Page 171 of Black Bird

“I get it. Why you felt that way about her. But she’s supposed to be with him, Stratford.” She smiled softly at Sarah, who glanced at Kane. “They’re different.”

Vanessa and Greg stood in silence, taking in every word. Brent turned his face to Kane. She wasn’t wrong. He had noticed something different about them both earlier this morning before his world had flipped on itself. He couldn’t place it, but somehow Annie was walking such a fine line between life and death that she knew … and maybe he was meant to be here to be able to ever accept it. The detective finally looked at him, and Brent noticed a spot of blood on the collar of his white shirt. He followed it up to a smear of dried blood on his neck in a very irritated spot that was half-covered by tattoos. The look that Sarah gave him when he glanced at her was unapologetic and firm. Something in his stomach churned.

“I’ll do it,” Annie muttered, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m not ready to die. I just needed to know that it’s what you really wanted. I wanted to hear it from you.”

“It is what I want.” Sarah took the bag and stared at it. “And … I wish I could give it to more people as deserving of it as you, Annie … but you have to keep this a secret. No matter what happens after.”

“I promise.”

“Are you ready?”

“Will it hurt?” Annie asked, taking in the deepest breath she could manage.

“I don’t think so. I can’t say for sure, though. Okay?”

The little girl offered her IV to Sarah, and reached for her parents as they started quietly weeping beside her. “Do it.”

Sarah glanced up at Athan and nodded toward the door. He locked it, and she got to work. She was quick and efficient, changing the bag of fluids out for her pint of blood, and waiting for Annie’s ‘okay’ before flushing the IV. There was the eeriest quiet in the room while the blood traveled down the tube and disappeared into Annie’s small hand. Brent waited for some reaction, but Annie sat still. A few minutes passed, and nobody said a word. Sarah made her way to stand with Kane in his corner while Vanessa and Greg took up either side of her bed. Brent stood at the foot, both hands braced on the barred edge.

As silent seconds ticked by, Brent could see color starting to return to Annie’s skin. Her lips no longer seemed as thin and cracked as they had moments ago. The yellow in the whites of her eyes was gone, and her breathing had improved. Brent looked up to the monitor next. Her vitals were almost normal. It was astounding how quickly everything was changing.

“How do you feel, Annie?” he asked, gaining her attention. The blood bag was nearly half gone. Sarah leaned against Kane, who draped an arm around her and fidgeted with a stud on her leather jacket. They both watched her silently. Annie didn’t answer him, instead looking over at Sarah.

“I can’t see them anymore,” she started, her voice breaking. Sarah gripped Kane’s shirt in her fingers, and he seemed to hold her a little tighter. “I can’t see the shadows. You saved my life.” Her small frame trembled with its urge to cry, and her parents didn’t hesitate. “Thank you so much. You’re like an angel …”

“I’m no angel, kid.” Sarah snorted tearfully. “But I’m glad. I’m glad you’ll be with us a little longer.”

“You are …” Annie said as a tear slipped down her cheek. “And that bastard deserved what you gave him.”

Brent didn’t have any words. They all waited patiently until Annie’s bag was empty and the machine beeped in warning. Sarah disposed of it, changing it out with the bag of fluids from before. Harmless, he knew, and there wasn’t a trace left or a drop spilled to give away what had been done. By the time the nurse had come in to see if Annie felt up to eating dinner, the little girl looked better than she hadwhen they were at the benefit. They called in her doctor, amazed by the “miracle,” and started ushering everyone out. Everyone, but her parents. Sarah hugged Annie goodbye, and whatever was whispered between them, Brent couldn’t hear. She had even reached to Kane, who awkwardly embraced her … another inaudible exchange. Finally, she held her hand out for him, and Brent knelt by the side of her bed.

“He’s not the bad guy,” she whispered, half-smiling. “And now … you gotta marry me.” Brent leaned down kissing the top of her hand, already twice as warm as it had felt when he got here.

“Not if you don’t eat your peas.” Brent winked, earning a nudge and an eye-roll from his small friend. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow, okay? Call me if anything happens and I need to come back.”

“Brent.” She tugged on his hand when he stood and began to turn. “Stop being so hard on yourself. Life’s too short.”

He swallowed, really letting the words sink in. For her young years, she had already been through twice as much as he had. She was right, and wise beyond her age. He didn’t know if she could ever truly understand how meeting her had changed his whole life. Brent nodded and offered her a tight smile before following Sarah and Kane out the door. He kept a short distance behind, eyeing the careful intertwining of their fingers as they walked. When they stopped to wait for one of the three elevators, the three of them faced one another.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Brent asked quietly, looking at Sarah’s strangely different eyes. He tried to will his tone into something that wasn’t insulting, and Sarah seemed like she understood it.

“It’s hard to say what I am, Brent. But for whatever suspicion you have … I’ll say, yes. I am. And apparently, I always have been in some way or another.”

He was about to ask what she meant by that, but Kane’s phone started ringing. He answered it, turning away.

“Did you get the answers you were looking for about your mother?” Brent found himself settling for ignorance. Sarah opened her mouth, but Kane laid a hand on her shoulder with an expression that looked grave.

“Sarah … it’s Wren.”

Her eyes went wide, and Brent’s face tingled. She reached for the phone, and he handed it to her. Sarah glanced at the name on the phone before pressing it to her ear. “Rhaena? What’s wrong?” Tears started to slowly fill her eyes and she looked at Brent, her face growing two shades paler. “We’ll be right there.”

He couldn’t explain the mixture of emotions, or the sickening feeling in his stomach as he stepped forward. His skin prickled, and something in his chest felt heavy. “Tell me!” He found himself nearly shouting, waiting for Sarah or Kane to give him something …anything.

“Rhaena thinks Wren was taken.”

CHAPTER 30

ENEMIES AND ALLIES

---