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Zane heard him cry out, and caught a glimpse of spurting blood before his son crumpled.
Heart flailing against his ribs, Zane raced to the fallen child. His legs folded, and he dropped to his knees.
Go play third base.
Scared brown eyes. “I … don’t …”
Just do it.
Small shoulders slumped and short, hesitant legs trudging toward the base.
Go out there and get ‘em!
Zane looked at the child’s ashen pallor and closed eyes.
You pushed him too hard.
He saw the familiar, beloved face covered in blood.
You’re responsible for this.
The dam holding his past at bay exploded.
Against his will, Zane was catapulted backward in time, kneeling before a blood-spattered bathtub containing all that remained of his little brother.
Agony froze his muscles. Horror stole his breath.
Over the roaring in his ears, a dim corner of his mind registered Jen’s high-pitched scream for Miss Jillian. He felt the press of little murmuring bodies around him through a suffocating fog. “Trevor,” he gasped.
“C’mon,” the other coach ordered kindly. “Everyone scurry back to the dugout. Casey will be fine.”
The children scattered. At the end of a long, hazy tunnel, a stocky bald man appeared in Zane’s narrow field of vision.
The boy on the ground opened his eyes, whimpered, “Poppy, my nose hurts.” Then he began to cry.
Crouching next to Zane, the big man bent over the child. “Easy does it. You’re going to be right as rain in no time.”
Zane couldn’t get any oxygen. Wicked knives slashed his chest. He shook violently.
Blood. So much blood.Trev … God help him,Trev.
Zane closed his eyes, unable to look at his brother covered in gore. Swallowed hard against the bile clawing its way up his throat.
Life would never be the same.
His baby brother … his best friend … was dead.
All his fucking father’s fault.
And Zane shared the blame.
If only I’d gotten here sooner …
A woman’s voice echoed from the void on Zane’s other side. “Pop, we need washcloths and a cold pack.” Rustling noises. “It’s okay, sweetie. I know it hurts, but we’re gonna take care of you. Hang in there.”
Something touched his arm. “Zane, was he unconscious?”
He opened his burning eyes, saw nothing but streams of red.
