone who may have been able to help with the case, someone who had apparently served with your father. I don’t know the details, but the house exploded.”
I gasped, letting out a loud sob as I clutched onto Martin’s arms, unable to stand.
“Where is he?” I asked through the ache in my throat. There were a million things I had left unsaid with Tyler and I had no idea if I would ever be able to tell him everything.
“He’s in the trauma unit at Tampa General Hospital. I don’t know the status of either his or Eli’s condition, but I’ve been in contact with Alexander and he’s informed his mother and wife what’s going on. You’ll be heading to Florida with them to meet up with Mr. Burnham. Everything’s been arranged. I just need you to pack a bag, then I’ll take you to the airport.”
He ushered me inside my condo as I remained in a relative daze, still not truly comprehending what I just learned. All I knew was it sounded like Tyler was still alive… I hoped.
The entire drive to the airport was filled with thousands of scenarios of what really happened. I absently heard Martin on the phone, obviously irate with whomever he was speaking with, still unable to get any concrete answers about what was going on. This made me even more unsettled about what would greet me when I stepped off that plane in Florida.
I remained in a trance as Martin helped me onto the jet. The pilots and flight attendants introduced themselves to me, but their words went in one ear and out the other. Within minutes, both Colleen and Olivia climbed onto the plane, Melanie in tow. Olivia attempted to hide her emotions by keeping little Melanie occupied, constantly assuring her that her Uncle Tyler would be fine. Colleen was struggling to hold it together, her usual vibrant eyes full of the same emotion I was feeling…confusion, unease, dread.
I walked over to her and sat as we taxied toward the runway. Without saying a word, I took her hand in mine and we sat in heavy silence during the short flight to Florida.
Trying to fight back my tears, I feared I wouldn’t make it in time to tell Tyler what I should have said to him the last time I saw him. I vowed to never say goodbye to him again without uttering those three words that too many people took for granted… I love you.
Mackenzie
“HOW COULD THAT EVEN be possible?” a familiar voice bellowed through the lobby of the flight operations base in Tampa. I trailed behind Colleen and Olivia, little Melanie clutching her mother’s hand, while someone dealt with all of our bags. We all stopped dead in our tracks as Alexander paced the comfortable lobby, other passengers who were getting ready to take off in their own private planes staring at him in awe.
Melanie looked back at me and grinned. “Daddy’s working. That’s his work voice.”
I smiled for the first time all day, thankful for the break in the tension that had permeated the flight across the Gulf of Mexico.
“Hush, Melanie,” Olivia said. “Daddy’s just trying to figure out what’s going on. That’s all.”
“What happened, Mama?” she asked.
Olivia looked down at Melanie, then at me, then back at her daughter once more. Her little green eyes were alive with eagerness as she stared at her mother, waiting. “I don’t know, sweet pea,” Olivia finally said, caressing her daughter’s face in such a caring and doting manner. I instinctively placed my hand over my stomach, hoping I’d have that same bond with my son…and that Tyler would, as well. “But Uncle Tyler is hurt and we’re all here to make sure he gets better.”
“Like when I scraped my knee?” she asked.
“Exactly. Remember how Daddy kissed your boo-boo and made it all better after you had to get those stitches?”
She nodded.
“Well, that’s why we’re here.”
“Olivia, love,” Alexander’s voice cut through, but it wasn’t the same demanding, irate voice that was bellowing through the lobby just minutes ago. It was calm and serene, as if her presence was the only thing that could assuage his anxiety about what had happened to his brother.
“Alex…” She sighed into his embrace. I couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy at their exchange. He placed an affectionate kiss on her lips before turning his attention to Melanie. He swooped her up in his arms and spun her around, her infectious giggles lightening the mood.
“Did you miss me?” Melanie asked through her laughs.
“What kind of silly question is that? Is the sky blue?”
“Yes!”
“Then I missed you more than words can say, peanut.” He lowered her back to the ground, kissing her head in a loving manner.
“I’m going to kiss Uncle Tyler’s boo-boo to make it all better.”
Alexander’s solemn expression immediately returned, causing a rush of nerves to course through me. Despite everything I thought about who he was as a person, that one look conveyed his love for his brother, how distraught he was over the fact he was lying in a hospital bed with severe injuries.
“I’ve called the hospital,” he said in a firm voice, addressing all of us. “They wouldn’t give me details regarding his condition.”
“Is he conscious?” Colleen asked quickly, desperate for any sort of news that her son was okay.