9. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Alek
“ Y ou’re okay, Sunshine,” I hear Maddox tell Em as he carries her down the stairs to the basement. She keeps her head buried in his neck, her arms wrapped tight around him.
My heart's already breaking because I know what’s going to happen soon. I haven’t discussed it with my brothers yet, but I think they know as well as I do that we’ve got to get her someplace safe. She can’t stay with us until we find her mother and King is dead. For now, I shove the thoughts aside and focus on soaking up every second I can with her, reminding myself that it won’t be like when King had her. We will know where she is and that she’s safe from his grasp.
I adjust my grip on the ironing board Dax is strapped to, stepping carefully as Jasper and I carry him down to the med room. The doctor Mrs. Stone knows should be here any second. Dax is coming around, groaning in pain as he is jostled around on the board.
“We’ve got you, D. There’s a doctor on the way,” Jasper tells him. Ella opens the door when we get to the bottom but doesn’t go in. I see her lead Maddox and Em further into the concrete room with Laurelyn in tow.
I don’t know what we’re going to do with the girl, but she can’t stay here either. No one is safe until King is six feet under.
“Snow…” Dax groans, his head lolling to the side with his eyes squeezed shut as we get him off the board and onto the table.
“I’m right here, baby,” Snow says, her voice strangled with emotion at seeing him like this. She laces their fingers together, and he immediately settles with a ragged exhale. Jasper takes his other hand, and Ronan stands stoically at his feet, squeezing his ankle.
I don’t know them very well yet, but from what I can see, their relationship isn’t much different from ours with Raena. Three men who are rough around the edges– completely enchanted by a tiny, spitfire woman. My chest tightens at the reminder that Raena is gone, making my breath catch in my throat. I turn away to give them a semblance of privacy while also needing to collect myself– I can’t fall apart. I just told Maddox the same thing. We can fall apart later.
Royal moves to stand next to me, wrapping his strong fingers around my wrist. The gesture is surprisingly intimate for him. I know he’s struggling– spiraling with his need for control right now, even if no one else can see what’s going on inside his head. I can. He’s blaming himself– trying to bear the burden all alone. But I won’t allow it.
“She’ll be okay, Royal. She’s stronger than you think,” I say, keeping my voice low for only him to hear. He tightens his grip on my wrist, and I feel him shaking.
“She’s strong,” he whispers brokenly, with his eyes closed.
Looking straight ahead, I slide from his hold, taking his hand and intertwining our fingers together, squeezing them. I can feel his eyes now on my face before they slide down to our hands, but I don’t look at him.
This is new for us, but it doesn’t feel weird. It feels natural. And when he tightens his fingers around mine, I know he’s accepting this strange development in our relationship. We’ve always seen each other as brothers, but our love for each other runs deeper than blood can bind. It’s like Raena took her blade and sliced us wide open, stitching us back together in ways we didn’t think were possible.
The door swings open as Ella steps in with her phone in her hand, giving Snow an apologetic smile before walking over to where Royal and I are standing.
“Mom says this ‘doctor’ is pulling up now. They’ll be down in a minute,” she says with a scoff, reading the message on her screen. “I can’t believe she’s been seeing a man and hid it from me. What the actual fuck?”
“Ella, think about it. You said she’s been a mess since your father died. And understandably so. She lost the love of her life. But you lost your father. Of course, she wouldn’t want to rub it in your face if she’s trying to move on. Just keep an open mind. If she’s happy, that's all that matters,” I tell her.
“You’re right. She has been happier the last few weeks. I just wish she would have told me. I don’t like secrets. Thank you, Alek.”
I squeeze her shoulder with my free hand, but before I can respond, Mrs. Stone comes in, leading a middle-aged man carrying a large medical bag into the room. Ella’s reaction looks like a mixture of shock and constipation, making a smile twitch my lips. When the man steps into the light, I can see why. Ella looks back at me as I try not to bust out laughing.
Get it, Mama Stone.
“Stop it, right now. It’s not funny,” Ella whispers, smacking my arm.
“Thank you for coming, Dr…?” Ronan says, stepping up to the man.
