Page 44 of Jack Raider

“I’ll go with you,” Eloise volunteered. “Just in case you scare her off.”

“Fine,” I said, thinking I might have made too many lists. Niki always told me that if I wrote it down, I wouldn’t forget about it. But she did tell me once that I carried it too far. The cabin was close enough that it only took a few minutes to get there.

“There’s her jeep,” I said. I could see bees flying around. I glanced at Eloise. “Stay in the car, I can see the bees. I jumped out of the truck. “Tessa, where are you?” I called as I walked to the door. Bees were everywhere. “Tessa, can you hear me?”

“Max, I’ve locked myself in the closet, the bees attacked me. I’m not doing too good. How can I get out of here?”

“Stay there, I’ll make a smoke bomb and get you out,” I said.

“I called the others, they are bringing some stuff to smoke the bees. Do you know if she’s been bitten?” Eloise asked. Look at you. You are covered in bee stings.

“She said they attacked her, and she wasn’t doing well.” The others pulled up with the smoker for the bees. They looked at me right before I passed out. Jack caught me before I hit the ground. He threw me over his shoulder and placed me in the back of the truck.

I opened my eyes, and everything was blurry. “What should I do?” Eloise asked.

I could hear the others. “Jack, drive Max’s truck; both need to get to the hospital,” Fraiser said.

Jack jumped in, and we took off. I heard him talking to the hospital as he drove. I tried raising myself, but I couldn’t move. Whatever kind of poison was in those bees knocked me off my feet.

I remember when I helped Michael pick blackberries, and the bees got after us. Michael grabbed me up, and we jumped into the pond. I still had to go to the hospital at that time, too. The doctor said I wasn’t allergic to bees, but we later discovered those bees had some other poison.

“Jack, call Michael,” I murmured.

“Seri call Michael,” Jack said out loud. I could hear the phone ringing.

“It’s about damn time you called me, What are you doing.”

“Michael, this is Jack Raider. Max was bitten over a hundred times by bees, and he wanted me to call you. He can barely speak.”

“Okay, the bees must have the same substance those other bees had when he had to be rushed to the hospital. How far are you from the hospital? Michael asked.

“Ten minutes.”

“I’m going to call ahead so they’ll be ready for him when he arrives.”

“There is another one who was bitten. She must have the same reaction as Max. Tell them there are two patients.”

“Okay, tell them to hang in there.”

Everything faded in and out. The sound of tires on pavement. Jack’s voice hummed as he spoke to the nurse on the other end of the radio. The flash of lights as we turned into the emergencybay. I wanted to move. I wanted to get to Tessa. But my limbs were heavy, like they didn’t belong to me.

Jack and Eloise jumped out the moment we stopped. Eloise opened the back door. “Max, we’re here. Hang on.”

I was lifted onto a stretcher and wheeled into the ER. I caught a glimpse of Tessa—she was already in a hospital bed, IV in her arm, face pale and puffy. Her eyes locked on mine for a brief second, full of fear and relief all at once.

“Tessa...” I mumbled, trying to sit up.

“Easy, big guy,” the nurse said, pushing me gently back down. “You’ve been stung more times than any man should. We’ve got you both on a drip to counteract the reaction. You’re gonna be okay. It’ll just take a while, so relax.”

“I need to know she’s okay,” I whispered.

“She’s right here,” the nurse reassured me.

They must have thought we were a couple because they put our beds next to each other. I turned my head slowly. Tessa looked over at me, her eyes glassy.

“You’re an idiot,” she said, voice hoarse. “You should have stayed in the vehicle.”

“I would never have left you in there alone.”

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