Kade held the metal entry door open for me. I remained silent as I walked through the threshold. The smell of antiseptic and cleaning products invaded my nostrils. I couldn’t believe the sight before me.
In front of me, men and women in scrubs scurried through the warehouse that had been turned into a medical facility. Medical beds and machines were scattered throughout the vast space. Privacy curtains shielded me from seeing behind them. I turned around to face Kade and Machine. “What is this?” My bottom lip began to tremble.
Kade’s eyes softened. “I’m not the monster that you think I am.” Before he could continue, I heard a voice that I did not expect.
FORTY-ONE
EVELYN
“Evelyn.” The sound of Buddha’s voice made tears well up in my eyes from relief. I turned around just in time for Buddha to scoop me up in his arms. An acrid scent stung my nostrils. He smelled like a campfire. I let out a sob of relief as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
Buddha cradled the back of my head with his large hand as he tried to soothe my cries.
“It’s going to be okay. Shhh,” he whispered into my ear. He placed me back on the ground and cupped my cheeks before glancing behind me and then back to me with a confused expression. “Where’s Arrow?”
I clasped my hands over Buddha’s, shaking my head. I closed my eyes and willed myself to say the words that I knew would crush him.
“He’s…. he’s gone…” I squeezed my eyes shut as another wave of grief hit me.
Buddha let go of my face as if my skin burned his hands. He shook his head in disbelief before a hard, angry expression took over his face. I’d never seen Buddha angry before. He stormed around me and swung his fistat Kade’s jaw.
“What the fuck did you do?!” he yelled as he swung a second time.
Kade dodged the swing, punching Buddha in the gut. Machine and I tried to intervene between the two. My hands pressed on Buddha’s chest as we separated them.
“I want to know what the fuck is going on, Romano!” Buddha roared. His heartbeat hammered under my hands.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Machine whispering to Kade, who looked animalistic as his chest heaved. “If I wasn’t fucking getting sucker-punched every five seconds, I would explain what the fuck happened!”
I tapped on Buddha’s chest before turning around to face Kade. The adrenaline that had been coursing through my body began to dwindle and, in its place, exhaustion and pain took over. I swayed on my feet. All three men jumped into action before I could fall.
My vision began to tunnel, as I felt my body get scooped up in strong arms.
“Stay with me, princess,” Kade whispered in my ear.
I felt a cushioned surface underneath my body before I began to go in and out of consciousness.
The beeping sound of a multiparameter monitor could be heard in the distance.
“Will she be alright?” I heard Kade ask.
“There are no signs of internal bleeding, which is good. Superficial injuries have been bandaged and I’ve given her some medicine to help with her pain. However, whatever Ricci drugged her with is causing her heart rate and blood pressure to spike. If he’d given her any more, she wouldn’t have made it. We have to be careful with what we give her to make sure there are no adverse effects,” Zombie’s familiar voice responded.
I faded out once more.
Later, with heavy-lidded eyes, I began to take in the room around me. We were still in the warehouse, where I was currently lying on one of the hospital beds. A light blue curtain was pulled in front of me. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I had last been awake.
“What’s the update?” I heard Kade ask on the opposite side of the curtain.
“Derrick, known as Chief, is still in surgery. He was the last to get out of the building when it exploded. There was shrapnel embedded in his side. It was touch and go for a while but they were able to stop the bleeding.” I didn’t recognize the other man’s voice. There was a brief pause before I heard the sound of papers being shuffled.
“Jessica, also known as Badger, had a severe case of smoke inhalation. We are currently monitoring her vitals and oxygen levels intensely. She’s not out of the woods yet.”
My heart began to race at the mention of my best friend and the potential of her not pulling through. The monitor began to beep incessantly from the spike in my blood pressure and heart rate.
“Dr. Dante Spinelli is currently completing the medical examination and autopsy for Aaron Nelson.”
There was a pregnant pause that followed. I heard Kade let out a curse. The world was a cruel place. I couldn’t imagine how Zombie must be feeling as he completed the autopsy on his childhood best friend. Tears filled my eyes and threatened to spill. How I had any tears left was beyond me.
