Chapter 44
I ALMOST DIED
Rebel Pierce
My entire body ached, and I couldn’t help but groan in pain. It felt like I’d been hit by a truck. I tried to open my eyes, but it was like they’d been sealed shut.
“She’s awake!” Rumi said, and it sounded like she was screaming in my ear. “Rebel. Rebel. Can you open your eyes? Can you hear me?”
“Too loud,” I said finally forcing my eyes open.
“Thank god,” my mother said.
Where am I?
I focused my gaze on my mother, her hand tightly gripping mine, tears welling up in her eyes and a look of overwhelming relief on her face. With Rumi on the other side, her hand clasping mine, I saw tears welling up in her eyes and a mixture of relief and joy spreading across her face.
“What happened?” I asked.
Rumi’s brows bunched together in confusion. “You don’t remember?”
Shaking my head, I glanced around the room, taking in the surroundings. The sterile white walls and the constant beeping of machines made it clear that I was in a hospital. I had an IV running through my left arm I wished was pumping pain meds through my veins instead of whatever the hell it was because it wasn’t doing shit for this pain. The incessant beeping of the machines was grating on my nerves. The nauseating smell of chemicals and antiseptic filled the air.
I hate hospitals.
“Why can’t she remember?” my mother asked, her voice a little frantic. “I’m going to go get the doctor.”
I watched as she rushed out the sliding glass door, the sound of it sliding shut echoing in the room.
Rumi sighed. “You were shot,” she said, her confusion shifting into anger.
“Shot?”
Why in the hell would anyone want to shoot me?
“What happened?” I asked. “Why did someone shoot me?”
“I don’t know Rebel. You’d have to tell me. The only thing I know is that you went somewhere with J.D., then Caesar got a call that you had been shot and I needed to get to the hospital.”
The only thing I remembered was going to meet with Agent Revels so J.D. and some of the guys could grab him but then everything goes blank after I got there.
“Where’s J.D.?” I groaned when a sharp pain ricocheted through me. “Fuck! I need to see him, Rumi.”
Why wasn’t he here? Did he get Revels?
“You really think I’m going to let that bastard anywhere near you after he almost got you killed?” Rumi sneered. “That’s why I wanted you nowhere near him or Caesar. They are just alike. Nothing but damn trouble.”
I let out an exasperated sigh and rolled my eyes. “Not your choice,” I said as soon as our mother stepped into the room, the sound of the doctor’s footsteps echoing behind her.
“Ms. Pierce. It’s nice to see you’re awake,” he said.
What was I supposed to say? Thank you, doc. I’m glad I didn’t die. That didn’t seem appropriate, so I just nodded.
“I’m Dr. Ryan,” he said, flipping through the medical chart. “I’m the trauma surgeon on duty today and tomorrow. How’s your pain?”
“It hurts like a motherfucker,” I mumbled as I shifted in the bed but stopped once the pain got worse.
“Rebel, language please,” my mother chided.
I rolled my eyes.
“It’s fine, I’ve heard worse.” The doctor laughed. “So, on a scale of 1-10, Ms. Pierce your pain is...”
“A hundred, doc. One fucking hundred.”
I heard my mother huff, a sigh of exasperation escaping her lips. He nodded with a small smile across his lips as he scribbled on the chart.
“I’ll have the nurse increase your pain medication,” he said still scribbling on the chart.
“I’d appreciate it,” I said. “So, what’s the damage?”
He stopped writing and looked at me. “Well, you almost bled out,” he said, and my eyes widen. “You had some internal bleeding and when the gentleman brought you in you weren’t breathing. During surgery we stopped the bleeding and repaired the damage.”
“I almost died.”
Rumi squeezed my hand.
“It was touch and go there for a few minutes,” he continued, explaining the reason for my presence in the ICU.
I almost fucking died. J.D. must have been losing his mind. I needed to see him.
“How long do I have to stay in the hospital?”
“As long as it takes, Rebel,” my mother said.
“I’m going to keep you in intensive care for one more night and if there are no complications, we’ll move you into a regular room,” he said. “Your body went through a very traumatic event. But how long you stay in the hospital is totally up to how you heal.”
“Thanks doc.”
“Once you’ve been moved to your room, the police will want to speak with you.”
“Because of the gunshot wound?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s mandatory with these types of injuries.”
I get that. It was not what I wanted to hear, but I expected it.
“I will send the nurse in to increase the pain meds. But you need rest and no stress,” he said.
“Got it.”
He nodded and exited the room.
I sighed. “Where’s my phone?”
“We don’t know,” my mother said. “You didn’t have it when we got here. The police said they don’t know what happened or where any of your items are.”
“You talked to the cops?”
“Of course, we did,” Rumi said. “Did you think I would let him get away with this shit?”
