Page 26 of Blackout: Book Two

Chapter Ten

Blackie

I should be dead instead I’m fucking chained to a bed in the infirmary. Tugging on the handcuffs that bind me, I turn to the nurse at my side. I try to open my eyes, but it feels like a cinderblock is weighing on my left eye. A curse flies from my lips as pain tears through my whole body.

“Calm down, Mr. Petra,” the nurse croons. “I’m going to give you something for the pain.”

Violently, I shake my head.

“No,” I growl as she turns my arm and tries to poke my IV with a needle. I don’t deserve to be numb; I don’t want whatever the fuck she’s trying to give me. I want to feel every ounce of pain and for someone to tell me Lacey is okay, that those cocksuckers didn’t get to her. I need someone to tell me it was a fucking dream. A terrible nightmare those Mexican cunts fed me while they beat the living shit out of me.

“Where is she? I need to see my wife. Tell me they didn’t get to her,” I demand, struggling against her.

“Mr. Petra, why don’t I go get your lawyer. He’s right outside,” she offers.

“Fuck my lawyer,” I shout, wrapping my fingers roughly around her wrist. “I need my wife.”

“I’m sorry,” she stammers. “That’s not possible.” Her eyes dart to the other side of the room and she calls for a guard. I tighten my hold on her wrist and watch as she grimaces.

“Please, just tell me she’s okay. Tell me they didn’t hurt her or the baby.”

“I think you’re confused,” she says, bringing her eyes back to me. “You were the one hurt. Your injuries are extensive.”

“They showed me a video,” I reveal. “I saw them in my house. She was sleeping…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Blackie.”

Hearing Schwartz call my name, I turn my head slightly.

“Let go of the nurse,” he orders as he comes into my line of sight. “Lacey is fine,” he adds as he diverts his attention back to the nurse. My fingers loosen around her wrist and relief instantly fills my veins. “Don’t sedate him. I need him lucid.”

“It’s not a sedative. The doctor prescribed morphine for the pain,” she explains, injecting the dosage into the drip line.

“That’s rich considering he just suffered an overdose,” Schwartz replies sarcastically. “Pump him with more drugs.” He steps around the bed and tips his chin towards the needle in her hand. “If you’re done, I’d like a moment with my client.”

“Good luck,” she mutters as she disappears from my bedside. Schwartz drags a chair over and takes a seat, crossing his leg over his knee as he fingers his tie.

“Tell me, did you hire me just to make me richer? Because I almost feel bad taking your money at this point. Almost being the operative word. You’re fucking making my job harder than it has to be, Blackie. I could’ve gotten you off. You just needed to be patient. For fuck’s sake, the district attorney was dropping all the charges.”

“What?”

“Turns out you weren’t the only one with a plan.”

“What the fuck does that even mean? You know what, it doesn’t even matter. Those fucking guys that did this to my face showed me a video of Lacey. They were in my fucking house while my wife was sleeping.”

“They sure as fuck were,” he says calmly, brushing a piece of lint from his blazer. “They painted your walls with pigs blood too, but they didn’t hurt her or Danny. Jack got them out of there and within twenty-four hours we had a new deal in place with Ritzer. The club gave him the cartel and in exchange, he dropped all charges. The club was given full immunity and your case file was sealed. You were free and clear, man, and you pissed it all away for a fix.”

The room starts to spin, and my chest tightens as I absorb his words.

“But, Reina—”

“Guess who made a full recovery?” he reveals.

“I thought—”

“It doesn’t matter what you thought,” he says, uncrossing his leg. Propping his elbows on his knees, he leans forward. “You fucked up.”

---