Mike braced himself as a shot rang out, waiting for more pain, but none came. Seconds later he heard the scuffle behind him and a groan of pain. The team had gotten to Ron like he thought. One of them must have taken the shot.
“Sorry we let you get shot, dude,” Liam said, pulling him off of Destiny. “We were waiting for the right moment.”
“No worries. Help me get Destiny to an ambulance.” He tried sitting up, but the world started spinning and he fell back on his ass.
“Dude, you need an ambulance yourself. The one bullet went straight through your leg, but the one in your shoulder is still in there.”
“I’ll be alright. Destiny was in the condo the longest. She has smoke inhalation.” He tried sitting up again but didn’t make it any further.
“I’ll just go bring them over here to assess you both.”
Mike caught Liam’s arm before he could leave. “Wait, is Ron still alive?” He could look over, but he didn’t think he’d stay conscious with the movement. It was hard to breathe from the bruised ribs. Maybe one or two broken.
“Yeah, no way were we letting him off the hook that easy. Took a bullet to the shoulder. Clean shot. He’ll live.”
“Thanks,” Mike laid back down as his vision started winking in and out. The last thing he needed was a concussion.
His vision started to go as several EMTs ran toward them, more following with stretchers. That was good. That was his last thought before everything went dark.
Epilogue
Mike came awake slowly as if out of deep fog. He was no longer in front of Carol’s condo, but was instead in a sterile white room. An IV was coming out of his arm and a heart monitor beeped constantly next to him. He’d been in enough hospitals over the years to recognize them.
“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Carter called from next to him who wore a white coat and held a clipboard in his hand while he wrote on it.
“Where—” he started coughing when he realized how dry his throat was. Carter set the clipboard down, grabbed a cup of water from the table next to him and held it to his lips.
Mike hated feeling like an invalid needing Carter to help him, but his arms felt like lead.What the hell happened?
“Better?” Carter asked after he took a few sips.
Mike nodded. His throat didn’t feel like the Sahara Desert anymore. “Where’s Destiny?” He looked around, but the room was empty except for the two of them. “Is she here in the hospital somewhere?”
He’d never gotten a good look at her since he rescued her. He never checked to make sure she was live or not. His only thoughts had been to get her out of the condo.
Mike felt his heart squeeze in a vise when Carter didn’t answer right away. “Where is she? Dammit, Carter. Tell me before I get out of this bed and look for her myself.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” the voice of an angel said from the doorway.
Mike gasped seeing Destiny standing there looking whole and hale, even if she was currently scowling at him.
“I told you to get rest,” Carter scolded her. Mike didn’t like him talking to her like that.
“Come here.” He held out his good hand to her.
“So bossy.” She rolled her eyes, but came to his side anyway. “All of you.”
“Better get used to it.” He pulled her down when she stayed standing next him. He needed her closer. To feel for himself that she was safe.
“Your arm and leg.” She tried wriggling out of his grip, but he held her tighter.
“I need to feel you. I was so scared when I saw the fire and found you next to it.” Destiny stopped struggling and snuggled into him. She smelled of smoke, but he didn’t care. She was alive.
“It’s thanks to you I’m alive.”
“What happened?” he asked Carter. “The last thing I remember was the EMTs showing up.”
“They got Destiny on oxygen and rushed her here. I assisted in treating your wounds.”
