Chapter 9
F eeling a mixture of relief and fury when Jax finally answered his phone was almost too overwhelming. First I felt like I wanted to scream at him for not being there when I needed him. He was supposed to protect me and keep me safe. I knew the risks and expected something like this would happen but I still hoped that it wouldn’t and I’d be okay. I was outraged, furious to the point I wanted to kill him for leaving me alone.
Rage fueled by my fear was boiling inside me, but as soon as I heard his voice, that anger melted away. Hope surged through my body, hammering my heart to a different beat. If I wasn’t currently being chased by murderous psychos and the cops, I might have been jumping for joy.
The end of the bridge was approaching faster than I would have liked. I gasped, weaving through the other cars, avoiding getting hit by the bullets as they whizzed by. One glance out of the windshield revealed the end of the line for me. The police had set up a barricade and I could hear them shouting orders through a megaphone for me to stop; but the only thing I could hear was Jax’s voice commanding me even louder.
“Are you insane?”
“ Do it now, Katy! You’ve got to trust me. Now! ”
“Shit, shit, shit.” I screamed, rotating the wheel hard right and driving nose first into the railing of the bridge. Metal on metal screeched and groaned as the barrier gave out from the shear force of the car leaping into the void. The airbags finally inflated, the car nose dipped and then we were in free fall.
The horror that stared back at me was beyond my ability to withhold the strangled wail that tore from my throat. Dark waters waited below to welcome us to its cold embrace. I might as well have been staring at the open mouth of a monster. The sight of it had fear washing over me, turning my blood into ice and stopping my heart altogether. It was a precursor to what was to come. The surface broke, splitting and splashing the water around the vehicle, swallowing us in a whirlpool to the depths.
The cockpit filled with freezing cold water, surging up my legs and chilling me to the core. I had to fight hard not to let the panic take over me, as I crawled to the backseat, grabbed the hold of unconscious Petras and attempted to pull him out of the car before we sank completely. He was heavy, limp and unmovable and I was unsure if he was even still alive. I didn’t have time to check. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful and the water rushed in within seconds, taking us in its icy hold.
Forcefully I drew in a harsh breath just as my head dipped under the surface. My skin tingled and burned, every muscle in my body convulsed and my head started to throb, fighting the shock. Petras’ body floated weightlessly and I was finally able to tug him out of the cabin. Glass scraped and tore what was left of my flimsy top, rendering it all but scraps clinging to my body. Not that it mattered. I was minutes away from hypothermia and seconds away from drowning. A shredded item of clothing was the least of my worries.
Petras hung on my arm as I peddled towards what I hoped was the surface, since everything around me was pitch black. My body was becoming numb, my lungs screamed for air and my head felt like there was a stake pierced through it. I pushed past the discomfort and kicked with what little energy I still had.
This is it , I thought, this is how I die . From all the scenarios I had thought out, all the threats I’ve received for my life, all the dangers that had tested my surviving skills, this was the way I was going to die ?
My vision blurred and I stopped struggling, no longer caring for the blistering cold invading my body. The river was calm, a deafening silence falling over me and there was all but nothingness left.
Badump. My heartbeat was but a tired drum, echoing somewhere, hollow and weak, far from the hammering thunder it had been before. Badump. Another beat, slower and quiet, like the melody it once sang now lost and forgotten, and all that remained was barely a whisper. Badump. One last time, the pulse gave a gentle throb, setting free its final cadence as it finally stilled and I spirited away.
Badump.
A shocking gasp ripped through my lungs. My body jolted upwards, turning on its side and coughing up whatever it was stuck in my throat. I felt the struggling rasps of my breathing, as I drew in heavy lungfulls, shivering and shaking uncontrollably with every intake. Incoherent mumbling resonated above me but I couldn’t quite understand it, like it was muffled and distorted, or in another language. Either way I wasn’t able to decipher it and it made me frustrated and tired.
A splitting headache forced me to reach for my temples but my hands wouldn’t move. In fact nothing of me was moving voluntarily. I attempted to move my arms to feel my anything but they remained still on my lap. Seemingly immobile, I focused all my capacity to use my other senses, but it felt as if I had none. I couldn’t smell, taste or feel anything. My lids were heavy and my hearing had yet returned, which only added to the annoyance.
