Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Dad never let go of my hand.
I squinted against the bright hospital lights when we finally made it inside. Mom went straight to the desk and within moments we were in another elevator, headed to the floor where Mark was. The closer we came, the more terrified I was that we’d get there and I’d find out he was dead.
The minute we stepped off the elevator, two people stood up from their seats and headed toward us.
“What are you doing here?” I asked in surprise, my eyes burning.
“Where the hell would we be?” Poet asked gruffly, cupping my cheek. He pulled me against his chest.
“We were already in town visiting with Phoenix,” Amy said, giving my parents hugs while Poet held me. “We got here a couple hours ago.”
“Have you seen him?” I murmured into the familiar smell of his leather cut.
“He was already in surgery,” he replied, pulling back so Amy could hug me, too. “Nobody’s come out yet.”
“Where is everyone?” I asked in confusion looking around the waiting room. “Lu? Forrest?”
“Haven’t seen any of them, honey,” Amy said with a shrug. “It’s just been us.”
It didn’t make any sense. Someone should’ve been there. Had he come to the hospital alone? No one had ridden with him in the ambulance?
“Dad, could you—”
“I’ll call the weird kid,” he replied instantly, pulling his phone out.
Ignoring them, I walked up to the help desk.
“Can I help you with anything?” the woman sitting there asked kindly.
“My husband came in earlier—”
“Name?”
“Mark Eastwood,” I said quickly, looking over the little ledge. I wasn’t sure what I expected to see, but the computer was pointed away. “He had a gunshot wound.”
“I see him right here,” she replied, giving me a small smile. “It looks like he’s still in surgery.”
“Do you know how long they think it will take? Anything?” I asked desperately. “No one knows anything except he was shot in the chest and—” My throat grew so tight I couldn’t continue.
“Cec,” a familiar voice called behind me.
“Josiah,” I breathed, spinning around. He stepped out of the elevator, surrounded by Aces, and I was running toward him before I even realized it.
“Hey,” he said as I hit his chest, his arms coming around me. “I’m sorry. I got here as soon as they let me go.”
“Who?”
“Fuckin’ police,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “Since it was a fatal shooting, they took every single one of us in.”
I felt the blood draining from my face.
“No.” He shook his head quickly. “No, the shooter. Eli took him down.”
“Good,” my dad said from somewhere behind me.
“They’ve got everyone in for questioning. We’ve been there all fuckin’ night. It took hours before we could even call Wilson so he could get in touch with you. Lu finally said she wanted to call a lawyer, but no one could fuckin’ remember your number so she called Wilson.”
“That’s why we don’t fuck with the police,” someone grumbled. “Just gets messy.”
“I was inside the doors when it happened and didn’t see much, so they finished with me first and I came as fast as I could,” Josiah said miserably. “This is so fucked.”
“You saw him, right?” I asked desperately. “You saw Mark? How bad is it? Tell me the truth, Siah.”
“It was bad, Cec,” he murmured, his voice thick. “He was in and out.” He sniffed and cleared his throat. “But the ambulance was there pretty fuckin’ quick.”
I nodded, wrapping my arms around myself. It was pretty much the same thing Wilson had told my dad. “What about Forrest? My dad said he’d been shot, too?”
“Just a graze,” Josiah sighed. “Rejected medical help. Said he could handle it himself.” He looked around the room. “If he’d known that he’d be stuck at the police station so fuckin’ long, I think he woulda been beggin’ them to bring him here. When I left, he was ready to lose it on a couple of cops.”
I’m not sure how long I stood there, staring blankly at Josiah while the people around me talked. Eventually, my mom put an arm around my waist and led me to a couch.
“If they’re still in surgery, that means he’s alive,” she whispered, pulling me against her. “That’s good news. They’re fixing him up.”
I watched as Josiah paced. Aces clustered in small groups to chat, left and came back with coffee. Amy and Poet settled on a couch near us and sat quietly. Almost all the Aces and their wives were there but only a few of them came to talk with us. I think my mom knew that I was too overwhelmed and was shooing them away when I wasn’t looking.
The Aces president Dragon and his wife Brenna greeted new arrivals at the elevator. Lily and Charlie huddled with Lily’s husband Leo, my brother Cam, and his wife Trix on the opposite side of the room. I stopped counting people when my uncle Grease crouched down in front of me, his hand on my knee.