Page 60 of Property of Azrael

I peer around, pointing to the south. Grabbing up his phone, he relays the information I’d given him to someone on the line.

A second set of blinding headlights comes up the road. Another motorcycle, and this time it’s Asher. He breaks into a run and shoves Fox out of the way, taking his place at Az’s side.

“He’s alive,” Fox informs him. “Ambulance is on the way.”

We wait, all of us watching Azrael to make sure he continues to breathe. Then finally, the roar of a siren and flashing lights tells us that help has arrived. The emergency technicians get straight to work, placing Azrael on a stretcher, while another tech leads me away from him to check me over, but I refuse, telling him I’m fine. When they cart Azrael into the back of the ambulance, I go to jump inside when Asher stops me.

“Stay here. Fox will take you back.”

“I’m not leaving him.” I climb inside before he can try to stop me again. “Where he goes, I go.”

Instead of arguing, he barks out orders at Fox and climbs in behind me.

Throughout the ride, I cling to Az’s hand, praying to a god who’s ignored me for the better part of my life, begging him to keep the lines on his heart monitor spiking and beeping. The blood coating his shirt leaks off the gurney and onto the floor by my feet.

Everything becomes a blur once we make it to the hospital. They take Az back at once, leaving Asher and me in the crowded waiting room. The minute the doors closed, Asher headed into the hallway and got on his phone, leaving me alone to wait.

The minutes tick by like hours, slowly and painfully, with no news about Azrael. Other families come and go. Some were in tears, some were delighted. But no one comes for us.

“Huxton?” a nurse finally calls out after several hours.

Asher rushes back into the room and steps in front of me, ignoring me completely. “That’s me.”

“He’s out of surgery. Follow me.”

He charges off after her, and I follow on his heels. The nurse leads us to a room where, in the center, lies Azrael, still as a stone, those beeps I’d clung to in the ambulance going strong.

He’s alive.

“Your brother just came from surgery. The doctor will be in shortly to talk to you both.”

It’s the nurse’s mention of “you both” that alerts Asher to my presence. He looks back at me and glares.

“I want her out of the room,” he orders the nurse. “I don’t want her near my brother. Do you understand me?”

“You don’t get to make those kinds of decisions for us.”

The nurse slips outside of the curtain, away from the chaos in the room. Likely getting security, but I don’t care. The only thing that matters is Az.

“It’s us now,” he snarls. “You aren’t needed here, so leave.”

“No!” I shout. “You have no right to order me out of this room. We’re together, Asher, whether you like it or not. He loves me and I love him.”

“I don’t give a shit if he loves you, Hallie. You’re the reason my brother is fighting for his life. They found us because of you. If we’d never met you, my brother wouldn’t be here right now. All of this is on you.”

“I don’t understand…” I mutter, my voice trembling. He loves me. Az told me that just a few hours ago. But how am I to blame? I didn’t pull the trigger. I protected him until they got there.

“One of our rivals was at that fucking event. He saw him, and he saw him with you.”

When did that happen? Az had been with me the entire time, except... Oh, god. When they were gone. The night Eden, Fox, and I had gotten drunk. He’d said they were taking care of an issue, but I thought… No, it can’t be. Azrael would have told me… wouldn’t he?

“But he said—”

“He lied. That’s what we do. I bet he didn’t tell you we killed that man to protect you.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“There’s blood on your hands. Just as much as mine and his.”

---