26 | The Revenge Mac
W e’ve been sitting out in the waiting room for what seems like days, but it’s only been hours. Sin is lying down with her head in my lap. Dallas is on his laptop. Chiv’s got his arm around Violet, comforting her. Izzy and Redman went back to the clubhouse before we returned to the waiting room. They said they would be back in the morning.
When we came out, Violet saw Sin hysterical and freaked out. I explained what happened, trying to calm down everyone. Chiv and Dallas only had questions about what she was trying to say.
Everyone is trying to put together the pieces. Raydene said D. Dead. Hide. Then she said hide. Protect and hide Vi.
Sin explained how Ray calls her Dee, and she calls her Dean, so Sin thought Ray was saying that she was dead. But soon after, Sin thought of Dexter. Now, we believe it’s Violet she wants to protect, but it doesn’t make sense. Maybe Ray does know Dexter is dead. Perhaps she saw them kill Dexter. But why Violet? Dallas has been on his laptop trying to figure it out.
Raydene is obviously trying to warn us about something. I’m more worried about what is going on with her. She doesn’t look like an overdosing person. She’s done her fair share of drugs, so I don’t know.
I shake my head. I need to think positively. We can only pray and hope for the best.
The ICU doors open, and Doc emerges with Greg by her side. Doc looks grim. You can tell she’s been crying. We’re all on our feet, but Dallas rushes over to them.
“What’s happened?” I ask Greg since he’s Ray’s doctor.
Greg runs his hands through his hair, looking like he doesn’t want to say anything.
Damn, this is bad .
I reach for Sin, pulling her to my side and bracing for the worst.
“At first, we thought it was a drug overdose. We pumped Ray’s stomach and gave her medication along with fluids. When she was still showing signs of pain, we ran another blood panel and noticed her numbers were becoming worse. She doesn’t have pre-existing conditions, so again, we gave her medicine and tried to flush her system.
When her central nervous system started deteriorating, her speech was unclear, and she started having seizures. I did a more detailed blood and urine panel. When I saw those numbers showing me her kidney and liver levels, I rushed to treat her for poisoning. We gave her activated charcoal. Hoping it would absorb whatever poison was in her body from going into her system.”
“Wait. You think Ray has been poisoned?” Chiv asks next to me.
Greg looks to Doc, then to Sin, and with a grim expression, he nods. “Yes, I do. All I know is it’s moving through her system fast. Her organs are failing at a rapid speed, and her central nervous system is shutting down. She’s in a lot of pain, so we’ve sedated her.”
“So, you put her into a medically induced coma is what you’re saying,” Dallas says to Doc, not Greg. Doc bites her lower lip with tears streaming down her face, giving a quick nod since she can’t speak.
“So, what does that mean? What is the next step of action?” I ask.
Doc turns to Dallas and begins sobbing.
“It means my sister is dying,” Sin says, her voice filled with anguish.
Greg, who looks to be as upset as us all, nods and says, “Yes, we will keep giving her fluids along with medication to treat the seizures and low blood pressure.”
Sin cries out, and I instantly catch her as she collapses in my arms.
My heart explodes, and I can’t hold back my own tears.
She’s going to die.
Greg continues, “We’re going to have to put her on life support soon. You all should prepare yourself. It could take minutes, hours, or days, but soon, her organs will shut down. I’m so sorry.”
Violet, who is one bad bitch, turns to Chiv and breaks down.
Greg stands there while we all try to absorb the news he just told us. Raydene is going to die.
Dallas, Chiv, and I hold our women as they come undone. We let them shatter only because we know we’ll put them back together. But when Dallas reaches over and puts a hand on my shoulder, I realize I’m crying too.
Fuck!
My heart is breaking for Ray and for my girl in my arms.
Dallas clears his throat. “Can we all go back there? I’m not letting my girl or any of them in there without us. You need to make it happen.”
Standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets, Greg looks uncomfortably sad and says, “Of course. I’ll let Cheryl know.”
Dallas’s face turns from sad to hopeful. “Greg, if we knew what poison was given to her, would we be able to treat it?”
Greg starts walking away, turns around, and says, “It depends on the poison, but it would help us tremendously in caring for her. Why do you have the person who poisoned her?”
“Holy shit.” I breathe, “We do.”
Sin steps back with her face red from crying.
“What?” she demands.
Doc, Violet, and Sin all look at me.
I rush out, “We have Peshkov.”
Sin’s face goes from sadness to murderous. “Where?” she says through gritted teeth.
Dallas chimes in, “No. No way.”
Sin turns to Dallas with a death glare. “He took me, my best friend, and now my sister. I think I have a right to go see him face-to-face. Let him know I am alive.”
I’d already decided I would take her anywhere she wanted to go, so I asked the doctor, “How long do we have?”
