Page 6 of The Honor Society

“Yes, that was the plan.” The sentence drips with sarcasm. “In another life I swear I was Deadpool.” He lunges for me then stops right in front of my face like he has the upper hand. Ah, he has no idea that I have several ways I could kill him, interesting ways, painful slow ways but we don’t have time for torture. He sneers and reaches for his gun.

I know it’s not there.

Because I took it when he was trying to intimidate me. I hold it out and grin. “What Horseman hired you?”

“Eat shit!” He lunges for me and because I’m injured. I have no choice. I fire two shots into his stomach and kick out the hospital chair next to me. His body lands in a slump while I wrap my IV cord around him just to make sure he’s dead. When I no longer feel a pulse, and the alarm saying my IV’s off starts blaring. I grab two blankets, toss them over him, and put the gun into my plastic bag. I barely grab my cell in time to limp to my bed when I hear running. I just know my stitches are going to split, but that can’t be helped can it? I’m barely out of breath when a nurse comes running in like a bat out of hell.

I sigh in both relief and severe pain. My stomach is hot from blood oozing out of my wounds. Oh good, it’s the one I’ve been flirting with. She’s old enough to be my grandma. “Did you pull out your IV?”

I wince, I don’t have to fake it. This shit hurts and I would have pulled out every last stitch in effort to get shit for brains out of my hospital room. “Sorry, it was burning and then it just slipped out somehow, I figured it was better to wait for help than injure myself further and go to the hall. It hurts here.” I touch my stomach and give her a pitiful look.

Her face falls. “Oh honey, you’ve been through a lot.”

“So much.” I shiver. “I think my stitches are bleeding too, could I get some more blankets as well? I don’t want to catch a chill and my friend stole them.”

“Oh no!” She fusses all over me and then sees Dorian out of the corner of her eye. “Oh a visitor.”

“He’s a napper.” I grin. “Hey think I can some more pain meds.”

Her eyes narrow. “In another hour you can, until then, rest.”

“Okay.” I yawn.

She fixes my IV and then before I leave she scans my wrist rolls her eyes and hands me my pain pill. “I recorded it though, no funny business.”

I open up my mouth for her to feed it to me.

She let’s out a giggle. “You’re the worst, gonna get me in trouble young man.”

“You can’t be older than sixty.”

“I’m sixty-nine.” She narrows her eyes.

“My favorite number.” I wink.

She slaps me lightly and drops the pill on my tongue. “Trouble. That’s what you are.”

“Care to tame me?”

“Sleep Mr. Mercer.”

“‘Kay gorgeous.”

When she leaves, I grab my cell and dial the number.

A feminine voice answers. “Name?”

“The Proctor.” I wince as fresh pain washes across my stomach. “Need a clean-up crew as soon as possible.”

“Horseman or civilian?”

“Horseman. Dorian Vane. Former house Famine. Unclear what house sent him for the exchange.”

Silence and then. “Address and time of death.”

I give her as much information as I have, which isn’t a lot. It still bothers me that he’s no longer with Famine, which means one of the other houses is pulling the strings which also means whoever got to him, is most likely who’s been feeding information to Charlie and that’s just a giant assed guess from my bed. I need to leave so I don’t get assassinated and so I can figure out what the hell is going on. I hang up just in time for Jude, Lilah, and Charlie to come back into the room.

They take one look at Dorian and then at me.