40. Cody
Cody
“Sloan? Sloan!” I place her on the couch, not really caring if the thing gets destroyed from the blood.
“Where?” Uncle Mason pushes me out of the way and squats down next to the couch.
“Her thigh.” I point to where the blood is coming from.
He pulls something out of his bag and places it around her leg. He tightens it as much as he possibly can before putting pressure on the wound.
“I only took one shot. Jude must’ve shot at the same time. I think it nicked her artery. That’s too much blood to not have hit an artery.” He motions to the floor where Sloan was standing.
“Is she going to be ok?” My voice is frantic, even to my own ears.
“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she makes it out of this alive. Peck called an ambulance when he knew this wasn’t going to end friendly. They’re coming up the driveway now.”
I struggle to get to my feet and stumble towards the door to open it. As soon as I see the EMTs, I choke on a sob and motions towards Sloan.
“She was shot. Help her!”
Uncle Mason quickly talks to them and explains how he thinks the bullet hit an artery. They don’t waste a second getting her into the ambulance and shutting the doors in my face.
“I need to go with her!”
“Go, I’ll deal with him.” Uncle Mason waves off the EMTs, encouraging them to leave with Sloan.
“No! I need to go with her!” I try to push past him, but he doesn’t let me go.
“Cody, listen to me. You can go to the hospital, but they need to hurry or she could die. Give them space to work.”
“Let’s go, son.” Dad appears at my side and takes me into his arms. He leads me right to his SUV and gets me into the passenger’s seat. He buckles my seatbelt before rounding to the driver’s side and getting it.
“She can’t die,” I whisper.
“Kelsey called Derek. He knew what was happening and he’s been waiting with an operating room ready in case something happened. She’ll be ok as long as they can get her there.”
I drop my face into my hands and try to stop my head from spinning.
“Dad, is he ok?” Jax’s voice comes from the backseat. I didn’t even know he was in the car, but of course he was. It’s Jax. If something bad is happening to me, he won't let me go through it alone.
“No. He’s in shock. Give him a few minutes.”
What feels like seconds later, we pull into the ER and I hop out of the car before it even comes to a complete stop.
Uncle Jesse’s already there, he grabs my arm and leads me through a maze of hallways.
He doesn’t try to talk to me or tell me everything will be ok. He just gets me where I need to be.
Once we’re in the private waiting room, he lowers me into a chair and squats down in front of me.
“Listen to me. Sloan’s in the operating room already. Derek met the ambulance outside and had her taken directly there. He didn’t waste a second. He’s the best surgeon I’ve ever met. He’s going to save her and now that you’re here, I'm going to help him.”
I blink and he’s gone. Everything seems fuzzy and like a nightmare I can’t get out of. I shake my head and lean back so I'm staring up at the ceiling.
Dad settles into a seat on one side of me and Jax is on the other. They don’t say anything, but I know they’re here for me. It doesn’t matter what I need.
Tears spill down my cheeks as I think about Sloan. I can’t lose her, I don’t know how I’ll survive without her. I need her more than I need my next breath.
“We’re here for you, Cody,” Dad whispers as he drapes an arm around my shoulders and tugs me against his side. “We’ll get through this no matter what happens.”
“I can’t handle this,” I whimper as my body shakes with a sob.
“Aunt Kelsey’s in the operating room with her and says she’s going to be ok.
They were able to stop the bleeding. Derek called a vascular surgeon.
He’s repairing the artery right now and she’s getting a blood transfusion, but she’ll be ok.
She’s going to be ok, Cody.” Jax pats me on the back as my tears come even harder.
I thought I was going to lose her. I didn’t know how I’d go back to living again without her. I'm not sure I’d even want to.
“Hey,” I whisper as Sloan slowly blinks her eyes open.
“Hi,” she rasps. I know there’s a good chance her throat will be sore from the endotracheal tube. Summer gave me a complete rundown of what to expect. She said she wasn’t risking Sloan’s airway and wanted to have complete control with an endotracheal tube.
“How are you doing, babe?” I smile softly as I scoot to the edge of my seat and take her hand in mine.
“I… I don’t know. What happened?”
“Well, you got shot and tried to die on us,” Jax grumbles. “Put a real damper on our plans of going out tonight.”
“Jax!” I glare at him, but all he does is shrug.
“I'm so sorry, Jax. How will you ever survive?” Sloan blinks innocently at him.
“You can’t leave us, Sloany. Never again.” He takes her free hand in his as a tear slips down his cheek. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“I don’t even know what happened. I remember getting dizzy and then nothing after that.”
“Well, Jude shot you in the thigh. So much for no one getting hurt.” Jax rolls his eyes.
“Mason told me there was no guarantee. I knew what I was signing up for,” she whispers, refusing to meet my gaze.
“You should’ve told me. I never would’ve agreed to letting him get that close to you.” I shake my head, staring at our intertwined hands.
“I was just done with hiding from him. I was tired of us having to hide behind gates and locked doors. I didn’t want him having any control over my life anymore… What happened to him?”
“Well, he won't be a problem anymore,” Jax snorts with laughter.
“Uncle Mason shot him and the bullet was fatal. They tried to save him, but he lost too much blood. He won't be able to hurt you ever again.”
