Page 46 of The Aftermath

“You look pretty fucking dead, man.”

“What the hell happened?”

“A lot, and we’re not talking about it all right now, so just rest,” he tells me.

“Angel?”

“She’s resting too. The girls are in another room.”

“I need to see her,” I tell him as I try to push myself up. That doesn’t go over so well. The room spins before I even make it halfway there and fall back onto the bed.

“She’s not even awake, Silas. Rest.”

“I need to see her, Hunter.” This time, the growl that comes out is low and lethal.

“You two are some of the stubbornest motherfuckers I’ve ever met in my life. Hoax, come on and help me,” he calls out to Hoax. I have so many questions I need answers to about what happened, but he’s right. Now isn’t the time. I need to see her and know she’s okay first. I need to stop this fucking ringing in my head too.

I hear the door close, and then there’s just silence.

“Do you have any idea what the hell happened?” Ry asks.

“Fuck no, Ry. Last I remember was the fucking gun to my head.”

“Me too.”

“This is fucked up,” I grumble.

“No shit. We’re going on vacation after this shit’s over.” I try to laugh, but it fucking hurts. That’s when I hear the door open and the sound of wheels on the floor. Hunter pulls her bed right up next to mine and then helps me turn so I can look at her. Angel lies there, seemingly peaceful enough. She isn’t moving, but her chest is rising and falling, so I know she’s alive.

“What happened to her?” I ask.

“She has a concussion. A black eye and a busted lip. A couple of stitches above her eye. They didn’t really harm the girls when they took them,” Hunter tells me.

“Then why is she out?”

“They both are, Silas. Doc gave them something to calm them down. They were both hysterical, and there was no way to treat them.”

“But she’s okay?”

“Physically, yeah.” I get it. Mentally, she isn’t going to be. Emotionally will be tough, too, after all that’s happened.

“Hunter?”

“Yeah?”

“Are they dead?” I need to hear it. It was our kill but I need to hear that it’s over with now.

“They’re all dead, man.” I nod slightly through the pain as I reach over and grab Angel’s hand in mine and hold it as tightly as I can. I’ll feel a whole lot better when she’s awake and I can see her, but for now, this will do.

“What’s going on with me? My head is ringing, and I can’t hear out of my left ear,” I tell him. Hunter pulls up a chair and sits at the end of the bed.

“You have a traumatic brain injury. Doc wanted you to be sedated, too, but since you threw such a fit, he didn’t do it. You have three broken ribs that should heal up fine, stitches in your left upper arm and left side of your head. Your eardrum ruptured and is non-existent.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning you’re never going to hear out of your left ear again.” Shit. That’s just fucked up.

“And Ry?”

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