“Baby?” I hold my phone up in front of his face and show him the message. He looks over, and almost unnoticeably, and his eyes widen with concern. We don’t have time for this back and forth, and something needs to be done. “If we’re opening the Attic up to our families, just get Alex to handle Sahara until we can get there. They can’t get anywhere important without access, and they don’t have it.”
He immediately nods and lowers the gun, putting it back behind him and wrapping his arm around me again. I lean intohim as he pushes us into momentum, clearly ready to prove his point.
“Get the fuck out,” Damien tells Satori as he starts leading me towards the garage door.
“Where are you going?” Satori stands abruptly and holds his arms out, likehimandhisconcerns should be the most of our worries.
“My men are in trouble, the city is in distress, and as I said, we don’t have time for this. Get the fuck out. Go back to wherever it is you came from, and I’ll be in contact.” Damien opens the garage door and ushers me through, just before turning back to look at Satori. “I waited months. You can wait a day. Get out of our house and don’t ever show back up uninvited again.”
Damien stands by the door, with a firm grip on the wood, as he waits for Satori to leave. I look back through the archway to see Satori’s pissed-off expression, but he gives in after a few moments—striding angrily towards the door and practically stomping through it like a child.
As he passes by me, we momentarily lock gazes. For once, I can’t get a read on his expression. It’s something intense between saddened and angry, like my existence in this moment is unnecessary, and I’m something he’s going tohaveto get used to. I brush it off, knowing that this is a stressful situation for everyone, but Damien isn’t so easily dismissive.
And he notices the look.
He steps forward angrily, attempting to move past me and say something, but I grab his hand again. I can feel the tension leaving his body the moment I touch him, and his face softens as he turns around to face me. My eyes meet his, and we almost immediately reach a silent understanding to keep moving. There are a thousand emotions flying behind those blue, kaleidoscope eyes, but I don’t miss the way they brighten when his pupils dilate.
Carter files in after us, gripping Damien on the shoulder before moving in front of him. Damien turns back to join him, keeping his hold on my hand, and they both watch as Satori walks out of the garage door and storms down the long driveway. With every step he takes, and every inch farther away, the air feels less heavy—like something paranormal follows Satori’s shadow, and we just laid witness to it. Once he’s gone from view, Damien moves to help me into the front seat, while Carter continues to track him through the windows above the large metal doors.
I don’t need help anymore, but I think it makes him feel a little better, and now that Satori is gone, I can feel the energy around us change. The atmosphere before was thick, like two pack leaders were about to fight for dominance. It’s fading away gently, though, and Damien’s usual softness is settling in. He lays his hand over the soft swell of my stomach and stares at me with such worry it makes my heart twist.
“Before we go, I need to know that you’re okay, and that you can handle this,” he inquires softly, but with absolution—like all I have to say is ‘no’ and we would stay here. As sweet and amazing as that is, Zeke and Tay need us, and as much as I would like to go back to the same bubble we’ve lived in for the past month…
We can’t.
“Yeah. I’m okay, baby. Let’s go.” I kiss his cheek and sit back as he buckles my seatbelt. Once he shuts my door, it’s not even a full second before he’s in the driver’s seat, ready to pull out, and he’s back into his commando mode. Carter quickly hops into the back seat, already back on his phone as well.
“Carter, call Alex and tell him we’re headed to the hospital. Make sure he intakes everyone who comes to the Attic. I don’t want any more surprises today.”
“You got it, D.”
Chapter 2
Ashia
The moment we come down the mountain, the chaos becomes all too real. The streets are lined with bumper-to-bumper cars—some are heading out of town, but most are heading towards the hospitals. The Community hospital is much smaller than the one Ser works at, and from the sounds of the emergency broadcast over the radio, they're already directing people to the Memorial emergency department. We're trying our best to get there, but the traffic is making it really hard.
Damien's swerving through alleyways and side streets, even going down roads in the wrong direction just to get us there. Serena hasn't been able to answer since she sent that last message, and I'm really starting to worry. Carter and I have both tried to call Zeke, but his phone is going straight to voicemail. He mentioned hacking into the hospital again to check on Tay’s chart, but with them being so busy, it could potentially stall out their system. And for days like today? It could mean costingsomeone their life. So, we quickly threw that idea out the window.
The town's water is now shut off, thankfully. Between that and all of the emergency broadcasts warning people not to drink the water, hopefully no one else will be affected. We're feeling extra grateful for our partnership with Adrien right now, because he reached more people in the first twenty minutes than the news stations did in two hours. He and his family are safe, thankfully, and he’s going to put his podcast on a continuous loop until he can get his dad and sister to the Attic. I may not know that kid very well yet, but I’ve got to say, he’s really stepping up today. He’s been a little kiss-ass towards Damien, but I think it’s safe to say he’s earned some major brownie points with his work today.
Even though we're only going fifteen miles an hour, and I have my seatbelt on, Damien's hand is plastered to my stomach. His grip is gentle, but protective nonetheless, and even though he could really use that hand on the steering wheel, he's refusing to move it. I lay one hand on top of his and I grip his arm softly with the other, running my thumb along his tense muscles as we drive.
His paranoia has been through the roof since I was taken and we found out that I’m pregnant, and while he may have physically rested this past month, there was no break for his mind. Anytime I wanted to even walk around our yard, he searched outside until he knew it was safe. He did so much tweaking to the security at the house, and now that it was so easily taken down, I’m sure that’s one of the first things on his brain. It took weeks to convince him to let me go back to work, and now that this has happened, I’m sure he’s afraid to even let me out of the house. On top of that, we don't know how Tay or Zeke are doing, and there are still a few of his men that we haven't heard from.
The sound of a smack jerks me from my thoughts, and I look over in Damien’s direction. He lowers his hand from the steering wheel that he obviously just hit, and rubs his palm against his jeans—clearly getting frustrated.
“Fuck it,” Damien finally mutters and swerves into an alleyway, parking a couple of blocks away from the hospital. His head snaps in my direction the moment he cuts the car off, and the hardness of his eyes could cut glass. “Stay there,” he demands just before he gets out of the car, and I can't help but look back at Carter. His face looks just as worried as mine with his slightly-furrowed brows, and he shakes his head as he gets out himself. Damien then flings my door open and leans in, unbuckling the seatbelt for me and helping me out.
I can feel the slight tremors in his hands as he leads me down the alleyway and onto the sidewalk, keeping me so close that I’m afraid I'll step on him. The closer we get, the louder sirens and screams ring out, completing the chaotic environment.
“Call Tony and Dean, let whoever is here know we're coming,” Damien demands.
“I already texted Tony. He's waiting for us at the ER entrance,” Carter replies, and Damien just nods, pulling me into his side and wrapping his arm around me like he could fend off any threat just by holding me. We see some people standing just outside of the ambulance bay, towards the street, and as we get closer and closer, more appear.
We finally reach what's supposed to be the emergency room dock, but I’m amazed that any ambulances can get through. People are crowded over the entire lot, reaching as far back as the building next to it. There are hundreds of people trying to get through. None of them seem affected, thankfully; they’re all just yelling questions that get lost in the mix of the crowd.
There are news stations crowding around as well, only adding to the chaos. Their microphones, spotlights, and cameras arereaching overhead, and they’re easy to make out above the group. I’m not shocked that the media is treating this like a circus instead of helping control the mania, but at some point, one would think that they’d give it up. I wonder for a moment what it’s like to be as tall as Damien and Carter, to be able to see over most of these people—how it would feel to stand tall against the masses.
