The man shrugs. “I’m not sure. We got here at the tail end as you were flipping. Tommy went after one of the cars that took off, but the other two scattered. I decided to check to see if you were alright.”
“I’m fine. Well, not bad, at least. However, my friend was knocked out. I need to get him out of the car and somewhere safe.”
“Let me see what we can find.” He slides a phone out of his pocket as he walks away.
I can’t make out his conversation, going around to the driver’s side to see if I can get Marcus out. I kick the glass out of the way before kneeling carefully. I lean in, shaking my friend gently.
“Marcus. Come on buddy, I need you awake.” I hold my breath, but he doesn’t respond. “Fuck. Come on, Marcus. If you don’t wake up now Keegan is going to kick my ass.”
He lets out a groan and I exhale in relief.Fuck.He whimpers and mutters, “What the fuck just happened?”
Snorting, I reply, “I asked the same thing. I don’t have an answer for you, but we need to get you out of here. Can you move?”
His eyes open, and with a moan, he slowly moves his head side to side. I know Sarah will probably kill me later for letting him move and not keeping him stable, but fuck, we need to get out of here. Thankfully, he seems to be alright, aside from the blood on his face. When he touches it, he immediately flinches.
“Fuck. That hurts like hell.”
“I think you have some glass embedded. Better leave it be until we can get somewhere safe. It’s not bad enough that you’re at risk of bleeding out.”
He grunts an acknowledgement, his hands going to his seat belt buckle. I reach in to help him, but don’t manage to grab him fast enough. I cringe at the sound of his impact on the ceiling.Fuck, that’s got to hurt.
Cursing, he manages to wiggle out through the window with my help. It takes a moment to get him to his feet, and he leans against the car, breathing heavily.
“Shit, we’re fucked.” I don’t disagree as I reach for my phone, but he stops me. “We need to think this through…”
I bite back a whimper, wanting to call my Daddy, but damn if he isn’t right. We don’t know who the fuck is behind this. I whirl around at the sound of a car coming toward us fast, puttingmyself in front of Marcus, who is too disoriented to watch his own back.
“Hey, it’s one of ours,” the man claiming to be Ely’s calls out as he walks toward us. I don’t relax my position until the car comes to a stop and the door opens, revealing an unhappy Ely.
“Get the fuck in,” she snaps, tilting her head toward the backseat, as she’s in the passenger seat. It’s not Daniel in the driver’s seat, so I keep my mouth shut from asking any questions.
Marcus and I barely make it in before the car takes off again. Given the green tinge to Marcus’s skin, I’m assuming he’s not enjoying this joy ride either. Whoever taught the driver his skills—or lack thereof—needs to be fucking shot.
I can’t hear what the two in the front are saying, not over the music they’re playing. Given the way the guy is driving, I would have expected something more along the lines of metal—not classical string arrangement, but whatever works, I guess.
By the time we slow to a stop, Marcus is leaning heavily against the door, sweat pouring off him. I fight the need to call Dr. Ranlen until we have an idea of what the hell is going on. Hopefully, Ely has someone on hand here who can at least take a look at my friend.
I step out of the car and go around to Marcus’s side, helping him out so he can lean against me. His weight settles into my side and I carefully maneuver us toward the front door. I wrinkle my nose as I stare at the dilapidated house in front of me. Hell, the fucking shutters aren’t even on all the way.
“Come on,” Ely commands. “We don’t have all day to wait for you.”
Swallowing hard, and trying not to mutter about potential tetanus, I slowly enter the house. Blinking, I glance around in shock. Alright, so it looked like shit outside, but the inside is surprisingly nice. Roomy even. Granted, not on the level of theMartelli Mansion, or our new home, but still. Far better than I expected.
Stiffening at the sound of a baby crying, I cut my eyes toward Ely, who hurries off. I help Marcus further into the house, aiming for the first seat I see. Slowly, I help him sit on the recliner before stepping back. I can make out the sound of Daniel and Ely, and debate whether I should move closer to hear what they’re saying. When Marcus whimpers, I sigh and set aside my need to snoop. Kneeling down, I cup Marcus’s non-bloody cheek, and grimace when I see the other side. Fuck. There’s more glass than I expected.
“I do not want them here!” Daniel’s roar has me popping up and turning around, ready to face him down.
We don’t have any other options right now. Ely’s response is covered by the ear-piercing whine from the baby—holy fuck are babies supposed to be that loud?
The man from the driver’s seat enters the room, and hell, I didn’t even notice he wasn't here in the first place. But at least he’s bringing medical supplies. There’s a couple towels on his arms, a bowl of water, tweezers, and gauze.
I go to reach for them, but his haughty voice stops me. “Unless you have a medical degree I don’t know about, you can back up.”
“Uh, no. Sorry, I wasn’t aware that…uh…”
“That we had more than just muscle? Typical.” He sniffs as he pulls on gloves and starts working on my friend. I open my mouth to defend myself, as that isn’t what I meant, but he cuts me off. “I don’t want to hear it. Just sit down, shut up, and I’ll let Daniel and the rest of them deal with you.”
I close my mouth, clenching my teeth tight so I don’t say something. Whoever the fuck this is, at least he seems to know what he's doing, but fucking hell if he doesn’t have a worse bedside manner than Sarah and Doc combined.