“Henly. Henly Sterling. And no thanks needed. Helen said it was an emergency. What are we dealing with?” Dr. Sterling responds, sitting his bag on the table. He shakes his hand before moving beside Jasper and shaking his hand as well.
“Gunshot to the shoulder. No exit wound. He’s lost quite a bit of blood.” Jasper replies, letting go of his hand and moving to stand next to Snow to give him some room.
“And I understand hospitals are out of the question. I can patch him up. Anybody here O Negative?”
“I am,” Ronan speaks up. “Take whatever you need.”
Dr. Sterling nods, retrieving his bag once more and leading Ronan to the back wall, where a chair sits. He sits the bag on the counter next to the sink, pulling out tubing and other items he needs to take blood.
Giving a squeeze to Royal’s hand, I step over and offer my help. “I have some medical experience. I can take his blood while you work on Dax.”
“Oh, thank you. That would be helpful,” he says, placing the items on the counter before grabbing his bag and moving back over to the exam table. I hear him asking Jasper and Snow some questions, but I block most of it out as I get to work stretching out the tubing and attaching it to the empty blood bag. I let my hands work on autopilot as I connect everything together before laying the bag in his lap, tying the elastic band around Ronan’s arm, and inserting the needle into his vein. He doesn’t so much as flinch at the stick, keeping his eyes trained on his family that’s only a few feet from us.
Once the bag is full, I clamp it off, sealing the tubing off before disconnecting the bag and taking it over to the doctor. “Thank you,” he says, not even looking up at me as he hangs the bag on the overhead rack, connecting it to the IV he’s already placed in Dax’s arm.
Ronan has already pulled the needle from his arm and is wrapping some gauze and tape around it when he walks over. “Thank you, man. I appreciate you jumping in.”
“You’re Raena’s family, which means you're our family now, too,” I tell him, squeezing his shoulder as I move back to Royal and Ella.
“Let’s give them some privacy and go check on the others. We’ve got to figure out where to hide them so we can find Raena and take care of King.” Royal says, grabbing my hand and pulling me after him.
I can’t stop the smile that tips at the corners of my mouth.
I guess he likes the feeling of his hand in mine as much as I do.
When we shut the door behind us, Em immediately darts over, disconnecting our hands as she jumps into my arms.
“Bear,” she squeals, hugging me tightly.
“I’ve got you, Little One.”
“How’s he doing?” I ask when Mrs. Stone and Dr. Henly finally exit the makeshift med room, and we meet them in the middle of the room.
“He’s going to be just fine. He’s awake and alert. I left him some pain meds, but he’s refusing to take them. He’s tough, that one,” Dr. Henly replies.
“Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate you coming,” I tell him, shaking his hand when he extends it to me.
“Don’t mention it. If you're important to my Helen, you’re family. It’s looking like this might be an extended trip for me,” he says, smirking at Mrs. Stone before looking back, pulling out a card, and handing it to me. “If you need anything else, call me.”
“I’ll walk you out, Henly,” Mrs. Stone says, taking his hand and leading him up the stairs.
When I turn around, Ella looks like she’s about two seconds away from an aneurysm. Her eyes are bugging out of her head comically as she follows them with her eyes until they disappear up the steps.
“Did he just say ‘my Helen’?”
“Oh, good. That’s all you caught in all that?” I chuckle at her.
“I– he– what?”
“She’s happy, Ella.” I remind her, picking Em up and holding her on my side.
Ella sighs, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. She eyes Emera with longing before whispering. “Can I hold her?”
Nodding, I turn to Em, who looks like she’s about to fall asleep. “Hey, Little One. This is my friend, Ella. Can you sit with her for a minute?” She turns and looks at her before stretching her little arms out to Ella.
A sob catches in Ella’s throat when Em rests her head on her shoulder and clings to her. I’m not going to lie– I find myself pushing back the tears that want to fill my eyes right now.
Raena should be here right now– hugging her daughter.
I turn away from them as the emotions turn from devastating sadness to full-blown anger. We have to find her. Now. She shouldn’t be missing another second with her daughter because of that piece of shit.