I turned my gaze towards Rumi, who was seated in the chair next to the bed, her eyes filled with anger. She wouldn’t like it, but I needed to get in touch with J.D. before the cops showed up. Or at least I needed to know what was going on.
“Have you lost your damn mind?” I asked. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Or do you even care?”
“That’s not fair,” she said. “If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be in here, and you fucking know it.”
“Girls stop!” my mother shouted. “Rebel, you don’t need this stress right now. You need to rest.”
“I’ll rest once I’ve talked to J.D.”
“Who is this man?” my mother asked.
“I need a phone,” I said, ignoring her question.
Right now, I didn’t have the time to explain my feelings for him. I needed to get my story straight with the guys. Maybe it was a good thing I had no idea what the hell happened.
“I’m not giving you mine,” Rumi said. “I refuse to let you destroy your life over someone who isn’t worth it.”
I sighed. “Get out.”
“What? You can’t be serious!”
I loved my sister, but I refused to let her bitterness derail the best thing that has happened to me because she had a love hate relationship with her ex. Her problem had nothing to do with my relationship and everything to do with her love for Caesar and her fear of it.
“Rebel, you can’t be serious?” my mother asked. “Rumi’s your sister.”
“And right now, she’s not acting like my sister. Her problems dealing with her feelings for her ex have nothing to do with my relationship. Until she can see that, I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.”
“So, you’re choosing him over me?” Rumi asked as she stood.
Her eyes were filled with hurt, and her voice trembled with pain, but I stood firm in my decision. She needed on work things with Caesar and leave me the hell out of it. Aware of the repercussions, she pointed the cops in J.D.’s direction. Not for my benefit but to hurt both J.D. and Caesar. And I wasn’t cool with that.
“No, I’m not choosing J.D. over you. You’re my sister and I love you. But I am choosing my sanity. I am choosing what works for me. You have some major issues you need to work through, so you don’t project your feelings about Caesar onto J.D. I can’t deal with that right now.”
She locked eyes with me, her gaze lingering for a moment, before swiftly pivoting on her heels and exiting the room.
“Rebel, you know how much he hurt, Rumi.”
“I do. But he’s not J.D., Mother. And I refuse to let her ruin what I’m trying to build with the person I love because she can’t get over her past. That has nothing to do with me. Now can you let me use your phone? I need to find out what’s going on.”
My mother didn’t argue with me although I could see she didn’t like my decision. It was something I would have to discuss with her later but right now I was glad she was letting it go for now.
She reached inside her purse then handed me her phone. “I’m going to check on your sister, and give you some privacy,” she said, standing.
“Thank you, Mother.”
She nodded, her footsteps echoing as she walked out of the room. I took a deep breath, feeling the tension in my chest, and dialed J.D.’s number. The phone rang a few times, the shrill sound cutting through the silence, before being redirected to voicemail. As the beep echoed in the room, I couldn’t help but let out a frustrated sigh.
“Hey, just wanted to let you know, I survived.” I chuckled. “Anyway, I don’t have my phone, but they’re putting me in a room in a few days. Please get in touch with me as soon as you can. And be safe, the cops are probably looking for you. I love you.”
After ending the call, I immediately dialed Caesar’s number. Although he wouldn’t reveal all the details, I hoped he would at least share something with me.
I dialed his number and waited. On the fourth ring he finally picked up.
“Who’s this?”
“It’s me.”
“Oh, thank fuck! I told him if anyone could pull through you could.”
I chuckled. “Thanks for the confidence in me. Where’s J.D.?”
He fell into an unsettling silence, leaving me with a sense of unease.
“Come on, Caesar. You can’t leave me in the dark.”
“He’s on his way to Vegas.”
Fear ran through me. That meant he found his answers which also meant I didn’t have to ask about Agent Revels. He was already dead.
“He came to see you before he left.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. He needed to get some things off his chest.”
“You mean he needed to say goodbye.”
Tears stung the back of my eyes. Of course, he came to say goodbye.
“He loves you, Rebel. Don’t give up on him.”
“Never,” I said without hesitation. “Just make sure you guys protect yourselves. The cops will be headed your way.”
“Rumi?” he asked, groaning.
“Yes.”
“I figured. We will protect ourselves. Everything’s covered.”
“What do I need to say?”
“The truth. You met with Revels, and he shot you. Everything else is covered.”
“Okay. If you talk to him, let him know, I’ll be waiting for him when he gets home.”
“I definitely will. Take care of yourself, Rebel and I’ll be in touch,” he said, ending the call.
I sighed and closed my eyes. It was almost over and then we could move forward as long as he made it home.
“Please let him come home to me,” I whispered, hoping whoever was listening would answer my prayer.