Page 47 of The Aftermath

“Yeah, what about me?”

“Severe concussion, nowhere near as bad as Silas’s, but we think it’s from the car accident. You were closest to the side of impact. Anyway, Ry has a broken rib and wrist and some stitches in his head.”

“Damn, we’re pretty fucked, Silas,” Rylan mumbles.

“No shit. At least we aren’t dead,” I say, causing Ry to laugh and then cough.

“You both need to rest.”

“How are we not dead, Hunter?” I ask this time.

“First, let me say I’m sorry. Shit was never supposed to play out the way it did. And Levi … fuck, man. I’m so fucking sorry,” he says, sounding pained himself.

“Me too,” I whisper.

“I had a leak I didn’t know about. Richard, one of the Gods, was on their team. He ratted us out. Told them what was happening. I played it off like he was full of shit and made my own deal with Matt. I told him I would help take you guys out. As smart as Matt was, he really wasn’t, you know? He was fucking gullible and took me at my word. Obviously, that was all a lie. I didn’t think he was going after the girls, though. He made it a point to say they didn’t mean shit and wouldn’t be shit without you guys. When they brought them in, that was a fucking shock to me and my guys. The girls should have never been hurt in all this.”

“You protected them,” I remind him.

“I did the best I could with the situation. I’m just sorry you didn’t get your kills. If it counts for anything, Hoax did a real number on Tom,” he laughs.

“No shit?”

“Yeah, he had him hung from the fucking rafters taking him apart piece by fucking piece. You would be proud,” he laughs once more.

“Thanks, Hunter. For everything.”

“Yeah. We can’t thank you enough for what you did,” Rylan adds.

“Yeah, you can. You’re back, right? Let’s work this shit together from now on. Not like what your dads used to do.”

“Anything you want, man,” I tell him.

“A piece of Angel again?” Now I laugh, but it turns into a painful cough.

“That was a one-time thing. If you fucking even look at her, I’ll dig your fucking eyes out.”

Chapter 24

Angel

I feel sick to my stomach as I roll to my side, nearly falling off the damn bed I’m on. I catch myself and groan in pain.

“What the fuck?” I mumble under my breath. I shove myself up until I’m sitting and grab my head to keep it from spinning.

“Do you feel as bad as I feel?” I hear Tamsyn’s voice.

“Like you died and then got run over by a truck and died again?”

“Yeah, that about sums it up.”

“Then yes, I do. I feel horrible.”

“You want some medicine for that?” I turn my head slowly to see a man in a white lab coat by the counter.

“That depends. Am I going back to sleep?”

“Only if you want to.”

---