Page 149 of Dmitri

“What the fuck happened, Knox?” Vault roars.

“I was brought in last minute to assist with a patch-up, which only meant one thing.” The new guy, Knox, frowns. “That’s why I called you guys.”

Ryker, Vault, Silas, and the new guy all carry him into the building while I’m still standing in the parking lot, confused and unable to move again. I don’t understand what’s happening.

Vault pushes the door open and stalks towards me. One look at the blood all over me and he’s pulling me into a hug. “Are you okay?”

“No.” I don’t want to be touched. I don’t want to be here. I’m frozen. “He’s been stabbed, shot, and beaten.” My belly rolls imagining how much pain Dmitri must be in and I shove back from Vault. “He needs a hospital!”

Vault shakes his head. “The old man has a doctor on hand for shit like this.” Vault looks at my face, and his brow furrows. “Your nose is broken.”

“I’m fine.”

“Here, let me set it.”

“I’m fine! Fuck my nose. I don’t care about me, fix Dmitri!”

Vault grabs my shoulders and says in an eerily calm tone, “Fixing you will help him.”

I stall out and he nods his head. “On the count of three, okay?” He presses his thumbs against my sore nose, “Three… two… one.”

Blinding pain almost makes me vomit, but I’m too disconnected for my brain and body to sync up.

“Atta girl.”

“Get in here, Daelyn,” Silas orders from the door. His fat belly stretches his blood-stained shirt out and he looks like he’s about to keel over. I’m scared out of my mind. So many things have gone wrong, I can’t process it, but I burst into movement.

Silas grabs my arm before I can make it past the door. “You’re only job,” he says sternly, “is to sit and talk with him, okay?”

My mouth runs dry when I hear Dmitri scream. Desperate to get to him, I push past Silas, racing towards that horrible sound.

Some guy in scrubs is already cutting D’s shirt off. The stab wounds ooze blood, and his breathing is labored.

Silas shoves a fat finger in my face. “Just hold on to him and he’ll hold on to you, understand me?”

I nod.

“Knox, start the IV,” the scrub guy says.

“Talk to him, honey.” Knox smiles, but it’s not a nice one, as he gets to work. “Don’t let all this be a fucking waste.”

I gulp down all my pain and focus on what’s important.

“Dmitri,” I say against his ear. “You did so good.”There’s so much blood…“It’s done.”

“Happy thoughts, Daelyn.” Knox runs the IV line and hangs a bag on a pole. “Happy sappy shit only.”

I nod, trying to find something joyful worth saying. I’m not sure I can do this. There’s too much blood. What if his organs have been punctured? What if his brain can’t take one last concussion? What if…

“When you’re all patched up, we’re going to the beach.” I place my hand in his, not liking how cold and clammy his skin feels. “How about that?”

Knox puts an oxygen mask on Dmitri’s face.

There’s a lot of fast movement. I can’t bear to look at what they’re doing to him. I can’t stand to hear what the scrub guyis saying. Ryker stands in the doorway, his arms crossed as he glowers at me.

He blames me for Dmitri, as he should.

“Where should we go?” I run my hand down his arm. “Bahamas? Tahiti? Fiji?”

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