Chapter 41 Evelyn
FORTY-ONE
EVELYN
“Evelyn.” The sound of Buddha’s voice made tears well up in my eyes from relief. I turned around just in time for Buddha to scoop me up in his arms. An acrid scent stung my nostrils. He smelled like a campfire. I let out a sob of relief as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
Buddha cradled the back of my head with his large hand as he tried to soothe my cries.
“It’s going to be okay. Shhh,” he whispered into my ear. He placed me back on the ground and cupped my cheeks before glancing behind me and then back to me with a confused expression. “Where’s Arrow?”
I clasped my hands over Buddha’s, shaking my head. I closed my eyes and willed myself to say the words that I knew would crush him.
“He’s…. he’s gone…” I squeezed my eyes shut as another wave of grief hit me.
Buddha let go of my face as if my skin burned his hands. He shook his head in disbelief before a hard, angry expression took over his face. I’d never seen Buddha angry before. He stormed around me and swung his fist at Kade’s jaw.
“What the fuck did you do?!” he yelled as he swung a second time.
Kade dodged the swing, punching Buddha in the gut. Machine and I tried to intervene between the two. My hands pressed on Buddha’s chest as we separated them.
“I want to know what the fuck is going on, Romano!” Buddha roared. His heartbeat hammered under my hands.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Machine whispering to Kade, who looked animalistic as his chest heaved. “If I wasn’t fucking getting sucker-punched every five seconds, I would explain what the fuck happened!”
I tapped on Buddha’s chest before turning around to face Kade. The adrenaline that had been coursing through my body began to dwindle and, in its place, exhaustion and pain took over. I swayed on my feet. All three men jumped into action before I could fall.
My vision began to tunnel, as I felt my body get scooped up in strong arms.
“Stay with me, princess,” Kade whispered in my ear.
I felt a cushioned surface underneath my body before I began to go in and out of consciousness.
The beeping sound of a multiparameter monitor could be heard in the distance.
“Will she be alright?” I heard Kade ask.
“There are no signs of internal bleeding, which is good. Superficial injuries have been bandaged and I’ve given her some medicine to help with her pain.
However, whatever Ricci drugged her with is causing her heart rate and blood pressure to spike.
If he’d given her any more, she wouldn’t have made it.
We have to be careful with what we give her to make sure there are no adverse effects,” Zombie’s familiar voice responded.
I faded out once more.
Later, with heavy-lidded eyes, I began to take in the room around me. We were still in the warehouse, where I was currently lying on one of the hospital beds. A light blue curtain was pulled in front of me. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I had last been awake.
“What’s the update?” I heard Kade ask on the opposite side of the curtain.
“Derrick, known as Chief, is still in surgery. He was the last to get out of the building when it exploded. There was shrapnel embedded in his side. It was touch and go for a while but they were able to stop the bleeding.” I didn’t recognize the other man’s voice.
There was a brief pause before I heard the sound of papers being shuffled.
“Jessica, also known as Badger, had a severe case of smoke inhalation. We are currently monitoring her vitals and oxygen levels intensely. She’s not out of the woods yet.”
My heart began to race at the mention of my best friend and the potential of her not pulling through. The monitor began to beep incessantly from the spike in my blood pressure and heart rate.
“Dr. Dante Spinelli is currently completing the medical examination and autopsy for Aaron Nelson.”
There was a pregnant pause that followed. I heard Kade let out a curse. The world was a cruel place. I couldn’t imagine how Zombie must be feeling as he completed the autopsy on his childhood best friend. Tears filled my eyes and threatened to spill. How I had any tears left was beyond me.
“Can you please have Mr. Parsons check on Spinelli?” Kade asked.
“He’s already with him, sir. He will notify us once it is complete. Mr. Parsons was the lucky one out of the bunch. He just had a couple of small scratches and inhaled some smoke. But he will make a full recovery,” the doctor responded.
I was grateful that Buddha was with Z. No one should have to go through that alone.
I looked to my left to see the dividing curtain had been pushed aside.
In the makeshift room next to me, Badger was lying on an identical medical bed with dozens of cords attached to her, an oxygen mask over her soot-smeared face.
My eyes opened wide when I noticed Machine had his head resting on Badger's hand that he was currently holding. That was strange but this wasn’t exactly the time or place to ask questions.
The sound of a pager beeping echoed in the open space. “Derrick is out of surgery and headed into recovery.”
“Thank god,” Kade mumbled.
“Should we plan for transport for everyone?”
“Yes, please do. I need to check on my woman.” I saw Kade’s hand grasp the curtain before pushing it off to the side. He was in for a rude awakening if he thought I was still his after what he did and how he handled everything.
I swore to myself that there was no way in hell that I would ever be able to forgive Kade. I didn’t care what it cost me. He would know the magnitude of my wrath.