“You’re not alone, Little Darlin’.” I look up to find Gerard standing beside me. His hand held out.
I don’t know how or when he got here, but I reach for him desperately. He hauls me up, securing me in a bear hug and I completely break down.
“It’s okay,” he coos. “It’s okay.”
“Gambit, we gotta go!” Breaker yells through the trees.
“We’ll talk more.” Gerard pulls me in the direction of the house.
I yank at my hand. “Where’s Deacon?”
“Gone. Dead. Ky killed him.”
“What?” I step forward in a daze.
“Like I said, Darlin’. We’ll talk more. Right now, we need to worry about Ky.”
Gerard and I run through the woods to where everyone is waiting. We hop into the back of the pickup, and Tempest peels away.
“How far to the nearest hospital?” I sidle up next to Ky’s unconscious body, placing his head on my lap. There’s blood everywhere. It’s seeping through his clothes, on his hands, and all over the truck.
“A few miles out. Vet already called ahead. They know we’re coming.” Fender and Bone keep continuous pressure on the wound, and I feel completely helpless.
“Why didn’t you take him to the hospital sooner?” I viciously snap. Out of anger, out of fear, out of worry, out of uncertainty. So much is circulating so fast my thoughts are a muddled mess of brain cells.
“We tried.” Fender looks directly into my eyes. “But he wouldn’t leave you.”
I gaze down at Ky. His cheeks are pale and cool to the touch. I can’t stop the onslaught of tears. They’ve been falling since the moment I opened my eyes.
I kiss his forehead, his nose, and length of his scar, then I pray.
I also beg Ky to fight. I whisper how strong he is. I whisper how much I love him. How much I trust him. Then I plead, “Don’t let it all be for nothing.”
My heart squeezes painfully in my chest from the lack of response.
When I look up at Gerard, he’s as pale as Ky, his eyes bloodshot but missing tears. He’s holding them back. He’s holding it all back. The devastation right at our fingertips. Knocking at our front door. If Ky dies, Deacon wins, and it really will have all been for nothing.
When the hospital comes into view, Tempest seems to take this as a cure to drive more like a maniac, hitting the gas and fishtailing through the intersection.
“Hey!” Breaker bangs on the glass. “Let’s not put anyone else in the hospital!”
Tempest stops short at the emergency room entrance where there are already people waiting. They’re dressed in scrubs and paper aprons, with masks on their faces and a gurney all ready.
There’s so much commotion once we stop, it’s hard to keep track of it all.
Ky is slid out of the flatbed and rushed away before I even have a chance to say goodbye.
“Kira, let’s go,” Gerard calls to me. I crawl next to Ky’s pooled blood, the image now burned into my memory.
Gerard lifts me up and out of the truck. Then he stashes me under his arm protectively, exactly the way Ky used to.
I find myself in the waiting room. It’s like reality is setting back in. I’m aware of my surroundings. I see everything clearer and feel everything more distinctly. Like my emotions are magnified. They’re too big for my little body. It’s feels like I’m going to explode.
I sit next to Gerard just holding his hand. The room isn’t very large, but there’s enough space for all the rugged, tattooed men covered in dirt to pace about.
These are all the people Ky loves. Every single one of them is here. Even Gerard. The father who’s been absent from his life for over three years.
“Kira?” Gerard squeezes my hand.
