Chapter 54
The world spins even with my eyes closed, and I fight to pry them open. The last thing I remember is the underground city, killing Ivan, and Dom bleeding.
Fuck, Dom!
My eyes fly open as I spring up, looking around frantically. The bright lights blind me after the darkness of having them closed, but I blink rapidly to clear them as I search my surroundings.
This is definitely not the tunnels.
My head feels groggy as I try to put the pieces together, but nothing makes sense.
I turn at the beep to my left and find a screen.
My head spins as I watch the line move up and down.
I press my eyes closed, trying to right myself, but the feeling doesn’t go away, and even sitting here, I feel my body sway.
Reaching out, I brace myself on the bed. A slight tug on my arm has me cracking my eyes in curiosity. A tube runs from the back of my hand, and I follow it up to a bag that hangs just behind my bed.
An IV.
The monitor, the bright lights.
I’m in the hospital. Looking around the room once again, I’m almost certain that’s the case.
I can’t be one hundred percent since I’ve never actually been to one before, but I’ve seen them enough in movies and read about them in books.
It would make sense after everything that happened in the tunnels.
Looking down, I find I’m no longer in my dress. Instead, I’m wearing a terrible green gown with buttons down the side. I make quick work of pulling them open and find my lower abdomen wrapped in fresh gauze.
I poke around a bit. It’s still tender, but not as bad as it could have been. My head swims again, and my eyelids feel heavy as I slump forward, but I don’t feel any pain.
Strange. I’ve never been shot before. Stabbed, beaten, and assaulted, but never shot.
Somehow, I don’t think it should be so painless, even if it was treated.
No, I remember the way it felt when I got hit.
The searing pain as it ripped through my skin felt like nothing I’d ever experienced before and never wanted to again.
I sit for a moment, trying to get my thoughts in order, when the sudden beep once again startles me. I jump, and the movement sends a wave of nausea through me, followed by a sharp bite of pain from my side.
Okay, so it hurts to move. At least, that’s something.
Turning back to the monitors, I try to make sense of them.
According to books and TV, they should all do pretty basic things like checking my heart rate, oxygen levels, and other things, but that doesn’t mean I understand any of it.
To me, they look like Spencer’s computers.
There is a whole lot of stuff going on, but none of it is understandable.
Fantastic.
I rub at my temple as my head begins to pound. I’m so fucking tired, but I refuse to go to sleep in some unknown place with no idea what happened to Dom, where the guys are, or if I’ll even wake up again.
The IV pulls at the skin on my hand again.
Bringing it up to my face, I examine it only to find it’s pumping something into me.
I turn faster than my body’s happy with and get hit with another wave of pain, but I push through it, grinding my teeth together as I crane my neck to better look at the bags that hang behind me.
There are two bags; both drip steadily into the same tube that leads to my hand, but whatever they are is lost to me because neither is English.
The only information I have to go on is what I’ve gathered from sources that might not even be right, and I almost scream in annoyance.
Almost, but not quite. I don’t want to alert anyone that I’m awake if I don’t have to.
I rack my brain, trying to remember the point of an IV. It takes me a minute, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with hydration, getting fluids into people, but that only explains one bag.
My eyelids droop, and I rub at my eyes as they go fuzzy. My body begs me to sleep, even though I don’t want to.
It feels like I’ve been drugged again.
My eyes fly open, and I turn to look at the bag once again.
Pain medication—that’s what a second bag could be, and that would certainly explain the way I’m feeling.
I don’t give myself time to think about it. Grabbing the IV tube that’s taped to my hand, I yank it free with a solid tug and a hiss of pain.
Fuck, that hurt worse than I thought it would.
Holding up the IV, I watch the liquid drip into my lap. The needle’s much smaller than I would have imagined. It felt like it was huge when I was yanking it out. Tossing it aside, I watch it dangle off the side of the bed and wait to see if it was the reason for my cloudy thoughts.
A minute turns into five, which slowly creeps to twenty as I count in my head.
After thirty, I feel as though my thoughts are a bit clearer, though not completely.
Who knows what they were pumping into me, though?
Right now, I’m grateful it cleared at all, but the full effect could take more time to leave my body.
Sitting forward, I feel the pull at my side.
It’s annoying, but that’s about it. It would make sense that I had medication being pumped into me after being shot, but that doesn’t mean I like it.
Slowly, I pull the blanket back, finding thick, fuzzy socks on my feet.
Taking a moment, I wiggle my toes before attempting to move my legs and let out a sigh of relief when I can not only feel them but also move them.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been out, but it’s been long enough that everything is stiff, and I find moving my legs to be much harder than I was prepared for.
It takes some maneuvering, but I scoot to the edge of the bed. Taking a deep breath, I brace myself on the edge and use my arms to push myself up.
My legs give out the second my feet hit the ground, and I crumble to the floor in a pitiful heap. I growl in frustration, biting my lip to keep from shouting at the jolt of pain that’s sent up my side and the disappointment I feel in myself as tears well in my eyes.
My pity party is cut short by the sound of movement from the other side of the door. I scramble, trying to reach for the bar to pull myself up, or at the very least, back onto the bed, but my body’s still sluggish. The door swings open, and I can’t even see who enters from my spot on the ground.
“Jade?” someone calls out, and I know that voice.
The tears that had been welling in my eyes spill down my face, and I’d like to say it’s a side effect of the medication. Hell, it might be, but the relief I feel is very real.
