Chapter Thirteen. #2
“Let’s move,” Dagger snapped, and I saw Sparrow had gone. No doubt she was teleporting to see if she could track the hitman. Cyber would also probably be hacking into the cameras. With Vengeance, Candle, and Dagger crowding Sapphire and me, we headed to the ER.
“We’ve got a gunshot victim,” Vengeance yelled as we entered. A nurse looked up and hurried across as another went for a gurney.
“Who’s the victim?” the nurse demanded.
“Think that’s me,” Sapphire said dryly before her eyes rolled up and she dropped to the floor.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, darting forward and catching her weight. Nurses surrounded us as they lifted Sapphire onto a gurney and carted her away.
“Inform Belladonna to tell everyone,” Vengeance growled and stormed to a corner where she began pacing back and forth.
Hayden
Sapphire had been hurt. The call had come in over the radio that the RHMC had been attacked, and a woman had been shot. Minutes later, Sapphire’s name was added to the report, and Cassidy called in to confirm we were attending.
I parked near the entrance and jogged into the waiting room. My eyes immediately latched onto the woman everyone was avoiding. The RHMC were eluding an aura of pure danger and menace.
“What happened?” I questioned, approaching Sparrow.
“Why do you care, cop?” Sparrow asked and turned around.
I ran a tired hand over my face. “Sparrow, I didn’t ask for shit. I asked what had happened. You gonna tell me?”
“No.” Sparrow turned her back on me, and I gaped at her. Damn it, I was too tired for this. If Sparrow wanted to play games, then I could too.
“Arrest them,” I said to Cassidy, and Sparrow spun back around.
“What did you just say?”
“You’re withholding evidence of a crime. That makes you an accomplice. Arrest her,” I said to Cassidy again.
Cassidy bit the inside of his cheek before he yanked his cuffs out.
“Who’s next to be arrested?” I demanded to look at them. Shit. As one, they all folded their arms across their chests and stared me down. As intimidating as they seemed, I was amused by them.
“Vengeance, what happened?” I spoke to the SAA.
“Fuck you, cop.”
“Arrest her too,” I said, and Cassidy choked. I handed him my cuffs. “Might have to call for backup at this rate. I wonder if they’ll put them in prison with the Bloody Femmes.”
As I thought, all the Royal Harlots bared their teeth in a grin. Yeah, that threat didn’t intimidate them. “Although it would be a shame to stick them in a different prison from the Bloody Femmes. Especially if Sapphire ended up in the same prison as them while her sisters were elsewhere.”
“What did you say?” Sparrow hissed.
“You heard me,” I retorted.
“You’d put Sapphire, who’s injured, in a prison with three of the most dangerous Bloody Femmes alone?” Storm demanded.
“For withholding information, yes.”
“Lie,” Storm said, and I frowned.
“No, it’s not.”
“Yeah, you’re lying. You care too much for Sapphire,” Storm stated.
“Wrong. I don’t care at all.”
Storm’s eyes grew wide. “That was a whopping lie.”
“What are you talking about?” I insisted. How the hell did Storm know I was lying?
“You care for Sapphire a lot,” she continued.
“Storm, I don’t know what Kool-Aid you drank, but I disagree.” I shrugged.
“Lie!” Storm crowed. The other sisters were now looking interested, even Sparrow, who was facing Cassidy, daring him to cuff her.
“If you love Sapphire that much, why did you raid us?” Sparrow demanded.
“Because it’s my job. I might have felt it in my gut and been praying I’d discover nothing, but I’m a cop. I protect the law and its citizens,” I replied wearily. Wondering what was going on, I rubbed a hand over my face.
“Truth. So you weren’t really looking to infiltrate us and use Sapphire to take us down?” Storm demanded.
Annoyed and insulted, I leaned forward. “Fuck you, Storm. I ain’t the department’s whore they rent out to bring in criminals.”
“Wow,” Storm muttered.
To mine and Cassidy’s surprise, they all turned to each other and appeared to be having a silent conversation.
Several of them grinned, and two chuckled as I exchanged a confused glance with Cassidy.
After several minutes of silence, where they all seemed also silently to argue about something, Sparrow faced me.
“It was the hitman. Sapphire, Dagger, Vengeance, and Storm had all come to obtain the results of some head scans. We were exiting when he took his chance and fired at us. As we tried to get Storm back under cover, Sapphire took two bullets. One went through her arm and exited. The second took her in the ribs, just below her lungs. She’s in surgery as it lodged there,” Sparrow explained.
“What are her chances?” I forced out as someone invisible kicked me in the gut.
“She’ll pull through,” Stitch stated with certainty.
“The doctors said that?”
“Nope. I did,” Stitch replied as if there was no other alternative.
“Let me find a doctor who can update us,” Cassidy said, and I nodded.
Stitch held my eyes. “Wylde. I swear, Sapphire will make it.”
Somehow, I fully believed her.
Sapphire
“Open your eyes,” an insistent voice demanded.
“Urgh,” I muttered and yanked on the breathing apparatus covering my face.
“Leave that alone, Sapphire, and look at me.”
“What?” I hissed at Wylde.
“That’s my girl. How are you feeling?”
“What’s with the inquisition and orders? I refuse to take orders from an asshole.”
“Nice. Well, this asshole wants you to open your eyes,” Wylde stated.
“I don’t like you,” I muttered, but opened my eyes and wiped them hard.
“There’s my girl,” Wylde said and beamed.
“I’m hurting too much to deal with you,” I complained. Wylde shrugged and held a glass with a straw to my lips.
“Drink.”
“Who the hell made you God?” I snapped and coughed to clear my throat. Shit, I wanted that water; it looked nice and chilled.
“Now, Sapphire,” Wylde bossed, and because I was in dire need of a drink, I obeyed. Oh, that was just so good! The water was as cold as I’d imagined, and my throat felt easier.
“Get out of here,” I ordered him.
Wylde grinned, putting the glass on the table and taking a seat in an armchair.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s pretty obvious, Sapphire, I’m sitting here keeping you company.”
“The fuck you are. Go away.”
“Stop fretting; you’ll pull your stitches,” he replied.
Had the world turned inside out since I was shot? I winced as a pang shot through my ribs, and I knew I’d been operated on.
Wylde held something in his hands and pressed it. Moments later, the pain subsided, and I sighed in relief.
“Guessed you might need that. Getting shot hurts,” Wylde said.
“You’d know that how?” I demanded weakly and coughed to clear my throat.
“Because I’ve been shot before. It isn’t fun.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” I replied and wondered what the hell was happening. Why on earth was Wylde sitting here acting normally when I’d kicked him to the curb?
“Be kind, or the burger I was going to buy you for dinner just turned into tuna salad,” Wylde threatened, and I wrinkled my nose. Urgh, no.
“I’m never nice.”
“Oh, honey, I disagree. Once you’re better, I’ll show you how nice I can be,” Wylde promised.
He leaned back with a smug grin as Sparrow and Belladonna entered the room.
Life became even more surreal as they ignored the fact that Wylde was here and fussed over me.
Seriously, since when did they tolerate Wylde’s presence?