Page 74 of Midnight Revelations

Jordan disappeared and came back with heavy bandages, pressing them into Aaron’s chest. That revived Ash, who hurried to help him. I couldn’t stop looking at Poppy. That was supposed to be me. She was naked, her body hacked at by a massive blade that must have been a machete or something that size.

I moved over, lifted a throw, and placed it over her, because even in death she deserved dignity. I silently said a prayer for her because someone somewhere loved her. I expected sirens, but instead it was heavy boots outside that heralded the medical team. They took over, assessing Aaron’s injuries before lifting him onto a trolley and carrying him out.

“Go with him,” Jordan said. “My car is outside. You shouldn’t be riding a bike right now with a passenger.” It was the first time he acknowledged me in the room.

Ash grabbed my hand and followed the men down the staircase. Why didn’t they use the elevator? He was silent the entire drive, his face pale and hands covered in blood. It was a private hospital, and we had only arrived a few moments when Ash’s phone blew up with texts and calls. I sat in the corner and texted Papa.

Me:Ash’s brother injured and Poppy dead. Jordan at apartment. Ash and me at hospital.

My phone rang. “Which hospital?” Papa demanded.

I glanced around until I saw a logo and repeated the name.

“Do not go outside, stay with Ash.”

“I’m frightened, Papa,” I confessed. “They cut her head off.”

“Listen to me.” I stilled and my lips pursed. “That man will face Lucifer himself for you. He will protect you with the last beat of his heart. I’ll be there soon, but I need to organise some details first. Be brave, my little one.”

“Okay, Papa.”

“Stay inside,” he commanded before the line went dead.

I tugged my knees up to my chest and watched Ash pace back and forth as he spoke into his phone. Every so often his eyes moved to my location before he resumed his pacing. I had no idea what time had passed when a doctor came out from behind double doors.

“Are you family?” he asked.

Technically, I would be in the future. “Yes,” I replied.

“Mr. Blackwood is stable at the moment but has a lot of internal injuries and several broken bones. He took quite a beating.” The doctor adjusted his glasses.

Ash had arrived beside me in the middle of the briefing, his hand landing on the small of my back. “What is his prognosis?”

“He’s stable,” the doctor repeated. “You guys are starting to run out of lives. I’ll be honest, over the next few hours, it could go either way. He has a punctured lung, and unless we open him, we won’t know what else. I just don’t want to risk operating right now.”

Ash nodded. “Understood. Thanks.”

“I know better than to ask, but this was brutal tonight.”

“Yeah, my brother wouldn’t hurt a fly. I think it was a case of mistaken identity.”

Jordan arrived at the hospital with a black holdall as the doctor moved back behind the double doors. He handed it to Ash. “You owe me a pair of boots,” Jordan said before engulfing me in a hug. “What the hell were you doing there, Lucy?”

“I was with Ash selecting stones at Seth’s,” I replied into his chest. It was true, I just omitted the part that I was living at his house.

Ash disappeared, he was in a different outfit when he returned, the blood washed from his hands along with the smear on his cheek. His blue eyes assessed me. “Go get yourself cleaned up, Angel.”

In the fluorescent light of the toilets, I was pale. I hadn’t touched anything, so the only blood was on my shoes. Today had been the happiest day of my life. How had everything gone so wrong?

I splashed water over my face and trailed my hair back into a messy bun that I secured with the band from my back pocket. The woman staring back at me from the mirror was tired and weary. I clung to the side of the sink and took deep breaths. Ash had tried to warn me, Papa had tried to intervene, but I had refused to listen to them. Now I had to put my big girl pants on and be the woman Ash needed beside him.

Papa was there when I returned, his expression ferocious. He held his arms open and I flew into them as I had done my entire life, his hand stroking my hair. “Has anyone seen this Marlow?” he grated out.

“No,” Ash replied. “He’s Dad’s enforcer, so he’ll know to lie low.”

That snatched my attention. “Why would he attack one of his sons?”

Ash raised his eyes to mine. “Dad views us as assets. When we’re no longer useful, then we become a liability.”

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