Page 85 of Veil of Lies

Most of the time, I was a pretty chilled out guy. I rolled through life with a smile, flirting easily and rarely losing my temper. Unlike Brax, I didn’t have anger issues, but when I did lose my shit, it was epic.

This was one of those times. We’d all been caught off guard when the shooting started. At first, I thought it was a car backfiring. I was too busy watching the Uber app to notice the SUV drive past with its window down.

Quinn yelled, people started screaming, and just as I looked up, Stella collapsed.

I swear my whole life flashed before my eyes. I imagined a future without her in it and my heart just stopped. She lay there on the concrete, her eyes open, blood blooming from a wound in her shoulder and another on her side. Was she dead?

My brain refused to accept the possibility. No way. I couldn’t lose her. Not now I’d found her. Quinn crouched over her, murmuring in her ear. I saw her blink and my heart started beating again. She was alive. Everything was going to be OK.

I dropped to my knees and grasped her hand. I needed to tell her how I felt. Before it was too late, before she…

“Stella!” I bent close, vaguely aware I was acting like a crazy person, but not exactly caring. “I—”

“Move out of the way, son.” The paramedic was polite but firm. “We need to get her stabilized.”

Quinn stood, pulling me with him. He raked his bloody hand through his dark hair. The other paramedic noticed the blood and cast a quick, expert glance over him before returning his attention to Stella.

Nobody else appeared to have been hurt except a woman bystander with a few cuts from broken glass. The cops had arrived and there was some murmuring about the shooting being gang-related.

Mistaken identity.

My brain dismissed the chatter. We could think about why this happened later. Right now, all I cared about was Stella.

The paramedics loaded Stella into an ambulance. Quinn insisted we go with her and nobody stopped us. I was grateful he had taken control of the situation.

My brain wasn’t firing properly. I couldn’t get the image out of my head of Stella lying there on the sidewalk, covered in blood, her eyes staring up at the sky. I had a feeling that mental picture would stay in my nightmares for a long time.

“Are you OK?” Quinn asked in a low voice as we drove at speed to the nearest hospital.

“No,” I replied, honestly.

“Me neither, but she’s going to be OK.”

I looked at him. The paramedics said nothing. They were too busy monitoring her vitals.

“She will be OK,” he repeated. I had a feeling he was trying to convince himself rather than me, but I appreciated his positivity. Fuck knows we needed to be positive right now.

The ambulance pulled up outside Bellevue Hospital. The paramedics guided the gurney through the sliding doors where a tall woman in scrubs waited. She ignored us, her entire focus on Stella.

“What do we have?” she asked in a clipped voice.

“Stella Blake, female, early twenties. Two gunshot wounds to the shoulder and side. Vitals are stable. Patient unconscious.”

“Thanks, I’ll take it from here.”

They transferred Stella into the ER, the doctor barking out orders to her team as they assembled. Quinn and I stood back, both of us tense, as they worked, attaching IV lines and monitoring equipment.

“Are you family members?” the doctor asked eventually.

“We’re her boyfriends.” Her eyebrows shot up, but she nodded politely.

“We’re going to assess the wounds then prep for surgery.” Her face softened slightly. “Try not to worry, she’s in good hands. Wait here and once we have her stabilized, I’ll come and give you an update.”

Stella disappeared with the ER team. I sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs and Quinn joined me. It was hard to believe just a few hours ago the three of us fucked in the shower. It felt like another lifetime. One where I was happy.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it from my pocket.

Brax: When are you guys back?

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