Page 143 of Payoff Pitch

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

TANNER

The next ten minutes are probably the worst of my life as a fear I’ve never before known sets in. The policeman first instructs me to keep her immobilized until the medics can arrive and properly move her.

Tears leak from her eyes, and she’s shaking, but she otherwise says nothing. I think she’s in shock. I do my best to reassure her when I’m anything but confident right now.

I whisper reassurances in her ear, reassurances that I don’t know to be true but know she needs to hear.

The ambulance finally arrives. They immediately immobilize her neck with a brace. It takes a little time, but they eventually carefully transfer her from the car onto a boarded stretcher.

At this point, I have blood dripping from my head, but that’s the least of my concerns. They want to put me on a stretcher too, but I refuse. They want to put me in my own ambulance. Again, I refuse.

“Sir, we need to check you out.”

“I’ll be in the ambulance with Bailey. You can check mein there if you must, but that woman is going nowhere without me.”

I grab her purse from the car before finally exiting the vehicle. My legs are wobbly, but I do my best to muscle through.

Shit, I might be concussed, but I don’t want to let on. I don’t want her to be alone.

I step onto the ambulance and end up sitting above her head so they can do whatever they need to do for her. They won’t let me take her hand. I gently rub her hair and face as space permits, praying to god that she’s okay.

She eventually whimpers, “Call Kam. I need her. Tell her not to tell Arizona. I don’t want to ruin her honeymoon.”

The cell phone in her bag starts ringing, and I pull it out. It’s Kamryn, so I answer. “Hello, Kamryn.”

“Something happened to my sister. I can feel it. Is she with you?”

“Yes. We’ve been in a car accident. She’s conscious but hurt. She…she can’t feel her legs. We’re in the ambulance. Meet us at Philly Hospital. She doesn’t want you to tell Arizona.”

“I swear to god, Montgomery, if this is as bad as it sounds, I will kill you with my bare hands.”

There are mumbled sounds of Kam and Cheetah arguing before I hear Cheetah’s voice on the phone. “Sorry man. She’s hysterical. Just worried about her sister. We’re on our way. Text me a room number when you get one.”

“I will.”

As soon as we arrive at the hospital, there must be thirty staff members waiting for us. What the hell?

They carefully remove her from the ambulance and set her on a gurney, wheeling her inside. I’m trying to keep up, but my vision is getting a little blurred. My legs are having trouble walking a straight line.

A tall blond man about my age approaches me. “Tanner Montgomery?”

“Yes.”

“My name is Brody Cooper. I’m the chief of the neurosurgery department, specializing in spinal injuries. Reagan Daulton is my sister-in-law. She seemed to know you were coming in and called ahead demanding we do everything we can for Bailey.”

I’m starting to see spots, and he grabs my arm. He instructs, “Linda, grab a wheelchair. Tanner, did you hit your head?”

“I…I don’t know. Maybe.”

He carefully helps me sit in the wheelchair before applying a soft item to the throbbing section of my head. He then flashes something in my eyes.

“Tanner, your head is bleeding and your pupils are blown. We need to get you a head CT to make sure there’s no internal bleeding.”

I slur, “No. I’m staying with Bailey.”

“She needs to get her imaging too. You’re not allowed in there with her. I’ll tell you what. You get the CT, and then I’ll have the nurse drop you in Bailey’s room. Technically you’re not allowed in because you’re not family, but if you cooperate, I’ll get you in.”