20. Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Lucy
We watched flames engulf the back door of Ristorante Bellissima as Dax peeled the gray minivan out of the parking lot.
The space shuttle was nowhere in sight. Fire trucks passed us as we rushed to the hospital at lightning speed.
I had to hand it to him, even without his fancy ride, he really knew how to handle a vehicle.
I’m not sure even an ambulance could have gotten us there quicker.
I watched Dax as he paced the glossy floors illuminated by the sterile fluorescent light of the hospital waiting room.
Bianca sat next to me, tapping her foot anxiously against the floor.
The three of us had escaped the burning building with nothing more than a few minor burns and scratches.
The same could not be said for Ricky. He was unconscious in the ICU, and we had already been there for a couple of hours.
Dax stood still, his brow furrowed as he furiously typed a message into his phone.
Exhaustion and anxiety ran me ragged, and I clutched on to the cup of stale black coffee he’d bought for me from the cafeteria.
He turned to face me, his eyes softening at first, then burning into rage as he glanced down at the small bandages littering my arms. He crouched down in front of me, and Bianca pretended not to watch as she scrolled through her phone.
He placed his hand softly against the curve of my jeans. “We can’t stay here much longer, Luce,” he whispered.
“I don’t want to leave him alone here!” I whisper-shouted back at him. I was exhausted. Mentally, physically, and emotionally drained—but Ricky was my friend, and I refused to leave him vulnerable. I couldn’t do that to a friend. Not again.
“Neither do I, Lucy, but it isn’t safe here. I should never—” His voice was thick with emotion. “I should never have brought you to that fucking restaurant. I knew it was a bad idea, I—”
“Just stop, Dax.” I set my coffee down on a side table stacked with pamphlets and old magazines. “This isn’t your fault. And…I’m sorry. About Bellissima, I—”
“No.” Dax’s deep rasp stilled my next words.
“You could have died in there tonight. We all could have. It is my fault. Putting you in danger is something I’ll never forgive myself for.
Which is why we can’t stay. We made a deal we would leave the city tonight, and now it’s more important than ever that we do.
” He reached up to lock my hand in his, running his finger over the small bandage below my thumb.
There was something simple yet profound in his touch.
Gentle but strong. Soft and rough and comforting in a way that sent my tired heart fluttering.
I took a deep breath. “We can’t abandon him.” My voice was steady, but I could tell I was losing this argument.
“For fuck’s sake.” Bianca’s twang cut through the air between us as she turned toward us, rolling her eyes as they saw Dax’s hand on mine.
“Just go. I’m staying here with Ricky. There’s nothing you can do right now except annoy the shit out of me.
I’ll let you know if—when he wakes up.” Her eyes went back to her phone without another word.
“It’s time to go, Luce.” Dax’s growl was soft yet resounding.
I turned to Bianca. “Call me the moment he wakes up.” When she turned to look at me, I anticipated her typical indifferent attitude.
Instead, her face was sullen as she nodded.
Part of me missed her old spiteful glare because that would at least have been a shred of normalcy in this fucked up situation.
“Actually, you won’t be able to call either of us for a while.
” Dax noticed me frowning at this but ignored me as he pivoted toward Bianca.
She gave him a skeptical look. “Stay at the hospital for now, I have someone coming for you. For once, Bianca, just do what I ask. If not for yourself, then do it for him.” He gestured toward the closed ICU doors where Ricky was somewhere beyond.
Bianca’s stoic face was frozen, but she gave him a small nod of understanding, and he turned around without another word, grabbing me by the elbow and guiding me toward the exit.
“Hey!” I growled at him, ripping my arm from his grasp as we made our way out the automatic doors of the hospital. “I can’t believe you’re actually leaving them there. What the fuck is happening, Dax? And why can’t Bianca call us?”
He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Because, Lucy. We have no idea what Wrangler is capable of. They could easily hack into our phones. We need to dispose of them.”
Excuse me?
