Free Sound Proof (Save Me #5) by Katheryn Kiden, Wendi Temporado

has to prepare himself for what he’s about to say, and that puts us all on edge.
    “Sage has been touch and go for a bit and is still in surgery and will be considered high risk for a while. She was in the front seat, wasn’t in a booster seat, and her airbag didn’t deploy.” He shakes his head and swallows hard before continuing. “Where she’s so small the seat belt wasn’t properly secured for her size causing her to be launched into the windshield. She has an orbital fracture, four broken ribs, and her right lung collapsed. Her shoulder is dislocated and has to be reset and she needs 3 pins in her ankle. She also ended up losing a lot of blood and is being transfused while in surgery.”
    Payton’s hands cover her mouth as she tries to stifle back her sobs. “Wh- when can I… are they going to be…” She can’t seem to get what she wants to say out, so I take over for her.
    “When can she see the girls? And are they going to be all right?”
    “Willow should be waking up soon, you can see her as soon as they move her into a room. As for Sage, it’s hard to say but I’ll come find you as soon as I have an update.”
    He starts to turn away but Payton’s father speaks up, his voice booming through the empty hallway. “What about that son-of-a-bitch, Max? And the person that pulled out in front of them?”
    The doctor’s face clouds over with the mention of Max and he grinds his teeth together. “He’s downstairs cuffed to his bed,” he bites out. “All he ended up with is a broken wrist and some cuts. As for the other person… she isn’t much older than Willow, seventeen I think. She was awake when they were pulling her out and she told them she’s only had her license for a few weeks. She went to stop at the light and hit the wrong pedal. The way they hit, it totaled her car and crushed both of her legs and pelvis. Her surgeon doesn’t think she’s going to walk again. I’ll come get you in just a bit.”
    Payton pulls herself away from me for the first time since I walked in and kept her from falling to the floor. Her father reaches out, grabbing onto the back of her shirt and signs something to her. Her hands move a mile a minute but she talks at the same time so at least I know what she’s saying. I really need to learn to sign.
    “Where the hell do you think I’m going, Dad? I’m going downstairs to make sure Max is all right… and then I’m going to kill him. I’m going to make sure he has every single wound he caused my daughters. And then I’m going to cut his dick off because he’d be fine with all those injuries as long as that damn thing still worked!”
    She spins around and marches out of my sight with her mother hot on her heels. Her father sighs beside me and shakes his head.
    “Should we go after her?” I ask.
    “He’s probably got a guard outside of his room. She won’t be able to touch him even if they do let her in the room.”
    I nod and make my way back to the chairs and sit. I pull my phone from my pocket and text Abby, letting her know what’s going on since I rushed out of her house like my ass was on fire. A pair of huge Redwings step into my view as soon as I hit send and I tilt my head up.
    “You’re him aren’t you?” her dad grunts. “The drummer guy…”
    I stand back up and reach out to introduce myself. “Yeah, that’s me. My name’s Andrew, but please just call me AJ.”
    “Roger,” he says, squeezing my hand a bit too tightly. After he drops heavily back into the chair on the opposite side of the hall, he stares at me. “Tell me the truth, because my daughter refuses to talk about anything. Are you why she left Max, or did she actually walk in on him with her secretary?”
    I squirm uncomfortably in my seat. “Sir, what you saw today is the most touching I’ve done to your daughter. For the past year and a half she’s worked her way into my heart, but as much as I want to, I haven’t attempted anything with her. I won’t lie to