Page 7 of Sweet Anarchy

The nurse ignores me, standing up to chat to Blake. "If you go through those doors to your left, there's a nurses' station half way down. Rylee Selwood is in bed four. They will be able to take you to her and update you."

I shove past my twin brothers, not waiting for them. I can hear their footsteps behind me as I approach the nurses' station. A male doctor at the station pauses as he watches us approach, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"Can I help you?" he asks, not flinching when I stop mere inches from him.

"Rylee Selwood," I say through clenched teeth. "Where is she?"

He looks down at the chart in his hand before pointing to the bed behind us. The curtain is pulled shut, so I rip it open, revealing Rylee.

"Asher!" she says, almost cheerfully. The tone throws me off as she gives me a smile.

I look over her as she sits in the bed, her shoulder patched up with gauze and an IV hooked up to her hand. My eyes widen as I spot the blood all over her.

"Rylee," I breathe out, running to her side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she says, waving me off. She spots Zayn and Blake behind me, giving them a wave.

The two of them appear surprised too at her behaviour, until the doctor leans in to whisper in Zayn's ear.

"Ms. Selwood has been sedated. She's a little out of it at the moment."

Rylee doesn't hear him, her head just moving from side to side as if she's hearing music. Blake moves to the other side of Rylee's bed, gripping her hand.

"What happened?" he asks, but I can tell his question is directed to the doctor.

The doctor looks at us, surprised. "There was a shooting at a bar just outside town. Your friend here has a few minor injuries from shrapnel but we've just finished cleaning her wounds. She's completely fine, luckily."

His use of the word 'luckily' doesn't sit right, and it's at this moment, I look around the room. All the beds are full with bikers, their wounds being tended to by doctors and nurses. The computer board against the wall is full with names, color coded by triage. A few medical staff are running around urgently, heading through doors that read 'operating theatres'.

"How bad is it?" I finally ask in a low voice.

"There's mass casualties," he says. "Apparently your friend here was quite distraught because another friend was injured quite severely."

Blake clears his throat. "She's our girlfriend. Who was injured?"

"I'm not at liberty to say, unfortunately," the doctor answers, giving us a sympathetic smile. "Perhaps Ms. Selwood will be able to talk to you about it. If she feels up to it, that is."

Rylee looks over at the doctor at the sound of her name. "What happened?"

The doctor pats Zayn's back before heading back to the desk, leaving us alone with Rylee.

Blake squeezes her hand. "Who got hurt, babe?"

Rylee thinks for a moment, her face falling as she remembers. "Chuck," she whispers. "Oh, God. I think he's dead."

I now understand why they needed sedatives, her face contorting in pain as she remembers. The drugs seem to keep her somewhat settled – or at least, as settled as she can be.

She pulls on Blake's hand, leaning over towards him. "You need to find out where Chuck is. Please."

My heart breaks at the sound of her begging, her voice breaking slightly. Blake nods, brushing her hair away from her forehead before he gently kisses it. "I will," he promises. "I'll go find out."

I watch as Rylee struggles to let go of Blake's hand, torn at letting him find out the information she badly craves, and at the same time, scared for any of us to leave her. I grab her other hand, rubbing my thumb over her skin.

"We're right here, Ry. It's okay."

She nods, looking a little more relieved when Zayn takes Blake's spot on her other side. She stares off into space, her chin quivering every so often.

Neither of us say anything, just giving her time to digest the situation.

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