“Damn, Angel. Already topless and on your knees for me?” he laughs, then lifts his arm to cover his mouth as he coughs. When he pulls his arm away, blood is splatteredacross his skin. “Well, fuck. That can’t be good, can it, Dex? You’re the expert.”
“Fuck,” Dex whispers. “You’re gonna be fine, bud! Plus, you still owe me that drink, remember? I think I’ve changed my mind now though. I want a glass of Van Winkle’s special reserve. The twenty-year-old one.”
“That shit runs over fifty grand for a bottle. Fuck you. Just let me die. It’ll be cheaper,” Cash chuckles before another coughing fit hits him.
Alexandria shifts to sit up higher on her knees. She grabs Cash’s face and makes him look right at her.
“Hey! Listen to me. No one is dying! Do you hear me? No one. I’ll cover half the cost of the Van Winkle. Just promise me you won’t die.”
A single tear slides down her cheek. Cash lifts his hand. Using his thumb, he wipes her tear before cupping her cheek.
“Cover three-quarters of that damn bottle and it’s a deal.”
“Deal.”
She lowers back to the floor to add more pressure. Her gaze is lost and distant. I look and see Cash’s hand covering hers. I’ve never seen her look so scared and broken. I don’t know what the fuck happened up there between them, but I don’t want to ask.
“Hey. You know what’s kinda funny?” she asks with an awkward laugh.
“What’s that, Angel?”
“You said I would be the one to get shot…Guess you were wrong on that one.”
“I did say you would be a distraction…”
“I’m sorry,” her voice trails off as she lowers her head.
“Hey,” he says softly. Her eyes lift back to him. More tears are trailing down her cheeks. He wipes them again. She places her hand over his against her cheek. “You’re a great distraction, Angel. Don’t forget that.”
His head leans back against the seat. I watch Alexandria’s eyes widen as her hand grips onto his.
“Cash?” Her voice cracks.
His arm goes limp in her hold. Her broken scream echoes.
“Cash!”
CHAPTER 36
Myles
Dex had called to let them know that we were on the way with a man with a gunshot wound and a woman with severe lacerations, chemical burns, and completely unresponsive. When we pulled up to the door to the ER, everything was in slow motion. Two teams of medical staff came out with gurneys. They loaded Cash on one and Mina on the other.
Their bodies were completely motionless. They rushed them inside and through a set of double doors. Alexandria and I ran after them, but a security guard stopped us both. Another doctor came out, and after much arguing back and forth, we agreed to wait in the waiting room.
Everyone else in the waiting room moved away from us as we sat down. That was almost five hours ago. No one has come out to see us. When we ask what’s going on, no one has answers. Alexandria, Dex, and I have been sitting here panicking. Every time a doctor comes rushing out, we jump to our feet. Every time an alarm goes off for a Code Blue, we go running to those doors only to be turned away.
Visiting hours are well past, but that doesn’t fucking matter. I told them we aren’t leaving until we see them. When they argued with us, I called Fabian and had a donation made to this hospital. When you become one of the highest donation benefactors, they let certain things slide.
“Hey. I think I got something,” Dex says quietly.
“What is it?” Alexandria asks. Her head has been on my shoulder. She tears up every time she looks down at herself. She tried to wash up the best she could, but Cash’s blood still stains her skin. The staff gave us each a set of clothes since ours were either missing or stained with blood.
“I was able to hack into their system, and I can see the files. I just have to find Cash and Mina…”
He types away on his phone. Alexandria nervously looks over his shoulder. In the four minutes it’s taken him to find anything, I don’t think I have even breathed. What if he finds out one of them didn’t make it…or both of them?
“Mr. Langston?” My name sounds foreign to me when the doctor calls it. All three of us get up and rush to the doctor.
