Page 10 of Shadow's Heart
“What the fuck, Jake.” I grit out, keeping my anger in check. I know I can’t take this out on him; it’s not his fault. Even if his family is involved. He’s innocent, and I need to keep that in mind.
“I don’t know anything yet; my main priority was getting Wreck to the hospital. He’s in rough shape.”
“Fucking hell. This is going to blow up; you do realize that, right?” I ask because I don’t know if he’s realized what impact all this is going to have on his life. His secrets aren’t going to be secret for much longer, and there is nothing I can do about it. There’s going to be no hiding his connection to The Khaos Group and the role he played in rescuing Wreck.
“Don’t care, Prez. Getting Wreck help is what matters, not keeping my secrets.” He tells me, sounding very fucking confident.
God, what the hell did we do to deserve a Prospect like Jake? He’s something fucking else. I honestly believe anyone else would be trying to do everything to protect their secret and their family, but not him. His focus is only on Wreck and his needs. We’re so fucking lucky to have him. I just hope everyone else sees it the same way as me. We’re going to have enough going on without members being fools and causing issues with Jake.
“I’m on my way.” I tell him. There’s no point in getting into what’s going on in my head right now. That can all wait. Right now the focus has got to be on Wreck.
“Bring Shadow. Before Wreck passed out, he started asking for him.”
“I wouldn’t dream of not bringing him. We’ll see you soon.”
Hanging up, I stand so fast that I hear my chair tipping over as I rush from my office, not even bothering to go back and sort out my chair or to lock the door behind me. I’ve got more important shit to worry about right now. Like finding Shadow and getting to Wreck as fast as possible. As fucked up as all this is, at least Wreck’s been found alive and is safe at the hospital. I suppose I couldn’t really ask for more than that in this situation. With The Khaos Group involved, he’s very fucking lucky to still be breathing.
Slamming through the door of The Common Room, I immediately gain everyone’s attention. It’s not normal for me to make such an entrance, and with everything going on, everyone is on high alert. Scanning the room so fast my head almost spins, I spot the person I need. Shadow.
Immediately he locks eyes with me from where he’s standing next to Eagle, who is currently the person on Shadow duty, to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. Yeah, it seriously got to the point we were that worried about what he’d do that we assigned him a goddamn keeper. I never thought we’d have to do something like that with him, but this isn’t exactly a normal situation either. People don’t act rationally when those they care about are in danger, and that’s exactly the case with Shadow.
I can see the hope in my brother’s eyes that my over the top entrance means something. That I have some news for him. I’m so relieved that I get to tell him what I’m about to. I hated telling him about what happened at Devil’s Ink, but at least now I get to be the bearer of the good news instead of the bad. I walk straighttowards him, ignoring the rest of the members currently in the room who are all looking at me in various degrees of intrigue. Not all that surprising; they can all tell I have something to tell Shadow. They know this has got to be about Wreck.
As I get closer to Shadow, I watch as Eagle moves from standing next to him to standing behind him like a silent sentinel. It’s smart on his part because I have no idea just how Shadow is going to react when he learns Wreck has been found alive and is currently at the hospital; everyone has different reactions to news like I’m about to give. Some people are just happy and carry on fine, while others go into shock, cry, or totally lose their ability to function. I might not know which way Shadow is going to go, but I do have a strong suspicion after the way he reacted when I gave him the news of Wreck’s abduction. So yeah, having Eagle there ready is a fucking good thing.
“Tell me.” Shadow says as soon as I’m in front of him. It’s clear he’s impatient, and I don’t blame him. I remember what I was feeling when Flame was missing in the hands of someone I knew for a fact wanted him dead. Yeah, that’s not something I’d wish even on my worst enemy. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world. I despise more than anything that my brother now has first-hand knowledge of what it feels like.
“Wreck’s been found; he’s at the hospital.” I tell him, sounding and feeling just as relieved to share the news with the person who needs it most.
It’s not really that surprising when Shadow’s legs give out for the second time in only a few days, and just like a few days ago, he doesn’t hit the floor. This time he’s stopped by Eagle latching onto his waist and keeping him standing instead of our Dad. Talk about a quick fucking reaction from Eagle. Blink, and you’d have missed just how fast he moved to stop Shadow crumbling to the floor.
“He’s alive.” Shadow says through tears that are endlessly falling down his face.
Seeing his reaction to finding out Wreck’s been found is hitting me straight in the heartstrings, and if I don’t get us moving, he’s going to have me crying right next to him. He’s one of the only people on this planet who can get me this emotional. It doesn’t help that I have first-hand knowledge of everything he’s been feeling. I think that’s making my feelings surrounding everything just that much stronger.
“Yes, he is, but he needs you now more than ever. Come on, we’ll take one of the SUVs; there’s no way you can ride.” I tell him, knowing I really do need to get this party moving and heading for the hospital.