Greg answers right away, “I honestly don’t know. If we keep pumping fluids and medication while she’s sedated, it could be hours or days. Again, I can’t honestly answer that without knowing what they gave her.”
Doc looks at Sin and says, “I’ll stay with her and keep you informed. We’re going to keep watching her levels.”
Sin asks, “Will she be able to talk again? Does she understand us?”
Greg steps back toward us. “Yes, she hears you, but I don’t think she’ll be able to speak again. The central nervous system is shutting down.”
Sin turns to me. “How long will it take me to get to him?”
I reply, “This time of night, less than thirty minutes. On my bike, even less.”
Vi steps forward. “Well, let’s go. The sooner we go, the sooner we find out.”
Doc looks over at Dallas. “You should go too.”
Dallas wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. “I’m not leaving you here alone. They can handle this. She’s one of your best friends. I’m not leaving.”
Doc gets tears in her eyes and gives him a kiss.
Greg turns to me. “You have my number. Text me as soon as you know.”
Grabbing Sin’s hand, I acknowledge him and head for the elevator with Violet and Chiv right behind us.
I pull out my phone and call Shy, who answers on the first ring. “Yeah?”
“I’m headed your way with Vi, Sin, and Chiv.”
“Ray?” Shy asks.
“Not good. Need answers, so don’t fuck him up too bad before we get there,” I say as the elevator opens.
“Can’t promise he’s not already fucked up, but he can see and speak. Steve and a couple of his guys arrived. I’ll let him know you’re coming,” Shy says.
“Okay, we’re on our way,” I reply, hanging up before the doors close.
“You sure about this?” I say to Sin, but both girls answer simultaneously, “Yes.”
Vi repeats herself, “Fuck. Yes.”
Sin looks up at me, and I can see she’s ready.
Less than thirty minutes later, we pull up to the warehouse. Once I’m off the bike, I pull Sin to me, lifting her face so we can lock our eyes.
“You good? We got your back for whatever you want to do. Just know you can do whatever you want.” I pause, watching her expression, which doesn’t change, so I finish, “If you can’t do it, you say the word, and I will,” I say with total honesty because the look in her eyes tells me she’s out for blood.
Once we’ve entered, you can instantly smell blood. Sin has her hoodie over her head, hiding her face and hair as we move in. Steve stands in front of him but turns when he hears us come in.
Everyone starts coming toward us, leaving Peshkov hanging from a chain. They’ve stripped him down to his underwear.
I look over at Sin, and her eyes darken as she looks at him.
Steve walks over, but when he sees the look on her face, he steps back, getting out of her way. Everyone does. I follow her only a step behind for support, but the rage radiates off her as she sees red.
Slowly, Peshkov lifts his head, noticing Sin coming toward him.
She lifts her hood from her head, exposing her red hair and face.
Peshkov’s eyes widen. “ Nyet !”
Sin doesn’t say anything. She only reaches down and pulls out her knife.
His eyes go wide, and he mutters in Russian.
Sin says nothing. I watch as she circles him, flipping the blade in her hand.
“Hello, Arman.” Sin’s voice is filled with revenge, sending chills down my spine.
Peshkov wiggles in his restraint. “You’re alive. How?”
Sin moves in front of Peshkov, showing him her blade, and she runs it over her scar. “They put me back together.”
“Where’s your sister?” Peshkov grunts.
“Did you poison my sister?” Sin asks, inches away from him.
Peshkov’s reaction says it all, “No, why would I do that? I wanted to keep her. I wanted to keep you.”
Cash, Wolfe, Shy, and Quick move up next to me. Followed by Steve, Chiv, and Vi. Soon, we all circle around Sin, showing her support.
She sticks her knife in his lower hip, and Peshkov cries out.
“Did you poison her?” Sin repeats herself.
Peshkov screams no a couple of times.
“Who did?” Sin asks, slicing his chest with her knife as blood runs down his torso.
“I don’t know,” Peshkov replies, but Sin isn’t buying that answer, so she slices his back.
“Alina said she only gave her heroine. I don’t know about any poison,” Peshkov pleads with her.
“Do you know what they did to Molly and me before you bought us?”
“Shit,” Steve says, hearing his niece’s name. He shifts from foot to foot.
Peshkov shakes his head and says, “I wanted to take care of you.”
Sin scoffs.
I see her face, and the innocent, scared girl I first met is long gone. No, this woman right here is in complete vengeance mode.
“What about Dexter? Did you kill him?” Sin asks, looking over at Steve.
Peshkov spits, “He was a rat.”
Sin turns to Peshkov, raising her knife. “Is that a yes?”
Peshkov’s face turns pure evil. “Yes. Viktoriya killed him.”
Steve clenches his fist but doesn’t move.
Then it dawns on me. Protect. Hide. Vi isn’t for Violet but for Viktoriya. She was warning us about Viktoriya.