“What the hell are you talking about? Do you know how much a new phone costs? I can’t afford a new one, I—”
“I’ll buy you a new fucking phone, Luce.” Dax rolled his eyes. “That should hardly be your first concern considering the fact you just narrowly survived a bomb.”
Anger crept up my spine, but I kept my mouth shut. I wordlessly followed Dax toward the parking garage, and when we walked past a trash bin, he held out his hand. I clutched my phone in my pocket. I didn’t want to give it to him. How the hell was I supposed to contact Tara? My family?
But then again, what he said made sense. I had no idea where he was planning on taking me, but I sure as hell didn’t want Wrangler to follow. I begrudgingly plopped my phone in his outstretched palm.
He took the phone and smashed it on the cement, crushing it with his boot.
I couldn’t contain my physical cringe as I watched my connection to my loved ones break to pieces.
He then slid his own phone from his pocket, typing one last message before he destroyed it too.
He gathered the broken fragments and tossed them in the trash, veering deeper into the parking garage.
Anger, confusion, and hurt pressed on my insides as we approached the minivan. I sped up and passed him, beelining toward the passenger side. When I opened the door, I found my backpack perched on the floor in the front seat of the car. I looked at Dax with an accusatory glare.
“Going back to the house was too risky. I had the guys bring your stuff here.” Dax turned the key in the ignition and muttered an insult under his breath to the car.
“Try to sleep if you can, it’ll be a few hours before we get there.
” Despite my exhaustion, I didn’t know if sleep was possible.
I couldn’t believe it was only twenty-four hours ago I’d fled my apartment with Dax.
And here I was, running again. I was sick of this feeling, this deep-seeded fear that had been planted in my bones and was growing like weeds inside, suffocating me.
My eyes stayed open as Dax drifted his way through the city, and I didn’t speak until we had crossed the Bay Bridge and were passing through Berkely.
“Where are you taking me?” I broke the silence.
Dax glanced at me, his silvery blue eyes glinting in the dark.
“Somewhere you’ll be out of harm’s way. I’m positive the bomb was retaliation, which means Wrangler knows we’re on to him.
Until we can track him down, we can’t go back to the city.
I’m hoping it won’t take more than a few days.
” His hand gripped the steering wheel tightly, the wings of his phoenix tattoo flexing like pent-up fury across his skin.
“Retaliation for what? Helping me?” I asked.
He kept his eyes on the road, speeding the minivan into the next lane.
“That’s part of it,” he paused like he was gathering his thoughts.
“They see you as a prize, Lucy. You’re young, beautiful—fuck, you’re the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.
That holds value for them, and the sick fuckers who watch their content would pay a lot of money to see them hurt you.
You don’t understand the torment they’d put you through. ”
If I thought my stomach hurt before, it was now twisted into a knot that sent a wave of nausea through my body.
If they got their hands on me, what would they do?
Would they do to me what they did to Tara, leaving me dumped on the dirty street to whither away?
Would they film me while they did it? It still didn’t make sense.
“Why would they attack Bellissima though? That seems excessive. When you say retaliation…” My voice drifted off. I wasn’t sure what I was asking him, but he already knew the answer.
“When I went to The Wire yesterday…” Dax cleared his throat slightly. “Let’s just say my chat with Marty could have gone a little smoother.” His words sank into my curling stomach.
“Smoother, how?”
His eyes moved to mine briefly again at the nervous tinge in my tone. “He might have ended up with a bullet in his kneecap,” he said stiffly. I gasped in a sharp breath when he added, “And maybe some broken fingers too, but those will be fine.”
I gawked. “You shot him?” I knew this should have made me terrified.
I’d already known it deep down, but the man sitting next to me was lethal.
He was driving me to an undisclosed location, and I was letting him.
It should have disturbed me that he was capable of such violence, but for some reason…
it didn’t. Dax wanted to protect me. He would do anything to keep me safe, and I truly believed that.
“That bastard is lucky he’s alive after all he’s been involved with. I don’t know how much clearer I can make myself, Lucy. There is nothing I won’t do to protect you.” His pitch lowered possessively.