Eagle helps to guide Shadow from the room, as he’s clearly not in the frame of mind to do it himself; if anything, he’s in shock. It’s a valid reaction when you consider we’ve had zero luck in our search for Wreck and that Shadow doesn’t know any of the details behind his rescue yet. Fucking hell, he’s not going to take it well when he does find out. That information is going to go down like a lead-fucking balloon. I walk next to them as we leave, grabbing the keys Joker holds out to me as I pass while passing him the keys to my office with the instructions to lock it up for me.
Within five minutes of giving Shadow the good news, I’m in the driver’s seat of the SUV with Eagle and Shadow in the back seat. I don’t blame Eagle for sticking to my brother right now; he needs all the support he can get. God only knows how he’s going to react once we get to the hospital and actually see Wreck. From what Jake said, Wreck isn’t exactly in peak health right now. Shadow isn’t going to like seeing Wreck that way at all. I just hope he can keep it together; we don’t need Shadow losing his mind in the hospital.
As I drive towards the hospital, I ask Eagle to let Flame and my Dad know what’s going on. They were part of the group doing the rounds around town this morning, hoping to find some information on Wreck, so they have no clue about the recent developments, and until this moment I hadn’t really thought of letting anyone else know what was going on. My entire focus was on Shadow, like it should have been. Now though, I know we need to start letting everyone else know, starting with our immediate family. I see Eagle pull his phone out through my rear view mirror and start sending texts. If I were a betting man, I’d say he’s doing more than contacting Flame and my Dad like I asked; more than likely he’s letting everyone know Wreck’s been found and calling off the search. He’s good at keeping his head straight in situations like this; it probably comes from his time in the military. If anything is going to make you learn to keep calm under pressure, it’s being in the military. You can’t exactly be running around half-cocked without your head on straight when other people’s lives depend on your action. I’m relieved he’s handling all this right now, and I can leave my full focus on Shadow and Wreck. Within the next few hours, once everyone has received the news of Wreck’s rescue, I’m pretty sure that the hospital is going to be full of Devil’s Inferno members wanting to know how he is and what happened. Yeah, they aren’t the only ones; I’d really like to know the reasons behind all this myself.
Driving on autopilot, I can’t help but wonder why the fuck Wreck was being held by The Khaos Group. It doesn’t make sense; they have absolutely zero reason to come for him. Wreck is not a person who should have ever been the target of The Khaos Group; I’d bet my fucking life on it. As much as I want to demand answers to the millions of questions flying around my head, I know I’m going to have to be patient and wait for Jake to investigate what the fuck happened, because if anyone can find out what the fuck is going on, it’s a member of The KhaosGroup’s founding families. If I started demanding answers myself, I can imagine it wouldn’t go over very well at all, but Jake doing it is a totally different story. Sometimes the best course of action is to take a step back and use the resources at your disposal, and that’s what I plan on doing because it’s the best chance at getting the answers I want and need.
Finally pulling up to the hospital after what feels like one of the longest drives of my life, but in reality lasted less than ten minutes. I’m not even surprised to see Flame and my Dad are already here and waiting for us at the entrance. They’re easy as hell to spot with their massive builds and kuttes. I know there’s nowhere else either of them would rather be right now; they both know Shadow needs his family’s support now more than ever. I can’t help but wonder how many rules of the road they broke to make it here so fast, though. Actually, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know. Ignorance is bliss and all that.
Chapter Fourteen
Shadow
He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive. Holy fucking shit, he’s alive. That’s literally the only thing going around my head right now. With the lack of luck we’ve had while searching for Wreck, I was honestly starting to think that wasn’t the case. That whoever had taken him had killed him, and that’s why we couldn’t find anything. I can’t believe he’s actually alive and safe at the hospital.
I have no idea how he ended up here, who found him, or anything. And right now, that’s the least of my worries; I need to see him with my own eyes. I’m not going to fully believe he’s back home and in one piece until I do. Wrath telling me he’s been found is one thing, but seeing him with my own eyes is a totally different ball game.
I feel like I’m moving through a fog as Eagle guides me towards the hospital, where I find my Dad and Flame standing at the doors. I can’t even find the words to thank them for coming. It’s just too much right now. I’ll thank them later, when I don’t feel so out of it. Hopefully I’ll remember. No, I will remember. I might be out of it right now, but I won’t forget them being here for both myself and Wreck. It means the fucking world to me and I know it’ll mean just as much to Wreck.
As we walk into the hospital, I can hear them all talking behind me, but nothing is registering for me. If my life depended on telling someone what they were talking about, I’d be fucked. Their voices just sound like a buzzing noise to me. All I can focus on is laying my eyes on Wreck. They guide me towards the elevators, as they clearly all know where we need to go. That’s probably something they were talking about while I’ve been lost in my own head. I’m shocked beyond belief when Wrath clicks the button for the private floor located at the top of the hospital. Why the hell is Wreck there? It makes no sense to me. As soon as I’ve seen Wreck, I’m going to be demanding answers because something is very fucking fishy right now. Wreck should not be up on that floor.
