Page 103 of Bloom: Part 1

“Hey!” Two Fingers knocked me at the back of the head with his gun. “What are you communicating to him?”

Bloom shifted.

“Bloom, don’t.”

Two Fingers walked up to Bloom and smirked over his shoulder. “You worried about your lover boy, Doc?” He grabbed Bloom by the hair and jerked him to his feet. “If he means that much to you, here take him.” He shoved Bloom into me, and I caught him against my chest. “Can’t say I didn’t do you any favors letting you have one last fuck. Be a good boy and bend over for the doc. You need to keep him in a happy mood so he can continue working on our friend.”

Pervert.

I brushed Bloom’s hair from his face and ignored the asshole who was watching us as if he expected me to fuck Bloom in a roomful of people. I would never degrade him that way.

“Are you okay?” we both asked at the same time. We smiled at each other, and I pressed my forehead to his. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you leave when you realized what was happening?”

“You’re here. Why would I leave? Either we’re both safe, or we die together.”

My knees buckled, and it was more than from the long hours of standing while operating on the dying man on the table. “Bloom, you adorable fool. You are young. You have your whole life ahead of you to love—”

“I’m not going to love anyone else, so you’d better stay alive.”

“Bloom.”

“I’ll think of a way to get you out of here.”

“Don’t you mean us?” His silence terrified me. “Please don’t. The police will take control of the situation. They’re probably here already but being cautious to minimize the casualties. We just need time.”

“All right, if you’re not going to take advantage of the moment, break up that whispering.” The man grabbed Bloom by his arm and threw him back across the room so effortlessly it further drove home that he couldn’t take them. And he shouldn’t have to.

The door banged open, and a masked man stepped in with a bag full of bottled water and snacks they’d either pilfered from the shop or vending machines. I divided them among the others, then gratefully gulped down one bottle. As much as I wanted the second, I kept it just in case. Bloom did the same, even though the nurses and the anesthesiologist downed theirs in one go.

Those three will be of no help at all if we escape.

“How’s the situation out there?” Two Fingers asked.

“The cops have the hospital surrounded. For now, they’re staying away because Magnus has made it clear he will shoot if they enter the hospital. He’s preparing to make demands.”

“Have you locked up as many of the staff in one area like I told you?”

“Yes.”

“If the cops try to enter, don’t bluff. You kill a member of staff to show how serious we are. We’re in deep now and can’t back down. Where’s Papercut?”

“Dead.”

“What the fuck do you mean, dead?”

“He’s dead, man. They said two cops brought in the boss after our shootout with the cops, but they’re already dead. So are three of our guys. We must have missed a cop.”

“How were they killed?”

“Two had knife wounds. We found Papercut at the bottom of the emergency stairwell. Somebody did a number on him.”

“Fuck. Gather as many men who aren’t posted at the exits and have this place scoured from top to bottom. If a cop’s hiding out there, we need to find him.”

Bloom moved his finger over the floor in circles as though the conversation didn’t interest him.

He’d killed those men. I knew it deep in my gut. They hadn’t searched him when they brought him in. Did he still have his knives on him? What if they found them? Bloom bobbed his head as if he was listening to a song, his expression cool. What kind of scheme was he hatching?

Night came, and we were still not allowed to leave. From their updates, we learned that the cops were refusing to negotiate. A doctor had been killed to prove their point now that the Smoky Vale PD seemed to be dragging out the situation and waiting for backup. Meanwhile, the criminals had demanded more—a helicopter to take their leader safely out of the city and me and one of the nurses to go with them.

---