I try moving, but my body feels like a wet bag of cement. It’s a struggle to move any of my limbs.
Fuckkkk!
One of the monitors connected to me beeps faster and louder than before. Karen rushes back inside my room.
“Your blood pressure is going up, Mr. Masterson.” She places her hand on one of my shoulders. “Please calm down and stop moving around so much.”
I want to tell her to fuck off, but I can tell it would be wasted on Suzy sunshine.
“Are you in pain? I can increase the morphine drip if we need to.”
I shake my head no as I try to calm myself. The last thing I need is to be comatose while I figure out how I’m going to get my ass out of this bed and get to my family.
“Oh, I almost forgot, the previous shift left a sticky note on your chart. The directions were to give it to you once you woke up.”
The note simply reads:I got you. -Cam
An unfamiliar emotion fills my chest and clouds my head. I am so frustrated that I could cry, and I don’t think I’ve really cried since I first found my mother passed out in our apartment and thought she was dead. I feel utterly helpless.
I am furious at Camden for leaving me in a hospital alone with no word about my family except for the cryptic-ass sticky note he left. I love that boy like a brother, but the next time I see him, I’m kicking his ass.
“I’ll be right back, Mr. Masterson.”
Karen returns with a fresh bag of liquid to attach to my IV. I try lifting my arm to stop hers but it won’t cooperate so I just stare menacingly at her instead. The little girl doesn’t even flinch. In fact, I almost think she thinks this is foreplay. She can’t keep her eyes off of my ink.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Masterson.” She grins. “I’m just replenishing your fluids and giving you a little something to calm you down so you can rest.”
“I don’t want to rest!”I scream inside of my head, but whatever poison she injects into my veins works its magic and weighs heavily on my eyelids until they both shut completely.
I have no choice but to allow myself to drift off into a state of medicated unrest. The only thing I can hope for is that I’ll see Elizabeth and Knox in my dreams.
19
ROMAN
“Where are they?”
As soon as my eyes open again the first thing I do is search for Elizabeth and Knox. Sadly, they’re not here, but my assistant Jade is. Her small body is crouched like a tiger in a hospital room chair, not paying me any attention, wearing a crooked smile as she texts someone.
“They’re not here yet,” she responds while still typing on her phone.
“Why?”
I try turning on my side so she’ll look at me.
“Stop panicking or I’ll have Nurse Ratched turn up the morphine drip,” she warns.
“I don’t panic.”
“I guess your voice feels better. The doctor said you were having trouble talking, but you seem to have plenty to say now.”
I didn’t even notice, but she’s right. My throat feels a lot better. How long have I been asleep?
“How far away are they?” I ask. “Because the Russians—”
“Stop.” She holds her hand up. “Last time your beloved checked in with me, which was like five minutes ago”—Jade rolls her eyes for dramatic effect—“she was about an hour from the station.”
“You talked to her?”
