Chapter 21 – Archer
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ARCHER
It’s club business. I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I felt it in my gut that it was something dangerous, and when they all went running off into the bed and breakfast, they missed Betsy, my fucking little gremlin, run and jump on one of their bikes, speeding after the person I’m guessing they were after.
I put my truck in drive and follow after her, keeping a safe enough distance away.
As the person in the car nearly rams her off the fucking road, I watch with my heart in my fucking mouth.
My hands grip the steering wheel so tight my knuckles are white.
Eventually, I watch as the car loses control, tail spinning and slamming into the rock face on the side of the road.
Betsy gets off the bike and cautiously makes her way to the driver’s side of the car, her gun aimed and ready.
Fuck, I want to punish her for scaring the shit out of me, but fuck if she doesn’t look hot as fuck in that black pantsuit.
Squinting my eyes to focus in the dark night, all I can make out is that she is just standing there.
Then the sound, a fucking gunshot, and Betsy falls to the floor.
My heart lurches into my throat, and I leap out of my truck, running to her.
I notice the woman’s lifeless eyes in the car as I drop down to Betsy, her eyes wide and panicked.
Blood is pouring from her chest, and I press my hand to it, putting as much pressure onto the wound as I can.
“I’ve got you,” I choke out, not believing my own words.
There is so much fucking blood. I remove my hand quickly and pull off my T-shirt, using it to try and stem the bleeding.
I need to move her, get her to a hospital.
There is no time to call an ambulance. She would bleed out and die before it even got here.
I need something to hold my T-shirt there, to keep the pressure.
“Arch-er,” she stutters, her body shivering from the shock. Fear is in her eyes as they brim with tears, threatening to fall.
“It’s okay, I will get you to the hospital.
I’ve just got you, and there ain’t no way I’m letting you go now,” I rasp.
I look down and notice a black holster belt around her waist. It’s so dark, I can barely see it.
“I’m going to use this to keep the pressure, okay?
You need to keep the pressure on your wound,” I tell her, placing her hand over the T-shirt.
She nods as I quickly, with blood-soaked hands, work to get the belt off her.
I go as fast as I can, discarding her guns, and begin to strap it around her chest. “Release your hand,” I order.
She does as I ask, and I quickly tighten it, so tight that she cries out.
“I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry,” I choke out.
Once I’m satisfied it’s tight enough, I scoop her up in my arms, her head rolling at the action.
“Stay awake, stay the fuck awake,” I plead as I place her in the passenger seat of my truck before running around to the driver’s side.
Jumping in, I put the truck in drive and do a U-turn back to town. I speed through red lights, cutting up other cars in utter desperation. I keep checking on her, but her eyes are now closed and her body is unmoving.
“Baby! Gremlin. Stay the fuck with me. Stay with me!” I roar as my chest feels like it’s being torn to shreds.
The hospital is just up ahead, and as I take a sharp turn into the parking lot, I don’t stop.
People have to jump out of my way as I head for the emergency room.
I screech to a halt and jump out of the truck, running around.
Yanking the door open, I scoop Betsy in my arms, and her body is lifeless.
“Help! Somebody help, please!” I cry out.
Tears stream down my face. She can’t be gone.
She fucking can’t be. Doctors and nurses come running out with a gurney, and after I lay her down, my hands grip my hair tight in despair as I step back.
“I can’t find a pulse,” the doctor says. Those words, those fucking soul-destroying words, echo around me. Suddenly, the doctor jumps on the gurney, straddling Betsy, and begins chest compressions. “Go, go,” she orders.
My feet of their own accord follow them, follow her. “You must save her; please fucking save her. I just got her. I can’t fucking lose her,” I beg. They go through some double doors, and a nurse stops me from following them.
“Sir, will you come with me?” she says softly, guiding me to the family waiting room. “Is there anyone we can call?” she asks gently.
I sniff and wipe my face. “Yeah, do you know the Sanctuary?” I ask.
The nurse gives me a small smile and nods. “I do. I will call them.” She nods and walks out of the room. I can’t sit, and I can’t stay still pacing the room. Desperation fills me to know if she’s okay, if they’ve saved her. The doctor’s words echo around my head.
There’s no pulse.
The nurse comes back in with a blue scrub top. I had forgotten I had no top on. “There is a bathroom just through that door. Why don’t you go wash yourself and put this on?” she gestures.
I absently take the top and walk into the bathroom. As soon as I step in there, I catch my reflection in the mirror. My hands, chest, and entire torso are covered in her blood. Fuck, how is she going to survive losing all that fucking blood? I just stare at my reflection, unable to move.
“Where is he? Where is she?” I hear Mor ask frantically.
I don’t respond. I just walk to the bathroom door and stand in the doorway.
