Chapter Seventeen
T he building was a hurried rush of chaos as we sifted through rooms, emptying drawers and prying open cabinets, trying to find something that would help Aiden.
“I found something!” Mina shouted from upstairs, two rooms down from me.
I didn’t hesitate before I sprinted toward her voice, skidding into the room. A room that was literally a miniature version of an operating room. A small bed was tucked in the corner of the room, a heart monitor and an IV drip to the right of the bed.
Cabinets filled with syringes, needles, medication, and more took up the rest of the space. The set up made me wonder what else Vex had been doing in those interrogation rooms. Who would have needed this?
“Go get Warner to bring Aiden up here,” I told Mina, turning toward the cabinets and finding everything I might need.
I grabbed out a needle to insert the IV, a few bottles of painkillers, bandages, a pair of scissors, and a scalpel. My hands shook as I set the things on the countertop. I wasn’t the surgeon, that was all Aiden. But I was the only other one with medical training, which meant his life was in my hands.
My head was in my hands, my elbows resting against the counter, trying to stave off a panic attack, when Warner walked into the room with Aiden in his arms.
Warner dropped Aiden on the bed, the rest of the group trailing inside the room, even Murphy. I glanced at Rainer with arched brows.
“If someone comes in here, they won’t disrupt us.” He shut the door behind him, turning the lock, and then standing guard, as if someone was going to break in this instant.
Pushing the thought of someone barging in while I operated on my own brother, I grabbed a pair of gloves, stretching them over my hands.
Picking up the needle, I approached Aiden, incoherent mumblings spilling from his mouth. I wiped a hand over his sweat slicked forehead, whispering, “It will be okay.”
I gripped his arm, inserting the needle and connecting him with the fluid bag. That was the simple part. I had inserted so many IVs I had lost count. But the rest? The rest I had no clue how to do if I was being honest with myself.
Grabbing the scissors, I cut the length of Aiden’s pants, revealing the bullet embedded into his thigh. Some random miracle had the bullet missing the femoral artery that ran through his thigh, but a massive amount of blood still spilled over his skin.
More would continue to run once I cut into the skin, especially since the bullet wasn’t visible. If I had any chance at getting it out, I was going to have to cut deep.
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath, and Warner was at my side.
“What do you need us to do?” Warner asked, arms crossed over his chest.
“Any of you know your blood type?”
The best case scenario would be to give him my own blood. But I couldn’t give a transfusion while operating. I glanced at the fluids going into Aiden’s arm, knowing that right now actual blood would be more helpful, giving him a better chance at survival.
Different blood types sounded in the room, all of them calling out their type, except for Mina, who had no idea.
Of course, Murphy was the one with B positive blood, just like Aiden and me. He was also still sitting limply against the wall, his body exhausted from whatever beating he had taken.
My concerned gaze met his and he realized what I was about to stay, getting to his feet unsteadily.
“If you give blood right now, you might pass out,” I told him, but he only shook his head.
“Am I going to die?” He asked and I told him no.
He sat beside the bed, holding out his arm. “Then let’s do it.”
I knew better than to argue with him. This whole bunch was much too stubborn. Finding another bag, I took down the fluids, setting up the contraption to take blood from Murphy and flow into Aiden. Then I approached Murphy with the IV needle.
Bending down until we were face to face, I gripped his arm under my clammy hands. “Are you sure?”
He brought his other hand up and cupped my cheek. “I’ll do anything for family.”
I bit back more tears at his words. How simple it was to him. Aiden was my family. But so were the others in this room. Which made him just as important to Murphy.
Biting my lip, I stuck the needle into Murphy’s arm, watching as the blood began pooling down the tube, filling up the bag that would give Aiden the chance to survive.
Standing back up, I grabbed the scalpel, ready to cut into my brother. Staring at the blood, I called to Rainer.
He looked longingly at the door, not wanting to leave us unprotected, but Sasha took his spot. Once he was beside me, his eyes bouncing between Murphy and me, I told him and Warner, “You need to hold him down.”
Both their eyes widened, these two tough men looking queasy at the idea. “I have no anesthesia. He’s going to wake up and he’s going to thrash. You need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Both of them nodded. Warner took Aiden’s upper body, resting his hands over Aiden’s arms. Rainer took the bottom half, gripping his legs and holding him immobile.
