Page 67 of Kiwi

"Okay." I hang up and hand Crow his phone back.

Thirty minutes later, the doctor taking care of Tai rounds the corner to the waiting room. He scans the area, his eyes landing on me, Crow and Doc. I jump to my feet and meet him halfway across the room. "How is he?"

"Mr. Cooper is on his way to the OR. The gunshot wound he received to the abdomen caused him to lose an extensive amount of blood. He's bleeding internally, and unfortunately, we won't know the extent of his injury until the surgeon gets in there to explore the damage. Mr. Cooper coded five minutes upon arrival, but we were able to bring him back. He is upstairs getting prepped for surgery as we speak. If you like, I can have a nurse take you up to the third floor to wait. Normally the surgeon likes to talk to the family and answer any question you may have before he begins, but in this circumstance, there simply wasn't time."

An hour later, I'm pacing the hallway outside the waiting room. My thoughts are scattered, and I'm struggling to keep it together.

"Piper!"

I stop pacing and turn to see my dad at the other end of the long corridor, making his way toward me. Not far behind him is Uncle Abel, Uncle Malik, Fender, and Everest. "Dad!" I run straight into his arms.

"Fuck. You scared the shit out of me, Bean. Are you alright?" I nod into the crook of his neck. Dad releases his hold on me as Crow and Doc walk up to us.

"Any news on Kiwi?" Uncle Abel asks.

I shake my head. "They took him to surgery over an hour ago. We haven't heard anything since."

Dad scrubs his palm down his face. "How the fuck did this happen?"

"Do you remember when I was driving home from Texas, and I told you about those two men who approached me? The ones I suspected of messing with my tire?" My dad's face goes hard. "It was them. It's weird, though, because they knew who Tai was. They ran us off the road, and Tai had to lay the bike down."

Dad looks at Crow. "Where are the motherfuckers now?"

"Dead. Your boy was able to take one of those fuckers out before he was shot."

"And the other?" Uncle Malik fumes.

Crow looks at me then looks at my dad and the rest of the guys. I didn't tell Crow what happened to the second guy. My stomach knots, and my body begins to shake as the memory of holding the gun in my hand and pulling the trigger takes root. "I killed him," I confess. Then out of nowhere, I have tunnel vision, and the room starts to spin. A tingling sensation washes over me, and I struggle to stay on my feet. My dad is there to catch me. He pulls me to his chest, slowly backs us against the wall, and slides down to the floor, setting me on his lap.

"Head between your knees, Piper."

I do as he says. With my back against his chest, I lean my head forward.

"Good, baby girl. Now deep breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth. Nice and slow." He rubs my back. I take several deep cleansing breaths while concentrating on the soothing rumble of my dad's voice. "It's okay, Piper. You're okay."

"I killed someone." It's not that I feel sorry for the scum I shot. I just don't know how to process the fact I am responsible for ending a person's life.

"You did what you had to do to survive, Piper. You saved yourself, and you saved Kiwi. Don't give that piece of shit the power to turn you inside out. You'll get through this baby girl. Your family will get you through this."

Taking a shuttered breath, I lift my head and look into my dad's eyes. We don't speak. Because no matter how old I get, the little girl in me will always believe that as long as I'm in my fathers' arms, everything will be okay.

It's nearlyone o'clock in the morning when a middle-aged man wearing blue scrubs and blonde hair walks into the small waiting room. Instantly, everyone is on their feet.

"Are you all here for Tai Cooper?" he asks.

"Yes," Uncle Abel is the first to answer.

"I'm doctor Carrick. I was the surgeon who operated on Mr. Cooper. Once I opened him up, I discovered the bullet's damage to his small intestine and liver, all of which I repaired. Luckily, the bullet missed any major arteries. I was also able to remove the bullet. Mr. Cooper is stable at the moment and was taken to the ICU."

You can hear the collective sigh of relief.

"I do want to warn you. Even though the surgery was a success, Mr. Cooper is not out of the woods. We are having trouble stabilizing his blood pressure."

"He's going to be okay, though. Right?" I ask.

Dr. Carrick shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I can't make you any promises. The next twenty-four hours will be critical. We will continue to monitor him, and I will give you another update in the morning."

"Can I see him?" I ask, eager to lay eyes on Tai.