Eden catches my gaze, her eyes going wide as she gasps.
She grabs Mor’s arm to get her to turn around, and when Mor turns, her eyes widen in shock, too. “What did you do?” Mor seethes.
“Me?!” I snap. “Fucking me?!” I yell. “Where the fuck were all of you? She was on her fucking own. If I wasn’t there, she would be fucking left dead on the side of the road like fucking roadkill.
She got shot and chased down whoever the fuck it was you were after, then the bitch who had a fucking pole through her chest shot her.
She shot fucking Betsy in her chest, and where the fuck were all of you?
Huh?! Fucking sisterhood, my ass!” I seethe, tears stinging my eyes.
“That’s enough!” Nyx barks, coming to Mor’s defence.
“Why? Because your woman is upset hearing the fucking truth?! My woman had no fucking pulse when I brought her in here. She could be in there fucking dead for all I know. Fucking dead! I would have lost the only woman I’ve ever loved, and I never got a chance to tell her.
All because her fucking sisters weren’t there for her.
You all left her for dead on the side of the road,” I choke out, my throat raw with emotion.
Bernie steps forward, not saying anything as she wraps her arms around me, holding me. I look to Mor and Eden, watching both of them as tears stream down their faces. Other women who huddle together in the corner are pale, also with tears running down their cheeks.
“Verity, she...” Eden pauses, sniffing. “She knew we were coming. She hit us both over the back of our heads as we entered the room with an ivory lamp. Knocked us both out. By the time we came around, Betsy had gone and taken one of the lap dog’s bikes and chased after Verity.
She had no phone on her and no way of tracking her,” Eden sighs.
“We even wondered if Verity had taken her,” Mor adds. “She had no pulse?” she asks, her voice breaking. I shake my head no, giving Bernie a gentle squeeze back. She lets go, blood now marking her clothes, her eyes red from tears.
I run my hand through my hair. “She chased after her, on her fucking own,” I sigh, shaking my head. “What was she thinking?” I rub the palm of my hand over my chest. The pain is too much to bear.
“She’s a strong-willed, stubborn little fucker.” Mor sniffs, shaking her head as she and Eden embrace each other for support.
We sit and wait. I put on the top the nurse gave me, but I don’t wash the blood away. It’s her blood, and in some strange way, I feel like if I wash it off, I am washing her away. I can’t. I need to feel like I have her with me.
Considering there are so many of us in the room, it’s silent.
Not a word is spoken as we all wait to hear that she’s okay.
The door opens and I spring to my feet. “Well?” I ask, not giving the doctor a chance to speak.
My heart is pounding so fast in my chest, and my stomach is in knots as I look at the doctor with desperate hope.
“Er, are you, er...” He pauses, looking down at his notes.
“Betsy Smith,” I state. When the nurse had asked me for her details, I didn’t give them Betsy’s actual surname. Not wanting any comeback on her.
“Yes, and you are?” he asks, looking over me and seeing my blood-stained hands and arms.
“Her fiancé,” I answer immediately. I hear Mor let out a little gasp, but I ignore her. She is, and she will be my wife. I don’t have any doubt about that.
If she’s survived, a voice echoes in my head.
I close my eyes briefly, shutting that thought away. “Please, Doc,” I plead.
His face is set in a grim line that has my heart sinking. “Miss Smith was in bad shape when she came in,” he states.
His bushy grey brows frown. “I know. I brought her in,” I snap. Bernie takes my hand in hers and gives it a gentle squeeze.
The doctor has the decency to look solemn. “Yes, sorry. Doctor Evans managed to get her heart going again. She was weak, so weak with how much blood she lost. Her heart stopped again when we were trying to remove the bullet and repair the damage it had caused,” he informs us.
My jaw is set so tight I feel like it’s going to snap. “Is she alive?” I rasp.
“Yes.” He nods.
Mor and Eden let out a sob of relief, but I don’t, knowing there is more to come. “But?” I press, which has Mor and Eden pausing.
“But like I said, her heart stopped twice. At the moment, she is being kept alive by a machine. We do not believe she is strong enough to breathe on her own,” he adds.
“But she will be?” I press.
The doc shrugs. “That, I’m afraid, we cannot confirm.
I wish I could promise you that she will wake and all will be fine, but the bullet nicked a vital artery and wedged itself in her left lung.
Even with that repaired, the chance of her fully recovering is under ten percent.
I need to make you aware of this, and please brace yourselves for what possibilities may come. ”
“Switching the machines off,” I breathe.
He gives me a sharp nod. “But we will cross that bridge when we come to it,” he says as he turns to walk away.
“If...” I state. He turns to look at me. “If it comes to it. Not fucking when,” I seethe, trying to contain my anger at the assumption she won’t wake up.