“Stay with me, stay with me, Katy. Don’t you dare die on me. Don’t you fucking dare.”
What is he saying? Slayning? What’s slayning? Who’s Kaygy? No, who is he? I wracked my brain but could not recognize the voice. Hey, buddy, I don’t know you. Can you like step away from me? Or at least tell me what is daining?
“I’ve got you. Fuck.” The voice got louder, I assumed to talk to someone else, but I couldn’t be certain. He might have just been yelling at me too. If only I could have understood what he was saying I wouldn’t have been so clueless. “Can’t you go any faster?! Just hurry.”
Uuh okay. Why is everything wobbling? Stop rocking the damn boat. Imma be sick. If there was one thing I didn’t need to come back to me, was feeling nauseous, even though there was nothing left in my stomach. Why aren’t you listening? I’m talking to you. Aren’t I? Hello?
“Please, Katy. Open your eyes. Please. I’ll never forgive myself if-”
Oh. Why do you sound so sad? What’s wrong? Hey, sir. Would you mind telling em.. What’s going on, please - sorry? Umm.
“Just hang on for a little longer. Okay? I’m sorry, Katy. I’m so fucking sorry. Please. You have to get through this. Please. You will get through this. You’ve got to survive. Just keep fighting, okay? Fight for me. For us.”
The rest of the conversation faded away and I let my mind go blank.
Next time I regained my consciousness, I felt my body tingling, like something was pricking and stabbing me with tiny needles. Like blistering heat going on a rampage and reaching every corner of my body. I didn’t like it at all. Not for one bit. The horace sound that left my throat was not my own. I groaned, willing my body to respond in any other way but I seemed to ragdoll on something. I was limp like a wet noodle.
“Katy? You’re awake. Thank fuck. I thought-” The voice of the man was familiar, friendly, soothing even. He spoke in a low soft tone with a hint of panic, and though I didn’t know why, I could feel my heart constrict. This man sounded worried and was still very close to me, maybe even touching me. I couldn’t tell. The burning sensation was unbearable, scorching my skin, making it almost impossible to focus on anything else.
“Hot.” I mumbled, surprised at the weak squeak it turned out to be.
“I promise you it’s not hot.”
Bull shit. My skin was practically burning off. Whatever he was doing didn’t feel right and hurt like a motherfucker. I wanted to slap him, but my arms refused to move. This is ridiculous .
“You just might feel like it is. Your body has been through a shock. ”
“Hurts.” Another pathetic whimper came out of my mouth. My own voice felt so foreign to me. Something or someone was pressing on my back. Even when I tried to wiggle away from it, I found myself being pulled back.
“I know, Katy. I’m sorry. Just bear with me. I’ve got you. I have to do this. You’ll feel better soon. I promise.”
I could not bring myself to care what they were saying or doing, I just wanted the burning pain to end, so I hung my head and drifted off to sleep again.
When I woke up the third time, the blistering heat was gone but the tingling sensation still remained. Slowly, I mentally tested all my limbs, that I still had them and that they were working. I was wrapped up in something like a cocoon and based on the sway of my legs, I guessed I was being carried. Wiggling my toes I determined them all there and did the same with my fingers, rejoicing that the numbness was slowly receding. Jolts of electricity shot from my fingertips to my spine and up the back of my head, sparking every nerve ending to awake anew.
I let out a shocked gasp and flashed open my eyes, which I regretted immediately. A bright light beaming down at me had me squinting at my carrier. With a groan, I squirmed but only ended up being held on tighter, almost to the point where I struggled to breathe. Peering up, I saw the tight jaw of a man. His hair was messy and sticking out of place as if he had run fingers through it a lot. I reached up from my bindings and touched it, finding it slightly damp. The man’s eyes dropped down to meet my gaze.
“Hey?” I tried, testing out my voice again that still sounded raspy and weak. It was a mere whisper, but he heard it all the same. A crease formed between his brows and I bit my lip not knowing the reason for his worry. Finally my mind reeled and I was able to recognize him. “Jackal?”
“Almost there. How’re you feeling?”
“Umh, I don’t know. What’s going on? What happened?”
“Do you remember anything?”
“I remember-” Closing my eyes, I thought back, hard, racking my brain for the fragments of my memories.