Gripping the skin of Aiden’s thigh, I set the scalpel against his thigh, years of studying running through my head. I prayed to whoever would listen that I wouldn’t nick the femoral artery and I cut. And then Aiden screamed.
I finished retrieving the bullet and stitching Aiden up in an hour. Both he and Murphy had passed out, one from the pain and the other from the lack of blood. Aiden was now resting while I gave Murphy fluids, hoping that would help.
Sasha had a superficial wound along her hairline from a stray bullet and I stitched that up as well, cleaning the area to avoid infection.
Once Aiden had passed out, Warner and Rainer had gone downstairs to barricade the main entrance and check to make sure Vex was still passed out. That had been nearly thirty minutes ago, and they were now back up in the room.
Exhausting poured out of me as I slumped against the wall. But pride swelled in my chest. Maybe this was my salvation. I had taken a life, but now I had also saved one. Although, the thought didn’t help much as I thought of the bodies littered downstairs. Were our lives really important than theirs?
A hand touched my arm, my entire body flinching. But the touch didn’t leave, Warner’s dark eyes piercing me. “Follow me.”
I quirked a tired brow, but he gave no more of an explanation, waiting until I was on my feet and then nodding to Rainer. “Figure out a plan to get us all out of here. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Rainer’s eyes narrowed, his lips pursed as he wanted to ask where we were going, but he never did. He knew he wouldn’t get any answers out of Warner, just as I knew.
I followed Warner downstairs, my body sluggish, wondering what the hell he wanted to do now. We didn’t stop on the main floor, Warner leading me to the basement.
My steps still faltered, still haunted by the memories. But Warner gripped my hand, pulling me down the stairs until we entered the room where I had been tortured. The two chairs were back inside, Vex tied to the one I had sat in too many times.
His eyes were wide open, glaring at me. I took a step back, fear coursing through my veins, but Warner’s chest was there, halting my movements.
His hand found mine, but it wasn’t his touch that was there, it was cool metal. I recognized the weight in my palm. My fingers clasped around the gun.
“Are you here to kill me?” Vex spat, spit flying from his mouth.
I swallowed. “I should. You would have killed us all.”
He laughed maniacally. “As if it would have mattered. You know as well as I do that you’ll be dead before the year’s end.”
So the information was accurate. I had trusted the writing; I had trusted Emmanuel, but I still had hoped that it wasn’t the case. Maybe I never would fully shed the naivety that the world wasn’t unfair in its cruelty.
“And you? Were you going to be dead?” Maybe it was silly to expect that he would give us any answers. But it was worth the shot.
“What do you think?” He mocked, tilting his head to the side.
No. No, he wasn’t going to be dead. Which meant there was still a chance for us. Knowing he wasn’t going to give us any more information, I held the gun up, aimed directly at his head.
My hand didn’t shake. In fact, I was steadier than I had ever been before. This man had tortured my brother. He had mutilated my body, gifting me scars I would carry forever. And although I had no proof, I knew he had killed my father.
I clicked the safety off, Vex’s eyes flashing with fear finally. I took one step closer, the barrel resting against his head.
My heart soared with the knowledge that this man could never hurt me again. And then I clicked the safety back on, stepping away. I didn’t want to be like him. I didn’t want to be a killer.
I turned my back on the man, not allowing him to have the satisfaction of seeing my face one more time. Walking around Warner, I headed for the stairs, when a shot rang through the air. My body flinched at the noise, but I stood steady.
Warner walked out of the room, tucking his gun back into his pants. He stared at me. I stared at him. The darkness in his eyes seeping into my soul.
“You have a kind heart. Mine’s been tainted black for as long as I can remember.”
His words were a warning. A reminder that he would never be the man to show mercy. Taking a step forward until our feet touched, I raised up on my feet, wiping a fleck of blood that stained his sharp cheek.
“I don’t care,” I whispered and he inhaled deeply, his eyes darkening until they were nearly black.
Dropping back onto my heels, I asked, “Now what?”
He nodded his head back up the stairs. “Now we find out how we’re going to survive.”