Page 71 of Spike's Perdition
A third paramedic walks by me pushing a stretcher, and the three of them untie Ivory and transfer her from the table.
“You coming?”
I nod absently and follow them outside. I’m dimly aware of locking the front door behind me, but for the most part, all of my focus and attention is on the woman I love, the woman who’s dying.
Helluva time to realize how you feel about her.
Climbing into the back of the ambulance, I send up a silent prayer to whatever forces are out there that she’ll be okay. I don’t know if my prayers are heard, and I’m skeptical that they’ll be answered, but I can’t sit here and do nothing.
I grab Ivory’s hand and brush hair out of her face as the ambulance takes off.
Double dog dare ya to survive.
CHAPTER 30
IVORY
“We can’t lose her.”
My ears strain to hear Megan’s voice, but it’s muffled as if my head is underwater. I want to reassure her, but my lips stay sealed together, and my eyelids are dead weight. No matter how hard I fight to open them, they refuse. Everything is numb except for the damn stabbing sensation in my stomach.
My baby!
With renewed strength, I push through the pain. Shoving everything aside, I focus all my energy on my eyes. I groan as I fight the fog.
“She’s waking up!” Eric shouts. “Fucking finally.”
I blink until the room comes into focus. “Peanut,” I mumble.
“It’ll be okay, Ivory,” Megan reassures, squeezing my hand. “They’re out looking.”
“Everyone,” Eric adds.
“Huh?”
“They’ll find him,” Eric promises.
Pain assaults me, making it impossible to sit up. My thoughts are jumbled, and I don’t understand what they’re talking about.
Find who? Spike?
Megan hits the button on the side of the bed to raise my head and adjusts my pillows. Eric lifts a cup and brings a straw to my lips, which I greedily take. I rub my stomach to reassure the baby that we’re okay, but my stomach feels hollow under my touch.
“Where’s Peanut?” I begin to hyperventilate.
“Breathe, Ivory,” Eric encourages. “In through your nose… good, now out through your mouth.”
I mimic his breathing until my heart rate slows down.
“What happened?”
“Spike called me when they got you to the hospital,” Megan explains as her body shudders. “He found you at the house, unconscious, bleeding out,” she says, her voice fading.
“You lost a lot of blood,” Eric continues. “They had to do emergency surgery to save you.”
The nightmare slams back into me. I was excited to get home to start packing for the big move to the clubhouse.
“Aubrey!” I cry.
