Page 8 of Hell and High Water

“Wow. Sneaky boy.” I bit my tongue from asking where the hell that sneaky boy is and how he’s doing.

“His assets have been pretty instrumental in getting us through the past week. That’s how long we’ve been here.”

“Since the… incident?”

“How much do you remember?”

“Not much after a bullet went through me. And too much from right before it did.’

“So, you have no clue who shot you?”

“Nope. Any guesses?” Dread and anxiety threaten to wiggle up from inside, but I keep my voice chipper, distracted.

“My best guess would have been Rachelle, if she wasn’t bleeding out along with you. We found out she'd tracked you and were trying to get to you. We didn’t know what her intentions were.”

I stare at him intently for a few seconds, trying to decide what to ask next.

“Alright, breakfast is served! You eat. I’ll talk.” The smell of the food and his presence reminds me of how things were before, at his house, our little domestic life out in the woods, before the world exploded.

“Mmm!” My mouth is already full of bacon and eggs. “So, Rachelle?”

Gavin settles down next to me, way closer than necessary. I love it.

“After we found you, I got pressure on your wound, loaded her up in the van, and hauled ass out of town. Got a call in, and they life-flighted her when we got close enough. You, we took to one of Evan’s contacts, a doctor who wouldn’t squeal on us or blink twice at patching up a gunshot. Couldn't afford to take you to a hospital. Too many questions, and they’d have to call the cops.”

“I didn’t even think of that… but?—”

“Rachelle was too dire to do the same with. We had to. She’s at Severance Regional in the ICU. They’ve got her stabilized, but she is in a coma. It’s minimized the questioning with no relatives showing up to answer them. We should have an update in the next couple of days. Tell’s been popping in to check on her.”

“They just let him go in?”

“Ha, no way. He’s been posing as a nurse’s assistant to check up on things. I still don’t know how he pulls it off. Guy’s got personas all over the place.”

I nod, diving into my buttered toast, the blackberry jam making me hum with delight. That, and the fact that Gavin knows about Tell, that they are working together.

“How is he?’

“Busy as hell, but I know that’s not what you mean. He’s guarded. Hard to read. That, coming from someone like me, is saying something.”

“You still didn’t answer my question…”

“I know. I won’t lie. We’ve all been a mess, Lena. You scared us. We got there, found you bleeding and unconscious. And before that…” I see the shadow pass through his eyes, the accusation and anger.

“Gavin, I’m sorry.”

“You were just gone. I woke up and you were just gone.” The hurt in his eyes stabs at me, worse than the pain in my side.

“I'm so sorry, Gavin. I should have told you or said something. It wasn’t really planned. And I know you wouldn’t have let me go?—"

“Damn right, I would have?—”

“Stopped me.”

“No. You're wrong, Hellena. I would have come with you in a heartbeat if you would have asked. If you would have told any of us what you wanted, that you wanted to run, we all would have come.”

“You… would have?”

“We all want to be there for you, with you. To protect you.”

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