Page 27 of High Stakes

My stomach flips again and I uncap the syringe in my hand and inject it into the port of the catheter in his arm. I turn the heart rate monitor back on and open the line again so the fluids can resume flushing the drugs into his system. His eyes start to bulge and he looks around, his eyes darting back and forth between me and the monitor that is starting to beep more rapidly.

“Oops,” I say with an exaggerated shrug. “I must have left the sedatives in my other scrub top.” I watch as his face turns red and sweat begins to bead all along his exposed skin. “See you in Hell,” I call over my shoulder as I turn and toss the syringes into the red biohazard bag. The monitors begin to alarm and I can hear the heart rate beeping continue to skyrocket.

I turn the corner and walk calmly toward the elevator as the beeping turns into a steady alarm of asystole. The elevator doors slide closed and my lips curl up into a viscous smile as the overhead intercom alerts a CODE BLUE. Clutching the note in my fist, I take a deep breath and mentally tally up the remaining souls that I need to collect.

Only two more murders to go.

12

DECLAN

Istare out into the distance, my eyes unfocused and my vision blurry. My mind jumps from one memory to the next like a rapid-fire machine gun. The noises around me turn into a dull roar and I can’t make out individual sounds. Everything just sort of melts together as I fight not to lose myself within my own mind.

“Dude!” Hayden’s voice cuts through the blurry void and pulls me back into focus. He smacks my knee with his open palm and then waves his hand in front of my face. “Where the fuck did you go? I’ve been talking for the past ten minutes. Did you even hear a word I said?”

I blink over at him and shake my head, trying to dislodge the melancholy feeling still gripping my mind. “I was just thinking,” I mutter and sink my teeth into the inside of my lower lip.

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately,” he notes and leans back on his heels. He’s crouching down beside his motorcycle, messing with the mechanics and making some adjustments that he told me about but I didn’t care to listen.

“It’s literally my job,” I retort and run my fingers down my face. My eyes stray to the wood-burning stove in the corner ofthe garage. It’s a chilly day outside, so Hayden got the flames going to keep the garage warm while he works on his bike.

“It is, but not like this. You’ve been getting lost in there. What’s bothering you?” He wipes his hands with a dirty rag and looks at me expectantly.

“We need to tell her,” I say after a few moments of silence.

“Tell her what?” he asks slowly.

“About the fire. That was our job Hayden,” I whisper harshly, and feel my stomach do an uncomfortable dip. “We’re the reason her parents are dead.”

Hayden scowls and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You don’t know that,” he responds, but his tone sounds defeated. He knows it’s true.

“I looked into it, Hay. It was the same hotel.” My voice trails off as I stare into the flames dancing within the metal of the stove.

“Yeah, but we didn’t start the fire, Declan. We didn’t even know there were people living in it. It’s not our fault.” His voice is soft as he leans forward and squeezes my knee between his fingers.

“We took the job. We were involved. That’s all she’s going to care about. We were there, and we were with the people who literally burned her entire world to the ground.” My chest tightens and it feels extremely hard to breathe as I think about sitting Emelia down and telling her we had a hand in murdering her entire family in one night.

I can’t even think about the way she’ll look at us. How she’ll stand and storm off without a single word and then we’ll never see her again. How many times can my heart break before I die of cardiac arrest? Because right now it feels like I’m about to have a fucking heart attack.

“Declan, are you worried that she’s going to leave us?” Hayden asks gently and moves until he’s kneeling directly in front of me.

“I’m terrified,” I whisper as I finally admit it to myself. My chest feels like someone just cracked open my sternum and everything I’ve been pushing away comes rushing in. My eyes sting as I blink back tears and turn my head so Hayden can’t see me fall apart.

He squeezes my knees again before leaning forward and wrapping me in a tight hug. “I love her too,” he admits quietly, like a whisper in the wind. “You’re right. We have to tell her.”

I wrap my arms around him and give him a tight squeeze. I know Hayden loves Emelia with all his soul. He’s loved her from the start of this crazy adventure. But do I love her? I release Hayden and swallow thickly, not trusting myself to speak. Just the thought of her not being around anymore sends my nervous system into fight or flight. My heart stutters against my ribcage and my lungs feel like they turn to stone in my chest.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes for dinner,” Hayden says and starts working on his bike again, twisting the loose bolts off with his fingers one at a time. “We can tell her over dinner. I don’t want any of this miscommunication shit. No secrets. No lies. Just the truth.”

“Agreed,” I respond immediately, and push to my feet, wincing as the bruises across my torso stretch until pain radiates through my core.

“You should go put some ice… everywhere,” Hayden says with a chuckle, and gestures to his face and body. “Your face looks like shit.”

“You should see the other guy,” I quip and head into the kitchen to grab a bag of frozen vegetables. My whole body protests as I sink down onto the sofa and let out a long groan.

“Do I need to come back later after you’ve taken care of yourself?” Her voice causes me to nearly jump out of my skin. How the fuck does she sneak around so quietly? My heart beats against my ribcage as I turn and take her in. She’s stunning, as usual, in a pair of tight dark washed jeans and an emerald green hoodie with a serpent emblem on the left breast. Her hair is braided into two low pigtails that drape over the front of her shoulders.

“Of course not, but you could always help me,” I suggest and hold open my arms for her to come around the sofa.

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