Chapter 22 #3
Bohnes is on his side in a massive pool of blood. His eyes are closed, pants pushed to his knees. That freaks me out, seeing him exposed and vulnerable like that. They didn’t…did they assault him? I can’t go there. Not now.
“Look at me, honey,” I tell him, pressing a hand to his cheek and really not liking how cold he is to the touch. He’s always cold, but this is something else. This is dangerous. I look up to find Ash dragging some tubing and needles from the chest. He meets my eyes.
“He’s lost too much blood,” he says as I turn back to Bohnes, pressing my fingers against his neck to see if he has a pulse. He does, but it’s sluggish, barely detectable.
“We need to get him to a hospital.” I clench my jaw, focusing. How do we get him out of here in this state? We can’t hide out and hope the soldiers don’t find us. We have to go now. Quick. Can the three of us get him out of here without Alexei? Do we wait?
“He won’t make it to a hospital.” Ash grabs Widow by the arm, dragging him to his knees in the blood beside us.
Ash leans in toward him, both of them still wearing the balaclavas and matching ghoul eyes.
“Our blood types, I memorized them when they gave us the initial rapid test results. You’re a universal donor. ”
“Blood types?” Widow looks at the tubing and needles in Ash’s gloved hands and then over at Bohnes.
There’s no hesitation in him. None. Oh, Adrian.
“Hook me up.” Widow tears his jacket off, ripping his shirt sleeve at the elbow to give Ash access.
“Don’t tell me: you learned to do this because of your shitty family? ”
Ash is meticulous in his work, slipping the hollow point needle into Widow’s vein on the first try.
“This is a procedure you’d only ever do in a mass casualty event or a military operation, somewhere remote where someone is hemorrhaging and you can’t wait.
I’ve had it done to me, when my father decided he wasn’t ready for me to die yet.
” Ash is working as he talks, keeping his voice low and soothing.
I realize that he’s talking for my sake, filling the tense space with his pretty accent.
And Widow…a universal donor? I can’t believe that Ash even remembers that.
I tug off Bohnes’ ski mask, bundling it in my fist.
My hand strokes down his bare cheek as I lean toward him, pressing my lips to his temple.
His blood is all over me, and I don’t care.
I’ll bathe in it. I just want him to wake up.
My mind shifts to the little boy that Kellin once was, literally abandoned in a way I’d kill someone over for doing to a dog.
But this sweet boy? My white-haired ghoul boy?
No mercy for my enemies’ souls.
An explosion sounds from outside. Not near us, but somewhere else in the cemetery.
Alexei maybe? If he’s creating a distraction, God love him. I really don’t need to hold any of their leashes, do I? Instead, it’s like I’m on a sled, mushing some very big, very strong, very smart huskies.
“You’re a good boy,” I whisper, brushing my mouth against his. Bohnes’ fingers curl in the blood, just the slightest movement. Maybe involuntary. Doesn’t matter. “We’re going to put Widow’s hot fluids inside of you. It’s always a pleasant experience for me. You’ll love it, too, I’m sure.”
The joke isn’t funny. It’s horrible. Now that I’ve gotten the chance to examine him better, I see why Bohnes’ pants are down.
He has a gunshot to the leg that was bleeding profusely.
There’s a clear plastic bandage over the top as well as a tourniquet.
If we can give him blood now, he’ll live longer.
But that doesn’t mean he’ll live, period. I’ll need another plan after this. While I think, I make sure to remove Bohnes’ jacket, roll up his shirt sleeve, rest his limp arm against the floor.
Ash finishes up with Widow, refocusing on setting up the blood to be given to Bohnes.
The trapdoor opens up above and Alexei enters, smelling like copper and gunpowder.
“If we’re going to go, we need to do it now. There are only a dozen men between us and the trail.” Alexei pauses at the bottom of the stairs, taking in the situation. “Fuck.”
“Fuck,” I repeat. I’m sure Bohnes was cursing his ass off all the way down here, rolling down the steps, bandaging his own wounds when I should’ve been here doing it for him. “We can’t go until we get some blood in him.”
“Let me carry him,” Widow says, grabbing a drink from a nearby box.
Bohnes has this place well-stocked with food and water, a small cot.
It’s a cold, narrow underground space, but there’s enough room for all of us to be in here.
There’s a light on the ceiling that illuminates all four stone walls and chases out the shadows.
“That’s what I’m here for, muscle. I’ll get Bohnes back to the car. ”
“Quick as we can, quiet as we can,” I say.
“These men are good, and twelve of them versus five of us is difficult enough. If Bohnes is half-dead and Widow is carrying him, and I’m not wearing shoes…
you get my point.” I keep my focus on Bohnes while I talk, unwilling to look away.
From the corner of my eye, I see liquid flowing from the bag of Widow’s blood into Bohnes’ arm.
It doesn’t wake him up like he’s in a movie, but Bohnes’ face gets a bit of color back. His lips part and he sighs. His eyes flicker. He sees me, I know he does. As the bag empties, the recognition intensifies.
“We need to hurry. He could lose his leg if we don’t.” Ash removes the needle from Bohnes’ arm, throwing the items aside like trash and applying a gauze and a tight bandage over the wound. “You stopped your own bleeding, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need surgery.”
“I’ve already texted the medical team that works for the family,” Alexei adds in a cool, even tone. “They’ll be at the house waiting for us when we get there.”
“No,” Bohnes chokes out, lids fluttering like he might pass out again.
He allows Widow to sit him up, all of them but him still wearing the balaclavas.
“Wedding first.” He pants, struggling to maintain a seated position by himself.
“We…the mob…” Bohnes puts his hand up to his face, opening his eyes again to find me in his space. “Scarlett.”
“You’re sure?” I ask him, and he nods. Just once.
Shit. If Bohnes is willing to risk going to the church in this state, then it’s because he’s concerned about the family’s reaction.
They allowed their surgical team to show up, but that doesn’t mean anything.
Us taking care of business is the whole point of this.
We’re being tested. If Burt wanted to kill Chet or Jonas, they’d be dead already.
I help Bohnes up to his feet with Widow’s assistance.
I’d carry him myself if I had to, but I’m glad that Widow can do it better.
Faster. Easier. I kiss Bohnes’ lips and then tug his ski mask back on, then I help him pull his pants up so they don’t get tangled.
I keep everything strictly business-professional.
“You had explosives on you?” I ask Alexei as he checks the camera beside the trapdoor, the one that shows the interior of the mausoleum. Nobody there. The view switches to the exterior of the mausoleum. Still clear.
“I crawled through a hole in the wall, went down the hill to the parking lot, and stole some from the open back of an SUV.” Alexei takes point with me just behind him.
Widow is supporting Bohnes while Ash holds the sword between two hands.
I notice belatedly that he’s got some blood on his face, little red droplets around his eyes.
That’s not from Bohnes, that spray. Wonder how many he killed on his way in here.
The door opens as I hike my dress up, finding the knife in the thigh sheath. I have a gun hidden under the ruined lace and silk, but I won’t use it unless I have to. Too loud.
Alexei takes off out the main door, swinging around the side of the cement wall and plunging the metal thimble into a man’s neck.
The guy falls to his knees, seizing. We move past him, crouched low and running along walls whenever we can.
There’s some huge commotion in the direction of the parking lot, drawing attention and focus away from the trail where I killed the first guard.
There are two more men just outside of the graveyard, nearly hidden by the trees.