Hard Fall by Brenda Rothert

Chapter One

Wes

Present Day

“Wes…more!”The tall brunette, whose name I couldn’t remember, was pushing her tongue into my mouth as I slid my hands under her short black skirt. She was grinding on my lap, her long hair draped all over my chest as we kissed. “Please, Wes, I need you inside of me.”

“Easy, doll. We have all night.” I kissed her again, trying to remember if I had a condom in my wallet because I’d left my wallet and phone on the counter when we’d gotten to her place.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard my ringtone playing Queen’s “We Are The Champions” and the vixen in my lap momentarily pulled away. “Do you need to get that?”

“Nope.”

Who the hell could be calling me at midnight on a Tuesday night?

Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, it occurred to me it might be important—why else was someone calling me at this time of night?

Things were just heating up again when my phone rang for the second time, but I just tugged at her top, pulling it over her head so we could continue kissing. She had a fantastic body, one I’d been thinking about seeing naked for several hours, and it was starting to annoy me that the phone kept ringing.

So when I heard the chorus of “We Are The Champions” for the third time in as many minutes, I let out a huff of impatience as she looked at me through hooded eyes.

“Maybe it’s important?” she asked quietly.

“Shit.” I gently pushed her off my lap and got up, walking across the room to get my phone. I didn’t recognize the number but answered anyways.

“Yeah, this is Wes.”

“M-Mr. Kirby?” The female voice on the other end sounded young.

“Yeah, who is this?” I tapped my foot impatiently.

“M-my n-name is…Britney. I’m, um…” She sniffled. “I’m, uh, I’m Ben and Lauren’s b-babysitter.”

Was Ben and Lauren’s babysitter crying? Better yet, why was she calling me? I was hella confused. “Are the kids okay? Where are Ben and Lauren?”

She burst into tears. “I don’t know! Please, can you come over? The police are here and I was told to call you if I ever couldn’t reach them and now I don’t know what to do and—” She was crying so hard I could barely understand her.

“The police are there?” I was already zipping my jeans back up and feeling around for my keys. “Okay, I’m on my way. Don’t do anything until I get there.” I disconnected and whirled around to the gorgeous woman I’d abandoned on the couch. “I’m sorry—I don’t know what’s going on. The police are at my friends’ house and the babysitter is freaking right the fuck out.”

She looked a little suspicious. “You know, if you weren’t into me, you didn’t have to get one of your friends to call like that.”

I frowned. “Honey, if I wasn’t into you, I wouldn’t be here. Sorry, I really have to go.” I ran down the hall to the Emergency Exit stairs and took them down to the parking lot. I had no idea what was going on, but my best friend, Ben, and his wife, Lauren, had me as an emergency contact for them and their kids. Something was wrong.

Tonight was date night, according to Ben. He and Lauren tried to get a night away from three-year-old Annalise and six-month-old Benny once a month. Assuming the professional hockey team we played for, the St. Louis Mavericks, was in town and we had time off. We didn’t get much of that during hockey season, but that was why he went out of his way to make time for his wife.

They were probably my two favorite people in the world. Ben and I played for the Mavericks, but our friendship went all the way back to junior hockey. We’d been friends since we were fourteen and when he’d fallen in love with smart, sassy Lauren, I’d kind of fallen in love with her too. I was godfather to their children and we spent a lot of time together, both on and off the ice. So there was zero chance I wouldn’t go if they—or their babysitter—called.

At this time of night,it only took me about twelve minutes to arrive at their gated community, and I punched in the gate code since I was such a regular visitor. There was a police cruiser parked in front of the house and that scared me more than Britney’s phone call. I got out of my SUV and hurried to the front door, knocking briskly.

A uniformed officer opened the door and met my gaze questioningly. “Mr. Kirby?”

“Yeah. I’m Wes Kirby. What’s going on?”

Another officer came to the door and the two looked at me.

Something bad twisted through my chest, a feeling of foreboding, and I met their gazes directly. “What’s going on? Are the kids okay? Where’s Ben and Lauren?”

“There was a car accident,” the first officer said quietly. “Mr. Whitmer died on impact and Mrs. Whitmer died on the way to the hospital.”

“What?” I stared at them. “No. This has to be a mistake.”

“Mr. Kirby?” Britney came to the door, her eyes red and puffy. “Is it true?”

Now that she was standing there, I remembered meeting her a few times. She was a high school student who lived around the corner and the kids loved her. She helped Lauren sometimes when we were on the road too, so she could have a little time to herself.

“I don’t know anything yet, hon.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Are the kids sleeping?”

She nodded.

“Do you need to call your parents?”