Jake moves around the end of the bed, his eyes wide as they spot me on the floor. The book in his hand drops, and I watch as the bookmark sails through the air before drifting slowly to the ground, forgotten as he rushes to my side.
He drops to the floor in front of me. Capturing my face between his hands, he gently wipes my tears away.
“Jade,” he murmurs, his voice full of wonder.
I do the only thing that makes sense at the moment and fling myself forward. Wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my head into his chest. My tears fall faster as his arms wrap around me, rubbing down my back, and the scent of him fills my nose.
Every breath hurts a little more, but I don’t dare move. I’d rather deal with the pain than let him go right now.
“Your heart’s beating like crazy,” I whisper, feeling it hammer against my ear.
“Yes, well, let’s just be happy it’s still beating at all right now, huh?” he says, chuckling as he runs his fingers through my hair, soothing it back from my face. I pull back, looking up at him, and the question must be clear on my face.
“It’s been through a lot the last week or so, and walking in to find you missing almost did it in,” he explains, smiling down at me in what I assume is meant to be reassurance.
It’s not, though; if anything, it only puts me on higher alert because it’s fake.
The relief in his eyes is real, though, as he stares down at me once again, brushing the tears from my face.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see those beautiful eyes again, Princess,” Jake says, his voice thick with emotion, and I get it. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see them again, either, for a while there.
He leans in, pressing his lips to mine. It’s a gentle kiss, just a simple peck, really. Soft and sweet and so very full of emotion. It’s so strange, thinking back to the time when I thought he was just another asshole, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
That was just who he had to be to survive.
“Where's Dom?” I blurt, pulling back, ruining the moment. But we have a lifetime we can fill with moments. Right now, I need to know what happened to my brother.
Jake, to his credit, doesn’t look away, but he doesn’t have to. I see the sadness written on his face, the way his lips curve down slightly, and his brows pinch together.
“Jake, where is he?” I press, urging him to give me the answer I want.
He can’t be dead, right? What a sick joke. The universe finally gave me family, only for me to spend the little time I got with him actively trying to hate him.
“He’s here,” Jake finally says, and I sag in relief.
That has to be a good sign. Do they even take dead people to hospitals, or do they just go right to the graveyard?
The look on his face still hasn’t changed, though, and I have a feeling there’s something he’s not telling me.
“Everyone’s here, actually. We’ve been taking turns coming to visit you—” He pauses, looking away before he shakes his head. “Actually, it’ll just be easier to show you. Okay?”
That fake smile is back when he looks down at me again, but his eyes are sad, pleading with me.
As much as I don’t want anyone to see me like this, I can’t deny the need to see the others and get some answers. Five minutes with Jake, and I feel like I’m missing a lot of pieces and not just from brain fog, though I’m sure that’s not helping.
I nod slowly, and this time, when he smiles, it’s a little brighter, closer to the one I love, but still not completely convincing. Before I can even attempt to get to my feet, Jake scoops me up into his arms as if I weigh nothing, and I huff in annoyance.
They’re always picking me up, making me feel like a child, as if I can’t take any of them in a fight every time.
“Don’t be like that, Princess,” Jake says with a chuckle, no doubt seeing my irritation.
I don’t do anything to try to mask it, after all.
I roll my eyes at him, folding my arms, but say nothing.
I probably couldn’t walk even if I wanted to, but he doesn’t know that, and I can’t bring myself to admit it.
Standing, he pulls me close to his chest, and I can’t resist leaning my head against his shoulder. Annoyed or not, I really was worried I might never see them again.
“Is this okay?” he asks, and when I look up, I find his eyes full of concern.
I stare back at him, unsure what he means by that, before his eyes drift to my side, and I could almost smack myself. He’s concerned about my wound.
Duh.
“It’s fine,” I tell him, but still, he watches me as if unable to look away.
Unfolding my arms, I pull open my gown, showing off my gauze-wrapped abdomen.
I’d hoped seeing it would help him feel better, but the way his fingers dig into my rib and thigh makes me think it might have done the opposite.
“See, I’m fine. Really, Jake,” I tell him, letting the gown fall closed, and I’m not lying. I really do feel okay, considering what I went through recently. Almost too okay if I’m being honest. Minus the fact that my legs aren’t cooperating, of course.
He doesn’t look away, even once it’s covered, his brows turned down as if he’s upset. Reaching out, I turn his face to look at me. He blinks a few times before his face relaxes again. Leaning forward, he rests his head on mine, his eyes falling closed.
“Sorry,” he mumbles with a sigh. “I just really thought we might lose you for a while there.”
His words hit me right in the chest. All the worry I feel for Dom, the need to know how he is.
It’s probably nothing compared to what they’ve been dealing with.
Hell, I’ve been awake for maybe an hour, tops.
Who knows how long I’ve been out, not to mention I don’t even remember getting out of the tunnels.
I must have passed out at some point. I can’t imagine how worried they must have been.
I rest my hand on his cheek, slowly rubbing my thumb back and forth, the same way he did for me earlier, hoping it brings him the same comfort.
“You guys can’t get rid of me that easily.”
He chuckles and pulls me closer to his chest.
“Well, thank fuck for that, because I don’t know what we’d do without you.” He drops a quick kiss on my forehead, and I feel my cheeks heat.
With that, he heads for the door, his book forgotten on the floor as we walk out into a long hallway toward God only knows what. But the guys are there, waiting for me, and as long as I have them, I’m pretty sure we can face down just about anything.
Together.