“No,” she said grinning. “But I hope I do soon.”
Chase gave her shoulder a squeeze, then made his way to his car.
“Mr. Layton.” One of the security guards called to him at the perimeter of the set.
“Hey, Doug. What’s up?”
“Ms. Carson was here an hour ago.”
All Chase’s air whooshed from his lungs. He planted his hands at his hips and studied the ground. “What the hell is it going to take to get her to back the fuck off?”
“She wasn’t happy I wouldn’t let her on the set. She left in a huff.”
“Typical,” he said. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
Chase found his car in the lot and slid in. He was going to have to set some drop-dead limits on Lila. She wasn’t going to screw up his future with Zahara and the baby.
He turned over the engine, and his cell rang. Chase pulled the phone from his back pocket. Lila’s name lit up the screen. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth.
“This game is fucking over.” He took a breath and answered the call with “I don’t know how to say this nicely, Lila, so I’m just going to say it—”
“Hello?” A male voice filled Chase’s ear. He pulled the phone back to confirm Lila’s name filled the display then asked “Who is this?”
“Is this Mr. Layton?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Hello, sir. My name is Kyle Brown. I’m a paramedic with Vancouver Fire and Rescue. Your name and number was listed in the emergency contacts of Ms. Carson’s cell phone.”
His stomach dropped. “What…” Swirled with a sudden influx of fear. “What happened?”
“Ms. Carson was in a car accident, sir.”
His throat tightened. “Is she okay?”
“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t give out that information. She’s in route to Mount Saint Joseph’s hospital by ambulance at this time.”
“Ambulance?”
“Yes, sir.”
Chase thanked the paramedic and disconnected. “Shit.”
He searched Google for Mount Saint Joseph’s hospital and backed out of the parking spot, then called Zahara. But she didn’t answer and her voicemail clicked on.
“Hey, baby, I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m going to be late. I’ll explain when I get there. I’m coming, I promise. I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”
Anxiety and anger took turns gnawing at him on the drive to the hospital where Lila was taken, a different hospital from the one where Zahara was having her ultrasound. He pulled into the emergency room parking lot thinking the worst. At the reception window, he found himself out of breath.
“My friend was brought in by ambulance. She was in a car accident.”
“What’s her name, sir?”
He started to say her name, but realized she would never use it at a hospital. Very few actors used their real name at hospitals. Or hotels. Or even dinner reservations.
“Um…” He closed his eyes, searching his brain for the alias she’d used in the past. “Tina,” he said. “Tina See.”
Tennessee, her home state.