Page 10 of Bound by Affliction
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Green
Nothing would prepareme for what I see around the corner. Holy mother of God. Leah. My fucking Leah. They did this. They fucking did this decimation to her, cutting her up like a piece of meat from some animal. Blood stains the once cream-colored comforter, and the pools of the sticky languid substance coat the rug and floorbeneath.
The coppery scent clings to the air, assaulting my senses, and her low whimpers eat me alive. It looks like something you’d see on some twisted horror movie, except it’s not. It’s reality. My reality. Hell, herreality.
Horror seeps down into my bones, threatening to take my feet out from under me. I’ve seen so much in my day, but never someone I care about looking so brutalized. A sickness stirs in my stomach that flows throughout me. It’s a mixture of dread and…anger.
Rage like nothing I’ve ever felt scorches from the inside out, and it takes everything in me to contain it because she needs me to get her help right now, not go apeshit like I want. She’s all that matters, not my vibrating feelings ofrevenge.
“We need to get her out of here now. Len and Poe are on their way back to finish what they started,” Stone says, snapping me out of my shock. Grabbing a blanket, I wrap Leah’s fragile body in it, not wanting to move her, but I’ll be damned if those two assholes ever find her. I lift her as she gives small groans ofpain.
Boot steps can be heard in the hallway, and Stone pulls out his gun aiming it at the door. Waiting to see who the visitor is, I debate on setting her down but can’t. If it’s Len and Poe, Stone will take them out with two shots. Leah needs to get to a hospital now. I can feel her blood soaking through the blanket onto myshirt.
“What the fuck, brother?” Tug glides into the room like this is just another day, and I have to admit—it pretty much is, unfortunately. Relief washes over me as he must have pulled off from the other guys and followed me here. My brothers always have myback.
Ravage MC. My family. Mylife.
“Ambulance is coming, which means cops. Len and Poe are supposed to come here to get Leah. Need you to cut them off before they see the cops here.” I eye my brother, silently communicating what needs to be done to these wastes of humanspace.
Tug cracks his knuckles and looks at Stone. “You in onthis?”
“Fuckyeah!”
Tug lays it out. “You go by my call. This is Ravage cleanup, got me?” Stone is part of the Sinister Sons MC here in Florida. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t fly, but from the pissed off look of Stone, it will—thisonce.
I turn to the door just as I hear, “Got it,” fromStone.
Calling over my shoulder, “I want updates on this shit. I’ll be at thehospital.”
Lights flash everywhere as I walk out carrying a very limp Leah. The cops are first to arrive on the scene, and as they take me in then look to Leah everything on their radar goes up. They become more attentive to me instead of the bleeding woman in my arms. It makes me furious, but I’m too damn scared I’m holding what will be a dead Leah to give ashit.
“What happened?” the cop with the dark brown hair and hand on his gun asksme.
“She’s hurt. I got here and saw her like this…” My voice cracks and I clear my throat, choking on my words. Describing the scene makes bile rise in my throat. It will be forever imprinted in my brain. The cop surprisingly takes his time withme.
Suddenly the sirens get closer, and the EMT arrives. Ignoring the cops, we dart to the back of the truck as a woman and a man round the vehicle to us. The clanking of the doors mixed with the sirens and lights will not be something that I’ll forget anytime soon. The panic and desperation to get her help claws at my insides, threatening to bleed medry.
Gently, I place her on the gurney they just pulled out. Leah groans and whimpers. Struggling not to grab her hand and let these two work, I rip my bloodstained hands through my hair and pullhard.
“Tell us what you know,” the woman EMT asks while checking out Leah’sinjuries.
“I don’t know.” Always tell the truth as much as possible. It makes the lies easier for others to believe and omission is the best medicine. “I found her beaten and tied to the bed. I untied her, wrapped her in the blanket, and brought her out here toyou.”
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” the male EMT says. While I knew it was true when I saw her on the bed, having it said out loud feeds my anger. The pull to take off and find these assholes is strong, like a magnet wanting to destroy. I’m torn deeply from staying with Leah and wanting to go hunting forrevenge.
Leah moans, and I swear it’s my name on her lips making my decisionclear.
“Get her in. We need to stop the bleeding,” the woman EMT says as the man nods once, and they push Leah inside the truck. I go to jump in with her, but am stopped by a hand. One that obviously wants to be choppedoff.
Turning around, it’s one of the cops. “Sir, I need you to stay and answer a fewquestions.”
“No.” I hoist myself into the ambulance and yell out, “I’ll be at the hospital, by her side. You need to talk to me, find me there.” The doors are shut without them answering, and we takeoff.
Inside this cramped space, the woman and I are back with Leah. The EMT is trying to cover all of the wounds that are oozing blood, but she doesn’t have enough hands to hold them in place doing no good. She looks up at me and orders, “Hold these,” and this is one time that I’ll gladly take orders from acivilian.
Pressing down, Leah emits so many different sounds it’s hard to distinguish. Silent tears run down her face. “Shh… baby, I’ve got you. You’re goin’ to the hospital where they’ll fix you right up.” Moregroans.
