Page 83 of New Beginnings
She had too.
By the time we had arrived at the hospital, she had stopped breathing. With her in my arms, I rushed into the emergency room, and an eerie sense of déjà vu filled the air. Once again, it was a very real possibility I might lose the woman I loved, and it would be my fault.
I ran my hands, stained with blood, through my tangled hair. The frustration mounted as I impatiently waited for any news. Being kept in the dark was something I despised.
Even though I knew I should leave because the cops would be descending on the place once they called in the gunshot wound, I couldn’t. I needed to know what was happening. I couldn’t let her go through this alone.
“You! You did this!”
I abruptly halted, turning to face Rumi as she sprinted towards me. I wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation even though I knew it would happen. Her piercing glare made it clear she despised me. She hated I was a part of her sister’s life. For good reason.
“I’m so sorry,” I said even though I didn’t believe my apology would make much difference.
She was hurting and her sister was fighting for her life.
As her hand struck the side of my face, I gritted my teeth, feeling the sharp sting. I closed my eyes and could feel the tension slowly leaving my body with each deep breath. I deserved it because there weren’t enough apologies in the world that could erase what had happened. She had been right about me all along. And now I wished Rebel had listened.
“Save your fucking apology,” Rumi sneered. “I’m going to make sure you pay for this.”
“Hey, hey.” Caesar grabbed her, pulling her away from me. “Calm the fuck down. People are looking.”
Caesar looked around the waiting room and we had garnered some attention. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the argument or the metallic scent of blood that lingered on me.
She wrenched out of his arms. “Calm down! Calm down!” she shouted. “My sister could die because of him, and you want me to calm down! Fuck you, Caesar.” Then her eyes zeroed in on me. “And fuck you. Get out!”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, standing my ground.
I didn’t care how angry Rumi was at me. I wasn’t leaving Rebel. Not when she needed me the most.
“Mimi.” Caesar grabbed her by the arms, and she pulled away from him again, tears pooling her eyes. “I said get out. Both of you. Leave or I’m gonna call the cops.”
She turned away from us and rushed to the receptionist’s desk.
“Come on man.” Caesar pulled me by the arm. “Come on we need to leave.”
“I can’t leave her.”
“Right now, you don’t have any other choice.” He looked at Rumi, who was frantically talking with the receptionist, more than likely accusing me of shooting her sister. “Either you leave and handle what needs to be done or they’ll haul you down to the police station.”
“She might not make it.”
“She’ll be fine, J.D.” He pulled me closer to the entrance of the emergency room. “It’s Rebel. She doesn’t go down without a fight. And there’s nothing you can do here, anyway.”
He was right. There was something I needed to handle, and I couldn’t do what needed to be done if I was at the hospital or in jail. Rebel would want me to finish this. She would want me to find out the truth. So, I followed him outside. I inhaled a deep breath of the cool fresh air and released it. There was nothing I could do here, but I could make Revels pay for the pain he had inflicted on Rebel and Dani.
“Fuck,” Caesar muttered as we watched the black and white pull up to the curb.
I followed Caesar towards the parking lot. I spotted his SUV parked right next to a beat up brown chevy F-150 sitting directly under the light. As I reached the passenger side door, I swiftly turned my head and took in the sight of both officers emerging from the patrol vehicle.
As I slid into the passenger side and closed the door, a sense of relief washed over me, and I let out a long exhale. I knew they’d be searching for me because I brought her in without providing a statement, and Rumi would go to great lengths to spread the word that I was responsible.
However, there was no way anyone would keep me from her. Once things were settled with Revels, I’d come back to make sure she was alright.
“Where’s Revels?” I asked as Caesar pulled out of the hospital parking lot.
“Hannibal called. Said they took him to his dad’s cabin at Lake Wylie. Laura will keep us in the loop about Rebel whenever she can get some information. The only thing you need to worry about right now is getting what you need from Revels, then taking care of him.”
I nodded, laid my head against the headrest of the chair, and tried to calm my anger. I had about forty minutes to calm down, so I didn’t kill him when I saw him. I needed information then I would get revenge for both the women in my life that meant more to me than anything in this world.
