Page 20 of Beautiful Prey

I took another step this time toward the door. “John!” I yelled. John was at the door in a heartbeat along with a group of security. “Get a nurse. He’s hurt.”

John gave us a once-over, then shaking his head, he pressed his walkie to his mouth. “Code four.”

A few minutes later, a nurse and three security guards rushed into the room.

“Is this really necessary?” I hissed to John as the nurse and the guards examined Emery.

John gave me a look that said “yes”.

I glared at him anyway and returned to stand nearby. The guards moved the table away as the nurse—an older woman with frayed grayed hair tied in a knot—stood more than an arm’s length away, examining Emery’s head.

“It’s just a cut,” she concluded after eyeing the blood. “I’ll get a kit.” As she walked out, the guards drew closer, their hands close to the weapons at their belts, while John and another named Mick approached Emery.

“Alright, Emery, you know how this goes,” John said. “Sit up straight and no moving. We’ll get you cleaned up.”

As the nurse returned with a kit and John and Mick stood behind Emery’s chair, his eyes were locked on mine.

I kept his gaze, hoping his focus would stay on me and he wouldn’t notice the others. But then out of the corner of my eye I saw the nurse turn away, preparing a needle.

My expression must have given something away because Emery turned his head toward the nurse and caught the needle. He surged out of his seat. Or tried to. The metal chair groaned and the chains tying him snapped into place but didn’t break.

John and Mick moved quickly, grabbing his shoulders.

“Alright, big guy, settle down,” John said as he tried to keep Emery in place. Emery jerked, making John lunge forward with him. “Hey, none of that, come on, settle down.”

Still, he jerked and twisted in his seat despite how hard they tried to keep him still. The nurse came around with the needle, and Emery nearly threw John and Mick off him, making the chair slide back.

The nurse looked pale as she waited for them to get a hold on Emery.

My stomach twisted seeing Emery turn wild before my eyes. But it wasn’t fury in his eyes this time. It was fear.

“Stop,” I said, stepping closer. “Stop it!”

A guard tried to keep me back, but I shrugged him off.

John got a hold of Emery’s shoulder again. “Emery, if you don’t relax, we are going to do this the hard way.”

I rushed forward. “Why are you doing this? He doesn’t need to be drugged.”

“He won’t let us work on him otherwise,” John snapped. “We can’t trust him not to harm the nurses or doctors. Get back!”

I got in the nurse’s way as she inched closer. “No.”

“Ma’am, please move aside,” said the nurse as she tried to get around me and another guard tried to drag me out of the way.

I looked between them in a panic. “I’ll do it then. Let me!”

Emery stilled. The others looked at me like I was crazy.

“Let us do our job,” John said, gripping Emery’s shoulder.

“No,” came a low growl.

I looked at Emery in surprise.

“No,” he said again. “Let her.”

The guards exchanged skeptical glances as if that was the dumbest idea they ever heard.

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