Death would’ve been easier, but the agony in Ollie’s cries never would’ve made it worth it. “Mia! Someone fucking talk to me!” he screamed out. My eyes shot open to see a crowd of unfamiliar faces staring straight ahead. I tried to get up when someone pushed my shoulders back down. Ethan appeared out of nowhere, taking my hand into his at my side as I was wheeled across Dolor grounds. Ollie’s frantic voice drifted through the morning chill. I couldn’t see his face, but the sound of his voice caused what was left of my soul to rip into fragments, small enough to be carried away by the wind.
“She’s losing too much blood,” one of them said. Big brown eyes peered down at me. “You have to stay with us, darling. You have to stay awake.”
“Ethan, go with her,” another male’s voice stated as Ethan’s face expressed nothing to my left, his hand gripping mine tightly, showing more than his eyes could say.
“Get off me!” Ollie screamed. “Mia!”
The doors to the ambulance closed. I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was thick, and my brain cloudy.
Ethan pulled my hand over his lap as he took a seat, eyes locked on mine, jaw tensing.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Let’s runaway with freedom inour eyes,
to a place measured in rapture,
and clocks a sign ofthe times.
We could chase the moon, outrun the sun.
No cages to keep us hostage, only bound by love.
Let’s catch fire and dance inthe wind.
Forget this fucking place,
let’s just …
r u n aw a y ...”
—Oliver Masters
ollie.
MY HEART HIT ROCK BOTTOM, and my chest caved. A shattered cry ripped through my throat as I fought against the two who held me back from her.
Jerry and Jinx finally released me as the ambulance rolled away, and I charged toward Lynch whose stance faced the descending bus with Mia inside.
“Lynch!” I shoved him from behind with both hands. “You have to let me go!” Lynch stumbled forward but refused to turn around and face me. Seconds later, Jerry and Jinx’s hands wrapped around my biceps to keep me back. “Look at me, you sorry fuck!”
Lynch turned around slowly, his face pale and eyes reeked of guilt.
We stared at one another.
My vision clouded and my chest heaved. A scorching ache lived inside my chest, making it difficult to breathe. “You have to let me go to her,” I pleaded, and snatched my arms from the two blokes. Taking a step forward, a blast of November morning wind swirled around us, and I should be cold—no shirt, no shoes—only the joggers with Mia’s blood soaked through and smeared over my skin. “Please,” I begged. “She’s my fiancé.”
My blood-covered hands shook at my sides as I stood there waiting. Every second felt like an eternity in these tears. If I had to wait any longer for a response, I was scared of what I could be capable of doing to him, to all of them, to get to her. Demented thoughts tangled its dirty web inside me, wanting to break me.
But Lynch was afraid to speak. He was too afraid to do anything, hadn’t bloody moved at all. Paralyzed. “You care about her,” I managed to get out. “You fucking care about her!”
Lynch’s wide brown eyes locked on mine, and all I saw in them was Mia.
Suddenly, it hit me.
All at once, everything became clear, and I shook my head. “No, that can’t be right … ” I mumbled to myself, pushing my fingers through my hair and down my face. I had to be losing it.
“Not another word,” Lynch said through gritted teeth. “Go get dressed. Five minutes. You’re coming with me.”
