Chapter 9
No, no, no, no, no! Storm’s been shot. I can hear the others fighting, but I can’t take my eyes off Storm. I press my hand to the wound, stopping the flow of blood as much as I can. He grunts, but rolls to the side, his heavy weight no longer on me.
I move with him, keeping my hands pressed to his wound, trying to keep the blood inside his body.
“Oh, no, oh god, you”re…you”re bleeding!” I cry. Storm smirks.
“Yeah, I am. That”s what happens when you get shot, Sinner.”
“Now is not the time to try and joke, Storm,” I scold him as tears fill my eyes.
“Stay down motherfucker,” I hear my brother shout and my head shoots to the left. I watch my father pull his leg back and kick my uncle in the face.
His nose immediately gushes blood, and this is the first time I”ve looked at him since he walked into my apartment.
There”s no way my brother and father were going to let him get anywhere near me unless he took them down first. I doubt he”s thinking clearly though. He”s been imprisoned for years. I”m sure all he was focused on was getting his revenge.
I”ve never tried to plot murdering someone else, so I guess I don”t really know.
My father left me with him once, he would never do that again.
“Fuck you!” Eli shouts, But my dad doesn”t stop. He kicked him in the face over and over and over again. I can”t look away as my father caves Eli’s head in.
“Papa…” I sniffle because Storm’s turning a terrifying pale color. He’s barely conscious.
My father is breathing heavily, and when he hears my quiet plea, he whips his head around to look down at me and Storm.
“Fuck,” he says as he drops to his knees beside us. My brother takes one last kick at Eli”s head and his brain matter splatters over the floor. When Will spits on him, I have to look away. The sight is gruesome and repulsive, and it”s something I will never forget.
“William, get over here and help me. Storm, can you hear me?” Papa shouts, as he slaps Storm’s cheek, his knuckles red from punching Eli. Storm blinks, mumbling, but doesn’t keep his eyes open.
My father pulls out his phone and sends a message to someone, but I’m not sure who. Time seems to move weirdly. All around me, things are happening. My father and William are moving, they”re talking to Storm. They”re trying to get him to respond. But Storm just lies still.
I watch him. I keep my eyes on him. I can”t look away. At some point, a doctor shows up and starts helping Storm.
He came fully supplied, ready to practically perform surgery in the middle of my fucking living room. A few more of my father”s men show up and start disposing of my uncle”s beaten body.
I hear one of them say they found the bodies of their men stashed in a supply closet down the hall. He killed four people before he came in here.
It”s like he lost his fucking mind between managing to sneak into this building and kill four people, and then coming up here to this room. Attempting to kill me and my family. Desperate men do desperate things.
“Come on, Roxy, we need to get you in the shower,” William eventually says, attempting to help me up off the floor.
I never left Storm’s side. I just sit there and stare.
I”m sure Papa has thoughts about that, But I don”t really care. Storm saved my life when he dove in front of that bullet, he deserves to live. He deserves to be mine. I deserve to be his.
“I love him…” I say. William nods.
“I know, little sister. Come on Rocks. Let me help you to the bathroom.” William turns on the water and grabs me a towel. And then shuts the door, leaving me alone.
Somehow on autopilot, I manage to strip my clothes off. And then step into the shower. I let the hot water wash over my body, I”m not sure how long I stand there but eventually, the water runs cold. I grab the soap and scrub the remaining blood off as best I can. I dry off and get dressed on autopilot, and then leave the bathroom in search of Storm.
He”s lying in my bed now with an IV connected to him and a couple of monitors that the doctor brought with him.
I guess when you have as much money as my father does you can hire anyone to do anything, including perform life-saving surgery in the middle of an apartment.
“How long before he wakes up?” I ask, as I approach. I climb into the bed and wrap myself around him. Careful to avoid the bandage where the bullet hole is. He was shot in the shoulder and the bullet went clean through.
He lost a lot of blood. Looking at the place where both Eli and Storm were bleeding, I can see it”s been cleaned up. Papa”s men work fast.
“It could be a few hours, or it could be a few days, depending on how his body responds,” William answers.
Papa is standing in the corner of my apartment, surveying every square inch. The look on his face is serious and still slightly violent.
It”s then that I realize both Papa and William have cleaned up.
Neither one of them has a speck of blood on them. They”ve changed Storm out of his clothes as well. His bloodied shirt is gone, and he’s in clean gray sweatpants.
“A few days?” I ask and William nods. My brother isn”t one to show a lot of emotion but I can tell that he is upset. Maybe even worried.
I”ve heard stories about the trouble that those two get into together, maybe he”s scared. He”ll lose his partner in literal crime. Papa has been grooming my brother to take over one day. Just as William is Papa”s number one guy, Storm will be my brother’s.
“You love him?” Papa asks, and I look over at him with tears in my eyes.
“I do,” I say softly, turning back to Storm.
“About damn time,” Papa says. “I believe that boy”s been in love with you since the day he met you.”
My mind drifts to the day that I met Storm, and I smile sadly.
We were only eight and nine, and I had found him sitting under a tree in the park. He was crying, tears streaming down his face, and I think that might have been the only time I”ve ever seen Storm cry.
He was holding his arm close to his chest and looked like a scared little bird. A scared, broken bird.
“Are you okay?” I asked him as I approached him slowly.
“Go away!” he growled angrily, but I shook my head.
I could tell something was wrong and that he needed help. Rather than leaving him alone like he tried to demand, I walked over, grabbed his hand, and led him back to my house. Once we were inside, I went into the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit. I was helping him clean up the cuts on his arm when Mama walked in.
She took over from there, and it wasn”t long before William busted through the door. He took one look at Storm and decided he”d be his best friend.
They”ve been by each other”s side ever since. And Storm has been my constant protector.
“You knew this whole time?” I whisper, shocked he’s never said anything.
“Of course, I knew. You think I”m an idiot? You think I”m blind? I don”t think the boy could have been more obvious if he fucking screamed it in my face,” Papa scoffs, and I nibble my lip nervously.
“So you”re not going to kill him?”
“Should I?”
“What?! Papa, no!”
“Okay,” Papa shrugs. “Then he lives.”
“My threat stands. If he hurts you, I”ll beat him to death,” William adds unhelpfully.
“Jesus, William…” I hiss, shaking my head at my brother, and his special brand of crazy.
“It”s okay, Little Sinner, I would expect nothing less,” Storm murmurs gently, his voice horse, and tired.
“Storm!” I gasp, sitting up and looking at him. He smiles at me weakly, and I throw my arms around him, hugging him tight before I remember the bandage over his arm. “Shit, I”m sorry.” I pull away from him and wince.
“It”s okay, come here.” He uses his unharmed arm, wrapping it around me and pulling me back into his body. “Good to know, I”m not on your shit list, sir,” Storm says to my father.
“Keep it up, and you just might find yourself there,” my father grunts but nods his head at Storm. “Glad to see you’re okay.”
“Oh, come on. You wouldn”t wanna make your little cub cry.” Storm smirks at Papa, who just glares back.
“No, I suppose not,” Papa says, as he crosses his arms over his chest. “I have no doubt you’ll treat her well, and protect her with your life.”
“Always, sir.” Storm nods, and I sniff, before pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” I kiss him again. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Little Sinner.”