There’s a knock on the door and we all turn to see Derek walking in with Uncle Mason behind him.
I wonder if he already dealt with the police and got everything taken care of.
I'm sure our house is already clean or he’s called cleaners to come.
I have no doubt the place will be spotless before we get out of the hospital.
“How are you feeling?” Derek smiles as he checks the monitors.
“Really tired,” Sloan says softly.
“That’s understandable. You lost a lot of blood.
I think you’re getting two more transfusions.
” He taps on the bag of blood hanging from a metal pole.
“You’ll feel weak and tired until your blood volume is back to normal.
The anesthesia will also make you tired and weak for a few hours.
Either way, within the next few days, you should feel back to normal.
Just take it easy. Your leg is going to be sore and you might not be able to put much weight on it.
Make these two nurse you back to health.
” He motions to me and Jax. “I’ll be back to check on you before I head home.
” He squeezes her foot before disappearing out the door.
“You should’ve told us the plan,” I growl as soon as Derek’s gone.
Uncle Mason nods his head as he tucks his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He’s waiting, letting me get everything I want to say out.
“I thought as soon as Jude got in the house, you were going to make your move. You had no right to go behind my back and put her in danger like that.”
“Are you done?” Uncle Mason asks in a bored tone.
“Probably not,” Jax mutters.
“For now. I'm sure I’ll think of more to yell at you for later.” I sit back in my chair and fold my arms over my chest, more than annoyed with him.
“Sloan asked me how we could make sure he did jail time and couldn’t cause any problems for the three of you ever again. This was her plan, Cody.” He nods towards Sloan.
“What?” My attention snaps to my girlfriend and my brows furrow. “Seriously?”
“I knew he wouldn’t hurt you or Jax. I just wanted you two to be free from him and his craziness. I was willing to do anything to make sure he couldn’t go near you ever again.” Sloan reaches for my hand and I thread my fingers through hers again.
“Uncle Mason made sure he’ll never go near anyone again,” Jax chuckles.
“Stop it. He was still a person. I'm not happy he died.” Uncle Mason folds his arms over his chest and glares at Jax.
“So, you’d rather if one of us got hurt?” Jax throws his hands up in the air and lets them fall to his sides again.
“No, which is why the idiot is dead,” Uncle Mason growls out through clenched teeth. “I wouldn’t risk my family or friends. He was a little too trigger happy when it came to Maddox and Sloan. He shouldn’t have been. His sole focus should’ve been on Sloan, which means he was at his breaking point.”
Jax opens his mouth to say something, but Uncle Mason’s glare makes his mouth snap shut with an audible sound.
“And before you start on me, I never would’ve let anything happen to Sloan, but if his attention was only on her, it would’ve been easier for us to take him down without anyone else getting hurt in the process… I’m sorry you got hurt, Sloan.”
“It’s ok. In the long run, everything will be better, right? No more crazy stalkers and no more worrying about anything.” Her smile is stiff and doesn’t reach her eyes. I'm sure she’s struggling with everything and I’m going to be there every step of the way.
After talking for a few more minutes, Uncle Mason says goodbye and Jax gets up like he’s going to head home too. Before he can say anything, there’s a hesitant knock on the door.
“Come in,” I call, my brows tugging together. Everyone has already called or visited Sloan, I can’t imagine who else could be here.
Mr. Carpenter peeks his head in before taking slow steps into the room. His features are full of sadness and regret. I'm sure he feels at least slightly responsible for Jude and his actions.
“Hey, Sloan, how are you feeling?”
“I'm ok… I think there are enough pain meds pumping through my IV that I can’t really feel anything though.”
“I'm… I’m sorry. About everything. I should’ve stopped you from dating Jude when I found out.
I should’ve stepped in when I saw the signs of him going off his medication.
There’s so much I could’ve done and I didn’t.
” He hangs his head as a sob fills the air.
He sucks in a trembling breath and shakes his head.
“I should’ve been a father to him, instead I ignored everything because it was easier than dealing with upsetting my son. ”
“It’s not your fault,” Sloan says softly.
“Yes, it is, Sloan. Don’t try to make me feel better…
I know this is probably the last thing on your mind, but I don’t want you to come back to work for a few months.
Take time to decide what you want to do.
I’ll make sure there isn’t an issue with your paychecks for at least the next year.
I know there will be a lot of rumors around the office and I don’t want you to have to face that.
Just worry about getting better. And if you decide you no longer want to work for me, I’ll understand that as well.
I still want you to collect your paycheck from me until you decide what you want to do and are able to find a new job. ”
“Mr. Carpenter, that’s too much.”
“No, it’s not. His son almost killed you because he didn’t step in and make sure Jude got the help he needed,” Jax hisses.
“Jax,” I mutter in warning, but I know he heard me loud and clear. He meets my gaze for a moment before he nods his head and backs down.
“Like Jax said, it’s not. I could’ve done more and I chose to turn a blind eye to it.
Now, I have to live the rest of my life knowing my son is dead because I didn’t do more.
” Tears fill his eyes again, but he tries to force a smile.
“I wish you a quick and easy recovery, Sloan. Please be in touch when you feel up to it.”
Without another word, he exits the room and we’re blanketed in silence. I'm sure Jude’s death will weigh heavily on that man’s shoulders for the rest of his life.