“I just did.”

A moment later, a sleek black Mercedes pulled into the driveway and a couple who looked to be in their forties got out of the car. The woman ran forward, her eyes meeting mine in alarm.

“What’s happened? Where are Ben and Lauren? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” I was trying to breathe, trying to stay calm, because this didn’t feel real. There had to be a mistake.

“Officers, what’s happening here?” Britney’s dad was trying to play the tough guy, like being a badass was going to get us answers.

“Where are they?” I interrupted.

“They’re at County General,” the second officer said to me. “But—”

“I need to go there.” I turned to Britney’s mom. “I hate to ask, but could you please stay here with Britney and the kids so I can go figure out what the hell is happening?”

“Of course, go.” She nodded and then squinted a little. “You’re Ben’s friend. Wes, right?”

“Yes.” I met her gaze questioningly.

“Lauren spoke of you often.”

I didn’t know what to say to that so I simply nodded, and then turned and ran back to my SUV.

I calledBen’s phone on the drive to the hospital, but it went right to voicemail.

“Hey, this is Ben. Leave a message. If this is Lauren, I love you.”

Fuck.

This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be true. I refused to believe it until I saw it with my own two eyes.

Impulsively, I tried Lauren’s number next, but it, too, went straight to voicemail.

“Hey, it’s Lauren. You know what to do after the beep. If this is Ben, the reason I’m not answering is because I’m busy with your children. But I love you anyway.”

God, those two.

My heart was practically in my throat now, and I was getting that bad feeling again. I couldn’t even fathom the idea that something had happened to them.

On impulse, I called our friend and teammate Nash Reilly.

“You realize it’s fucking one o’clock in the morning and—”

I cut him off. “Ben and Lauren were in a car accident. I’m on my way to County General. Can you meet me?”

“Jesus, they all right?”

“I think it’s bad, Riles.”

“I’m on my way.” He disconnected and my knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel, turning into the main entrance of the hospital. I pulled into a spot outside the emergency room and went inside.

There was a tired-looking nurse at the front desk and I approached her at a fast clip.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Ben and Lauren Whitmer.”

The nurse frowned. “I don’t think we have anyone by that name…” Her voice trailed off as she typed into her computer. Then her face changed a little. “Oh. I’m sorry, who are you?”

“I’m…a friend of the family. The police came to the house to tell us there was some kind of accident.” I met her gaze, losing hope with each passing second as I watched the emotions on her face. “Do you have any information you could tell me?”

“I’m afraid I can only talk to immediate family or—”

“It’s all right, Jan.” One of the policemen from the house had obviously followed me here. He placed a hand on my shoulder and walked me a few feet away from the desk area. “Mr. Kirby, your friend and his wife didn’t survive the accident. I’m very sorry.”

“You can’t…” My voice trailed off and I swallowed. There was something scratchy behind my eyes and I stood there, frozen. “Are you sure?” I finally whispered.

“We’re so sorry, Mr. Kirby. Do you know who we might call for them? Is there family? We’ll have to call CPS for the children unless—”

“No, I’m, I’ll…I’m their godfather. I’ll go back there tonight. I just…can I see them?”

“I’m not sure. Let me find out.”

The officer went back to the front desk while I stood stock-still. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. I didn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe it.

“Wes!” Nash came in a few seconds later and the moment he saw me, his step faltered. “Wes?”

“They’re gone, Riles.” I couldn’t even look at him.

“Jesus, no.” He stopped a foot or so away from me. “Are you sure?”

“I, uh, yeah, I think so.” I looked up as the officer approached me.

“Would you like to see your friends? The nurse, Jan, said we can let you in there real quick.”

“I…” My voice trailed off. I’d never seen a dead body. Not up close anyway, and definitely not belonging to my best friend.

“Once they move them to the morgue, you won’t be allowed down there,” the officer said gently.

“Yes. I…yes.”

My feet felt like huge slabs of concrete as I followed the nurse down a nondescript hallway. We walked past all the regular rooms, to a secluded one in the back. The nurse opened the door and I steeled myself before stepping inside.

“No.” My breath left me in a rush and I sagged against the wall. “Fuck, no.” I squeezed my eyes shut and fought against the moisture gathering there, but it was no use.

Ben and Lauren were gone.

Ben. My best friend. My brother. Our team captain. The yin to my yang for fifteen years.

“NO!!!” The word left my chest in a guttural roar and I squatted down to my haunches because I no longer had the strength to stand. I hung my head, pain unlike anything I’d ever felt ripping through my gut.

This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be happening.

But it was. Ben and Lauren were gone and I had no fucking idea how I was going to get past this.