I look over at Wolfe and Shy standing next to each other and say, “It was her all along.”
Sin looks over at me, and I say louder, “It was Viktoriya all along. She poisoned Raydene when she brought her to us. Remember her saying something to Ray, or maybe she did it on the way. She was never going to give her to us. She just wanted information on Dominic.”
Peshkov, looking at Sin, laughs. “She will come for you.”
Sin laughs. “I hope so because if my sister dies, I’ll be waiting with open arms.”
Peshkov spits more blood out. “Oh, she will die. There is no antidote for ricin.”
Damn, he said it .
I pull out my phone and text Greg.
Sin’s face hardens.
Taking her knife, she stabs him in the back. “That’s for Molly.”
Peshkov screams in pain, and as Sin moves around him, she looks at all of us, seeing if we react.
Moving to his side, she stabs him again. “This is for Dexter.”
More screams echo around the building. This time, Sin looks at Steve, who gives her an approving nod.
When she stands in front of him, she looks at Vi and then at me, who also gives her our approval, but she shocks us all. Pulling down his pants, she cuts off his dick and says, “That’s for me!!”
A high-pitched noise escapes Peshkov followed by vomiting right before he passes out.
Sin walks toward me but stops, glaring at the ground, contemplating something. She takes a deep breath, turns back to him, pulls her gun, and shoots him straight in the head.
Dropping her hand with the gun in it to her side, she says, “And that’s for my sister!!”
“Damn, brother. I hope you don’t piss her off,” Cash comments next to me.
Looking over at him, I grin and say, “Shit, brother. I think I’m in love.”
He smacks me on the shoulder as I move toward my woman.
All of our phones go off, it’s a text message from Dallas.
Dallas: Get here fast. They just had to put her on a ventilator.
Sin falls to her knees, dropping her gun and phone.
Fuck!
Everyone moves at the speed of lightning. I know I should put her in a car, but the bike is the fastest way to the hospital.
I pick her up. “Come on, love. I gotchu. We need to go.”
Steve barks orders to his men and follows up. “I’ll meet you there.”
I set her on the bike and get her geared up, and once I’m on, I grab her hands and wrap them around me. “Come on, Sin. Hold on. We need to get there.”
But Sin doesn’t reply. She only responds by clasping her hands.
Thank fuck.
When we arrive at the hospital, more bikes are there. It seems Dallas called in everyone. He also texted us to let us know they moved her to a different floor where we could all be with her.
I grab Sin, pull her with me, and rush to Ray’s room.
Once the elevator door opens, the hallway’s packed. Everyone moves aside as we make our way down the hall to see Greg standing there. Guiding Sin past me into the room, I see Doc, Dallas, Ginger, Izzy, and Ruby all sitting around the bed. Sin starts to collapse, so I grab her around the waist and move with her, holding her to me.
When everyone sees us, they move out of the room, giving us space. Dallas and Doc don’t move from her side. We move to the other side and Sin immediately falls onto her sister, sobbing uncontrollably. She gasps for air as she tries to speak. “Sis, don’t leave me. No. Please, don’t go.”
Chiv enters the room with Violet and closes the door behind him, giving us all privacy. Still holding it together, Violet moves to the foot of the bed with Chiv by her side.
Tears start to fall, and what feels like a brick lodged in my throat makes it hard for me to swallow. I try to blink away the tears, but seeing Raydene lying there, only breathing by a machine, the floodgates open.
It’s my sister’s voice that I hear in my head . “She needs you.”
I rub Sin’s back, giving her my love and strength. I know now that Sin is the two-faced redheaded woman I’ve sought in my dreams. I am supposed to help her. After this, she’ll need me more than anything.
Sin’s still lying over her sister, overcome with emotions and mumbling. There isn’t a dry eye in the room.
There’s a soft knock before Greg slips into the room. He’s a good doctor, and I know he’s known Raydene for a long time, so this also has to be hard for him.
When he sees everyone weeping, he slowly walks over to us, next to the machines.
Doc sees Greg and stands up. Reaching for Sin, she says, “Cindy, it’s time.”
Sin, hearing her real name, starts blubbering ‘no’ over and over again. When she begins to hyperventilate, I lift her off her sister, and she becomes violent, not wanting to let go of her sister. I hold her against me, letting her cry as loud as she wants.
Violet turns to Chiv, letting it all out. Doc whimpers to go ahead before collapsing back in her chair next to Raydene, holding her hand as the floodgates open with Dallas right there, comforting her.
Once Greg turns off the machines, we wait. The room is filled with so much anguish. I, too, let go.
Looking at Raydene, I swear right then and there to her that I will protect and love her sister for the rest of my life. Squeezing Sin in my arms, giving her all my love, I say goodbye to Ray.
And then. She’s gone.