Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
“Oh, son. We’s always gonna be together.” She placed her hand on her heart as she continued, “Yous always gonna be right here wit’ me, and I’s wit’ you.”
“I don’t want you to go, Ada.”
“I knows you don’t, but I’ll always be here if you need me. I promise you dat.”
I wanted to believe her, but I knew she was wrong. My bags were already packed, and as soon as the funeral was over, I’d be on my way to my first foster home. I didn’t argue with her. Instead, I just hugged her and said my goodbyes, hoping she knew something I didn’t.
I left that cemetery with a piece of my soul buried right along with my folks, and from the sound of it, Alfonzo had a similar experience when he lost his wife and son.
He cleared his throat before he continued, “Lucifer tried telling me that it had nothing to do with our ties to Scar, but I knew better. I knew Scar was the one who had them killed. Did that shit to remind us who was really in charge. I would’ve gotten out then, but knew I couldn’t. They’d just find me and kill me. I was stuck. Hell, we all were. Didn’t have no fucking choice, and over time, it changed us. All of us. The Punishers became the one thing I’d always hated. Greedy.”
“That the reason they decided to come after us?”
“I reckon so.” He shook his head. “Figured they needed to wipe out the competition, but unlike them, I knew trying to take you guys out wasn’t the answer. Instead, it’d be the end.”
Remington
Since the night of the attack, I’d had my ups and downs, but I thought I was finally starting to improve, especially when we first got to Ada’s. Not only had I gotten a kick out of watching her interact with Noah, but the lavender oil she’d put on my bruises felt amazing, and breakfast had been out of this world. I was actually enjoying myself until I suddenly began feeling terrible. The room started to spin, and I could barely hold my eyes open. I thought I was just overly tired, but I knew something had to be wrong when I found myself back in the medical room with Doc. He was hovering over me, checking the IV in my arm when I asked, “What’s going on?”
“Well, look who’s back in the land of the living.” He smiled as he reached down for my wrist and started checking my pulse. “You’ve got yourself a nasty infection.”
“What kind of infection?”
“Looks like a deep incisional SSI.”
“And what’s that?”
He released my wrist and crossed his arms. “An infection that occurs beneath the incision area—usually in the muscle or the surrounding tissue. It’s treated with a round of IV antibiotics or a second surgery, but hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
“How did this happen?”
“Can’t say for sure.”
My eyelids grew heavy as I listened to him explain how the infection might’ve come from the initial stab wound or while he was stitching me up. Doc had just started voicing his concerns about my becoming septic, and while I was also worried, his voice was low and soothing, making it impossible not to doze off. I had no idea how long I’d been sleeping when the sound of Noah’s voice woke me up. His voice was muffled as if he were far away, making it difficult to hear what he was saying. Trying to hide the fact I was awake, I kept my eyes closed as I tilted my head and tried to listen more closely. “This thing is bigger than any of us thought.”
“Any idea what we’re gonna do about it?”
“Not yet, but we’ll figure something out.” I could hear the anxiety in his voice as Noah continued, “We have to. Otherwise, we risk losing everything.”
“Viper gonna call us into church?”
I had no idea what he meant by calling them ‘into church,’ but Noah replied, “Not until Menace gets some more intel on Mathews. He’s working on it now.”
“Good.”
There was a brief pause before Noah asked, “She doing any better?”
“It’s too early to tell.”
I was surprised by the sound of concern in Noah’s voice. “She been out like that since I left?”
“She’s come around a time or two, but for the most part, she’s been resting.” I opened my eyes, just enough to see them talking, and a warmth washed over me when I saw the way Noah was looking at me. As soon as Doc noticed I was awake, he motioned over to me and said, “Looks like she’s coming around if you wanna talk to her.”
Noah nodded, then started walking in my direction. When he reached the end of the gurney, he asked, “How you feeling?”
“A little better, I think.”
“Good. I, uh...I can’t stay. I gotta get back. Do you need anything?”