Page 5 of Queen of Spades

“He… they left me,” I mumbled, feeling like such an idiot.

“They left you where?” Wren asked, her sympathetic voice making the tears return. One escaped, forging a trail down my cheek until I brushed it away.

“There was a fight, and I got separated from them. When I got out, I heard them… I heard them agreeing to leave me. They saw me and they didn’t care. They said they didn’t need me anymore,” I whispered, clutching my mug as my hands shook. “He promised… and it was all a lie.” My face was wet with tears, and I rubbed my cheek on my shoulder, using my shirt to dry my face.

“Well, I know King to be a cocky asshole, and his plans often go tits-up, but I’ve never known him to break a promise,” Roe mused, taking a swig of her beer. “And it does seem odd that he would do that, and then go to ridiculous, near-suicidal lengths just to get you back.”

I stared at her, mulling over her words. “What do you mean?” I asked, and her eyes widened.

“Oh sweetheart, where do I begin?”

Chapter four

Levy

Three weeks earlier

As soon as the shelves started falling, I realized what a dumb fucking idea that had been. The whole warehouse began to shake as I ran in the direction where I’d last seen Anders and Grace. I skidded around a stack of pallets, ducking as shots sounded in front of me. I saw Anders push Grace out of the way as two men advanced on him with their guns drawn. One went down instantly, crumpling like a stack of cards. The other fired off a shot, and Anders stumbled back, falling to his knees. He shot a hand out in front of him, and blood spurted out of the gunman’s nose and eyes. He collapsed to the floor, writhing for a moment before going still, as Anders pulled himself to his feet unsteadily.

“Anders!” I shouted, running toward him. We both heard it at the same time, the hiss of chemicals reacting, small pops growing larger. Anders moved toward the doorway that Grace had disappeared through, slamming it shut as I tackled him to the floor. There was a rush of air and then an explosion so loud that the world went silent, and both of us were thrown sideways into the wall.

When I came to, I was looking at a blue sky, and I wondered how I’d survived an explosion that had taken the roof down around us. My ears were ringing something fierce, and everypart of me hurt. I sat up gingerly and noticed Anders and Erik shouting at each other nearby. Anders was bleeding, cradling his arm to his chest, the entire side of his face coated in crimson as he raged, trying to force his way back toward the burning warehouse.

Oh my god, Grace!

I looked around, but she was nowhere in sight. Stumbling to my feet, I shook my head, trying to get my bearings. I looked down and saw my hands, shaking and covered in ash. That was odd, the explosion must’ve knocked more than one screw loose, I guess. I’d deal with my injuries later, there was no time now. Clenching my fists, I started toward the burning building. Hands grabbed my shirt, and I wrench away, only for them to grow more insistent.

“Get the fuck off me, I’m going in there!” I couldn’t tell if I was shouting, I could barely hear my own voice. Jesse was glaring at me, covered in dust or ash or something, making his blond hair look almost black.

“She’s gone!” Erik looked as if he was shouting, still in a standoff with Anders. “She’s just… the explosion…” He shook his head, despair etched in every atom of his face.

“I need to be sure!” Anders snarled, blood dripping from his nose as he shoved Erik in the chest with his uninjured arm. “I need to check. I can find her heartbeat, I’ll know if she’s there!”

Another explosion erupted, this one thankfully further away, but still loud enough to shake the ground underneath our feet. The entire warehouse shuddered, and then the whole room collapsed, the structure disintegrating as the fire grew larger.

“FUCK!” Anders shouted, his hands tearing at his hair as he turned away from the wreckage. I stared in disbelief, Jesse’s hands still gripping my shirt.

She is gone then, she is really… gone.

Somehow, we managed to climb into the car and head home. Jesse drove. He’d suffered the least amount of injuries, only dealing with the smoke when he’d run in to grab Anders and me. The ride home was silent, no one willing to say a word. Erik stared out the window, and Anders just… checked out. His eyes were open, but he was effectively gone, he didn’t respond to anyone or acknowledge anything.

“Where’re we going?” I asked, still not sure if I was shouting, the ringing was still persistent. Erik turned in his seat, his eyes half on the road while he spoke.

“Tavern,” he replied shortly, and I nodded, resting back into the seat. Good, we needed a damn doctor.

Jesse pulled into the parking lot, which was strangely empty for a Thursday night. I helped Anders get out of the car, threading my arm under his to keep him upright. Erik walked ahead of us and pounded on the door, and I noted the little sign in the window that said ‘Fuck off until Friday’.Well, that explains the empty lot, I guess.The door swung open, and Sparrow stepped out, a gun at her side as she took in the sight of us.

“What the hell have you done now, King?” She shook her head and gestured for us to move inside. Wren was waiting at the bar, her medical bag on the counter. Her keen eyes assessed each of us in turn and deemed Anders the top priority for care. I helped get him seated on a nearby chair, and she took a pen light out to check his pupils.

“He was fine, and then he just checked out,” I explained, and she winced, so clearly I was still yelling.

“I’ll see if I can snap him out of it,” she replied, and dug around in her kit for a moment before pulling out a small, nondescript bottle. Opening it carefully, she waved it under his nose. For a second, nothing happened, and then Anders was slapping her hand away, looking furious.

Sparrow was across the room in a blink, her gun pressed to his head. “Don’t even think about it,” she snarled, and Anders glared up at her, daring her with his eyes.

“Anders, stop!” Erik barked. “I’m sorry, Sparrow. We’ve had… it’s been a rough day.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Rough, what a fucking understatement that was.

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