I check Ethan’s arm. There’s so much blood, I can’t tell if the bullet came out of the other side or not.
People walking by are looking at us funny and it won’t be long until someone calls the cops for us.
“Teeny, see if you can flag down a cab.”
Maybe if I can get him to our room, I can wash his arm and see how bad it is.
She’s at the curb, scanning the street, and then runs back to me. “Sissy, I don’t see one. And I’m scared Mateo is going to come back. I don’t like sitting here.”
Mateo’s words run through my brain—There’s nowhere to hide. No matter where you go, I will find you.
I’m not prepared to outmaneuver Mateo, especially with Ethan injured. I can’t even get us two blocks from where we were attacked. He may wake up any minute and he’s going to be even more pissed off. If I call an ambulance and take Ethan to a hospital, what will stop Mateo from coming there?
I feel sick. I want to call Dad, but his cell doesn’t work on that island and I don’t know how to call that satellite phone.
I should have killed Mateo, because he won’t hesitate to kill me.
Tyler’s face with his fresh stitches pops into my head. Thomas stitched him up. And Thomas may be the only match for Mateo. Maybe he can fix Ethan’s arm, too.
My mind spins as I consider our dwindling options…take my chances against an unknown assassin or trust the assassin I know?
“Wait here, Teeny. I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” she yells at me as I’m almost across the street.
“I’ve got to make a call.”
Tyler screeches to a stop on the street right in front of where Ethan is passed out in the doorway. It took him less than four minutes to get here, so that means they’re still in the Quarter somewhere.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Teeny says for the fifteenth time. “He needs a doctor.”
“Teeny, Mateo shot him right off a busy street. Do you really think he won’t come for him in a hospital? At this point I’m just trying to keep us alive for the next couple of hours. I can’t think past that right now.”
Tyler goes straight for Ethan and manages to get him over his shoulder with little effort. This is the second time he’s carried him in an unconscious state and chills race down my spine that I have made the worst decision ever. I didn’t know who else to call, and then I remembered he told me at Ursuline that he kept his same number.
I follow Tyler to the car and help get Ethan in the backseat, while Teeny gets in on the other side next to him.
“I have to ask you to put your heads down before we can go.” Tyler’s face is black and blue but I don’t feel sorry for him at all.
We both duck down and then we’re racing through the Quarter and headed right back in the lion’s den.
As Thomas helps Tyler get Ethan out of the car, I wait for the anger or frustration or something similar from Thomas. Surprisingly it doesn’t come. I’ve decided Thomas is a sociopath without emotion.
We follow them through an iron gate, and it’s not what I expect. It’s like an oasis plopped down in the middle of this building and hidden away from the noise-filled streets of New Orleans. There’s a small pool and several brick pathways that weave around overflowing flower beds and overfilled pots leading to secluded seating areas. The inside walls are peppered with old French doors and gaslights and the hanging baskets attached to the second-story balcony drip with trailing plants. I have no idea if we’re still in the French Quarter but wherever we are, it’s beautiful.
They take Ethan up an outside set of stairs through one of the sets of French doors. It’s a huge bedroom, probably twice the size of our hotel room, and has really expensive-looking antique furniture. They set Ethan down in the center of a queen-size bed.
Thomas stands over him but doesn’t move to help him in any way. “What happened?”
I gently crawl on the bed and get as close to Ethan as I can. “Mateo found us. We ran from him but he cornered us in an alley. He shot Ethan, then kicked him in the head. Teeny and I got Ethan a few blocks away from the alley but then he threw up and passed out.”
Thomas crosses his arms in front of him and continues to study Ethan.
“How did you get away from him?” He’s showing more expression on his face than I’ve seen this entire time.
“I hit him in the head with a beer bottle and knocked him out.”
A ridiculous grin spreads across his face.
