Page 107 of Wrathful King
“Fuck,” I gritted, pulling her against me. I lifted my eyes just in time to see Reina kick the gun to the other side of the room, then check Hiroshi’s pulse.
“He’s gone.”Good.Though I’d have quite liked to torture the fuck out of him. “I’m so sorry.” Reina crouched beside me, her hands coming to the bullet wound on my mother’s stomach. “I should have remembered that the couch was one of Papà’s hiding places.”
I shook my head. “I should have searched the house.”
“We have to stop the bleeding,” she muttered, applying pressure.
“Asher, get water, bandages, and a first aid kit,” I bellowed the order.
The wound didn’t appear to be too large, but the position of it wasn’t good. Considering the amount of blood, the bullet had either pierced her liver or an artery. It was quickly soaking her entire shirt.
Just when I was about to lift her, the door swung open and Asher appeared.
“Stop. Don’t move her,” he ordered. “It’ll make it worse.”
Looking over his shoulder, he barked orders for some supplies, but I was focused on my mother.
“L-let me—” She broke off, coughing up blood.
“Shh, we’re getting you some help,” I told her.
“Save your energy,” Reina whispered to her, her hand still pressed against the wound.
She found Reina’s eyes, desperation coloring them. “I’m sorry,” she breathed. “F-for everything.”
Reina blinked hard, tears clinging to her eyelashes. “Amon’s right, you need to save your energy.”
Asher joined us on the other side of my mother’s body with a bowl of water and a first aid kit.
“W-was jealous.” It was as if my mother needed to get things off her chest. “Angry. I-it… w-was… wrong.”
“It’s okay,” Reina crooned, her crystal blue eyes rising to search my face.
“Can you do anything?” I questioned Asher.
He was already filling his hands with gauze and tweezers. “I can try.”
“Any internal bleeding?” I demanded sharply. He was using the warm water to clean the wound. “Asher, I swear to God—”
“Amon, let him do his thing,” Reina murmured.
My mother jolted, a gasp leaving her mouth. “Musuko, listen to m-me.” My mother’s trembling hand took mine, then reached for Reina’s. “It is my time. But I have m-many things to atone for.”
Alarms blared in my head. She was saying her goodbyes.
“Tell me when you’re healed.” Fuck, despite all the wrongs she’d done, I still loved my mother.
“I have to die in peace.”
Reina leaned over her, her pendant swinging like a pendulum. “You won’t die. We’ll save you, and then—” Her voice broke. She hated seeing anyone in pain.
“P-please forgive me.”
Reina swallowed, her eyes softening. “You’re forgiven. Just get better.”
Mother’s eyes flitted to the necklace and her blue lips curved up.
“M-my… n-necklace…” She reached for it around Reina’s neck, brushing her trembling fingers against it. “I always loved it so much.”
