Edge by Brenda Rothert Read Free Book Online Page A

we took the game 5-1, the guys were in the mood to celebrate. Tanner took it easy on the post-game analysis, letting us savor the win. Niko told me my attendance at the bar they liked to party at was mandatory, but I was planning to beg off. I wanted to take Dell out to dinner right now. I planned to shower, get my suit on, and make plans to meet up with her without anyone noticing.
    I didn’t care where we went. We’d be alone and not working on my game. That was all that mattered.
    Rifling through shit in my locker, I located my phone and pulled it out to search for a restaurant. A text from Ryke greeted me on my home screen: kickass, bro . I smiled to myself. He’d been following my games. Damned if that guy wasn’t my brother in every sense of the word.
    A message below that one from my younger sister Lindy made my brow furrow: call me ASAP. Urgent.
    Lindy and I didn’t talk much. She lived in a Chicago suburb, where she worked in marketing. My mind swam with possibilities about what could be wrong, and I decided I couldn’t wait ’til after I showered to call her. I took my phone to the empty weight room and dialed her.
    “Luke. Thank God,” she said, her voice tight.
    “You okay, Lin?”
    “I’m okay. It’s Dad.”
    My heart thudded like an approaching freight train. As much as I resented the old man, deep down I loved him.
    “What is it?” I asked, dread constricting my chest.
    She burst into tears, but talked through them. “He was in a car accident. We’re at the hospital.”
    “Shit. Is he hurt bad?”
    “Yeah.” She sniffled and took a breath. “His pelvis is messed up really bad and his head has a huge cut. They’re still working on him to figure out everything that’s wrong.”
    “Is he conscious?”
    “He wasn’t when they brought him in, but he is now.”
    I sighed deeply. “Okay. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
    “Good. I’m scared about what to do.”
    “All you can do is wait, Lin. Let the doctors do their work. We’ll make sure he’s in the best place he can be and get him transferred if we need to.”
    There was a pause on her end of the line. “That’s not what I mean. The police are here, Luke. They’re waiting for the doctors to let them question him. Should I tell them they can’t go in?”
    A thread of white-hot anger wove its way into my chest. “What are the cops doing there?”
    “I don’t know. There was, um, another car involved, and—”
    “Was he drunk?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Don’t fucking lie to me, Lindy.” This ominous, measured tone was reserved for when I was truly pissed. “Remember who put you though college and bought your apartment. Was he drunk?”
    “I—” Her voice broke. “That’s what they want to test his blood for and question him about, I think. What should I do?”
    “Nothing,” I said sharply.
    “But …? Can you call an attorney?”
    “Why the fuck would I do that?” I demanded, crouching to the floor to drop my head between my legs and slow the dizzying rush of blood.
    “He could get in serious trouble.” Lindy’s admonishing tone made me want to lash out with my fists and damage something.
    “Sounds like he already did.”
    “Yeah, but … he’s in so much pain. That’s punishment enough.”
    I shook my head at her stupidity. “Are the other people hurt? The ones he hit?”
    “I think they’ll be okay. The lady has a sling on her arm.”
    “What a stupid, selfish bastard,” I muttered.
    “Luke—”
    “Do not defend him. He doesn’t think of anything but himself and his next drink. I’ve had it.”
    “When you see him, you’ll—”
    I cut her off, standing up. “I’m not coming.”
    “But you said—”
    “That was before I found out he was drunk. I’m done, Lindy. He cheated on Mom and stole from her. She died brokenhearted because of that lowlife asshole. He’d goddamned lucky he didn’t kill someone.”
    “He doesn’t have anyone else.” Lindy’s hurt tone disgusted