Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) by Lyssa Kay Adams

            Vlad sagged against the wall. His leg throbbed, but he barely felt it. “How could I just leave? Why didn’t I stay?”

            “Vlad! Get out here!” Michelle’s voice was a high-pitched panic.

            Malcolm and Mack each grabbed an arm, hauled him up, and helped him back into the hallway. Michelle stood at the front door.

            “A cop is here,” Michelle said, her hands coiled into a tense ball against her stomach. Neighbor Dog woofed and began to wag his tail.

            Noah strode forward and opened the door. Just in time, Colton grabbed Neighbor Dog’s collar to stop him from launching himself at the cop’s chest as he walked in. The officer introduced himself as Lt. Zamir Hammadi.

            “My wife,” Vlad sobbed, fear turning his muscles to useless rubber.

            “Sir, is your wife’s name Elena Konnikova?”

            Another sob broke free from his mouth. “Yes. Yes. Someone has taken her. She’s a journalist and—”

            “Sir, please listen to me. Your wife has been found.”

            His knees gave out, and once again, the guys had to grab him to keep him from falling. “Where? Is she okay? Is she hurt? Who had her?”

            The officer raised a hand. “Sir, I need you to calm down so I can answer all your questions.”

            “Vlad, let him talk,” Colton said. But even he was biting his nails.

            “What I can tell you is that she was involved in a car accident—”

            Vlad swayed again.

            “—but her injuries do not appear life-threatening. She has been taken to Nashville Memorial.”

            Vlad looked at Colton, who was already digging his keys out of his pocket. “Let’s go.”

            The officer sighed. “I’ll drive you.”

            “The rest of us will follow,” Colton said.

            Vlad ignored the pain in his leg and ran to the police cruiser parked in the driveway. As soon as the doors were shut and belts buckled, Vlad turned his best defenseman face to the police officer and said, “Tell me everything you know.”

            The details made his stomach clench again, and he was afraid he’d have to lean out the window and puke on the way to the hospital. A man had taken her from the parking lot of a hotel where she’d just checked in. She’d managed to secretly call 911 after texting him, and dispatchers heard everything. Including when she saved herself. And when the car crashed.

            “Your wife is incredibly brave,” Lt. Hammadi said.

            “I know,” he groaned. And he’d tried to make her feel guilty for it. He’d told her she was chasing a ghost, a lost cause. He’d pushed her away and straight into their trap.

            “Put your head between your legs, man,” Lt. Hammadi said. Vlad must’ve had gonna boot soon written all over his face. He obeyed, and a calming hand squeezed his shoulder.

            “She’s okay. She’s okay.”

            “She has to be. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

            “Make sure she knows it.”

            As they ate up the road, he vowed that he would. From this point forward, he would spend every minute of the rest of their lives making it up to her.

            “The driver of the car has been arrested. That’s all I know.”

            “He didn’t do this alone. She was working on a story. There were other people.”

            “And investigators will find them. You just focus on your wife.”

            They sped into the ER bay, and Vlad was out the door before the car had barely stopped. Behind them, Colton’s car screeched to a stop. He ran to catch up. “Everyone is behind me.”

            The officer joined him in a brisk jog. Which was good, because no one stopped them when they ran in. Vlad slammed his hands against the swinging automatic doors that stood between the waiting room and the ER beds. They eked open, and he swore at every millisecond it took before he could run through.