It’s like a punch straight to my stomach when I think about it. We finally got Em back from him, just to lose Raena. It’s not fucking fair. But this isn’t a fairytale. There isn’t a magic spell to fix this. Only the promise of death– his death. It's the only way his vicious cycle ends.
With blood-soaked vengeance .
I want to smash my fist through this concrete wall– let go of my restraint and bring the beast out to play. But I can’t. I have to be strong– for Em. For my brothers. For Raena. Someone has to keep a level head. Royal and Maddox are too unstable right now. Royal has just gotten a handle on his control, and I’m worried this is going to make him regress. Maddox has never had a handle on his emotions. They’re too vulnerable right now. And I’m strong enough to carry this for all of us.
Trying to get myself under control, I turn back to my family. We’ve got to get the girls somewhere outside of King's reach and quickly. The longer Raena is with him, the more unstable my family will get. Deep down, I know she’s strong enough to hold on for a little while. But for how long? How long until he breaks her? How long until she wishes she were dead? We saw the scars from the first time. She didn’t have to tell me some of those were done by her own hand– I already knew they were. Even if we get her back, will she be the same? Will she come back from this? My mind races with more questions than I have answers to– slowly driving me toward madness.
I have to do something before I lose my goddamn mind. Walking over to my brothers, I waste no time getting to the point.
“We’ve got to get a plan together. Let’s check on Dax and figure out our next move. We’ve got to bring her home,” I say quietly, motioning my head towards her perfect daughter, where she sleeps peacefully on Ella’s shoulder.
Both of them look as distraught as I feel but nod in agreement before we all head back into the med room. Ella and Laurelyn follow behind us, the latter looking more comfortable than when we found her but still very wary of her surroundings.
“How are we doing in here?” Royal asks once we’re all inside.
“Good as new,” Dax responds, sitting up with a wince, trying to play off his pain.
“Yeah, tough guy. Try lying to somebody who hasn’t been shot before. Take. The. Meds,” Ronan says, shoving the little orange bottle towards him.
“They’ll put me to sleep,” he growls lowly, shoving his hand away with a weak push. “And I’m not sleeping until I know Red is safe.”
“You can’t help her if you’re in too much pain to function, baby. Please. Take them,” Snow pleads with him, but he just shakes his head in refusal.
“Do you remember the day you brought her home– how she looked? What she endured then– she should be dead. But she’s not. She needs us. No one even fucking looked for her last time. We promised we’d take care of her. She’s family. The pain I’m in is nothing compared to the pain she is going to endure again if we don’t find her. And soon. I’m okay.”
Dax is already swinging his legs over the side of the bed as everyone resigns to the fact that he isn’t going to relent. And I can’t fault him for it. If it were me in that bed, nothing would stop me from helping my family– not even a gunshot wound.
“What’s the plan?” He asks, gripping the edge of the table with his jaw clenched tightly.
“We need somewhere for Em and Laurelyn to go outside Shadow Forest– where King can’t get to them.”
“Easy. We have a sanctuary. They will be protected around the clock under my orders,” Snow says, looking at Jasper with a silent question before he nods. “Jasper can escort them to White Harbor. He’ll keep them safe.”
Looking at Royal and Maddox, I ask a silent question of my own, earning a nod from each of them. But before I can agree, Ella speaks.
“I’m going too,” she says, tightening her hold on Em in her arms. “I can’t help Raena here…but I can protect her daughter with my life. I’m not leaving her side until Raena is home.”
Relief that I didn’t even know I needed washes over me. I trust Snow and her people, but I feel better knowing that Ella will be a connection to Em while she is away from us.
Laurelyn, who hasn’t spoken since we arrived, finally steps up beside Ella, placing her hand on Em’s back gently. “Where she goes, I go.”
With everyone in agreement, we gather the medical supplies the doctor left for Dax and head out. A tingling hum beneath my skin reminds me of how Maddox describes his manic energy. I let it wash over my body, fueling the blazing need to find our woman.
King has no idea he’s signed his own death warrant now. He no longer has Em hanging over our heads. He’s living on borrowed time– because when I get my hands on him– I’m going to enjoy every second of ripping him apart.