Images flashed before my eyes, events I could recall and faces I was familiar with, and some I was unfamiliar with; faces with masks. A shiver ran down my spine, fear washing over me as the memories flickered into view, each more clear than the next. The images were moving so fast it was hard to keep up, like my brian was working overtime trying to place everything that had happened back in the timeline.
There was blood and glass everywhere, the smell of gunpowder and gasoline still fresh in my mind and my ears were still ringing from the wailing of police sirens. And then I remembered the water. And the cold. And -
“Oh my god. Petras? Is he-?”
“The men fished him out of the river too. He was unconscious, but miraculously there was a pulse. He is in a coma. It’s a miracle if he survives. Would be a shame to lose a good guy like him.” He lowered me onto a bed and continued to pull out the covers, placing the blankets on top of me and wrapping me up like a breakfast burrito. “I don’t want you to think about that right now. You should focus on yourself. The doctor is on his way.”
“What happened? After the crash I mean.”
He grimaced and I reached out to him, but he pushed my hands back inside the blankets.
“Please. I want to know.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, leaned his elbows on his knees and sighed. In the dim light I finally got to really see him. Worry weighed heavy on his shoulders. I couldn’t recall ever seeing him like this. Not once. He always wore the same expression, like he was unaffected by the things happening around him. The perfect poker face. In this fleeting moment, he seemed bothered, hurt even, and my heart ached to comfort him.
“Where you went under, it wasn’t too far from the shore. I was already on the pier when you crashed through the barricade, however I was not expecting the car to sink so fast. And when I didn’t see you come up, I lost it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“For-” I wasn’t sure what exactly but I felt like I needed to say something. “-bothering you?”
“Fuck, Katy. It’s a little late for that.” He let out a sigh raking his hands through his hair once more. “The moment I saw you, even before I knew who you were, I knew you would be trouble. I knew a pretty girl that looked like sin incarnate would end up costing me more than I was ready to bargain for. And yet I didn’t fight it when my father presented you as my bride, because devil be damned I wanted you all the same.”
My body numb and void of energy, I shuddered from his confession. I couldn't cry even if I wanted to, feeling overwhelmed by his words and only a pitiful whimper was what left my lips in response.
He turned to face me and placed a kiss on my forehead, before leaning on it and holding me tight in his arms. My heart was about to burst.
“Don’t think for a second that you are a bother. You are my wife, my responsibility and I-” His voice broke above me as his body trembled. “-I’ve failed you. I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Katy. I’m sorry-”
Wiggling my arms free from the bundle, I reached around his neck and pulled him onto me tighter, sealing him in my embrace as he tightened his grip around me, too. His weight was crushing and seized my breath but I didn’t care. I needed him closer. I choked out a cry as I felt his lips in the nape of my neck, raining soft kisses on my exposed skin.
Far too soon, he lifted himself off me when a knock sounded off somewhere in the room. I hadn’t even paid attention to where we were till he got off the bed to answer the door. The unfamiliar room was small with narrow windows, gray wallpaper and furniture adorned with light wood trims.
Jax pulled out his gun on instinct and marched to the door. A man in a trench coat didn’t even flinch when the barrel was aimed at his head. With a nod, Jax put his gun down and the man pushed past him, rushed to the bedside and put his medical bag on the nightstand. He proceeded to shed his outer layers, and pulled on some white latex gloves before approaching me.
“I came as fast as I could. On the phone you said she drowned. This is not a place to treat a patient. I still think she should go to the hospital.”
“No, we can’t risk it. I don’t know who is involved. They might have set up an ambush at nearby hospitals and emergency rooms. She will stay here.”
“Fine. I’ll do what I can with what I got. May I?” He asked, pressing the glasses further on his crooked nose. I nodded and he began his examination.
An oxygen mask was pulled over my face and he took my vitals, including blood pressure and drew some blood. Jax stayed by my side the entire time and for once he was not on his phone. His hand rested on mine rubbing small circles on it and occasionally he placed a kiss on my knuckles. My eyes were droopy again and I could barely keep up with everything that the doctor was doing. I laid my head on the pillow as the small pads were being attached to my skin and the covers pulled over me.
“Rest, Katy.”
“But…”
“Hush, it’s okay. Just focus on getting better. I’ll take care of everything. I promise.”
The room faded away and I believe I mumbled a weak ‘okay’ as a response before sleep overtook me once more.