Page 78 of Sapphire's Gem
“Why the hell aren’t you on your way to the hospital?” I demanded.
“Because there was someone worse off than me. I’m slated for the next ambo, okay?”
I sat down beside her, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. That was a sign of how bad she felt because Lantern would never show weakness in public.
“Stitch is down still,” I murmured.
“It’s fine. I’ll heal,” Lantern said.
“Stitch can remove any scarring.” Guilt flooded me. Stitch was supposed to look after our sisters first and foremost. Instead, Stitch was still recovering after keeping Cassidy and Wylde from dying.
“Stop,” Lantern muttered.
“Huh?”
“You’re beating yourself up that Stitch is recovering. Don’t. Cassidy and Wylde needed to be saved. You did the right thing, and yeah, this shit hurts, but we both know Stitch is capable of removing scarring,” Lantern murmured.
“True.”
“Then I can wait. Although I’d love some pain relief right about now,” Lantern said with a half laugh.
An ambulance pulled up, and paramedics came over, pushing me aside. They checked her over and tried to get her onto a gurney. Lantern refused and hobbled over to the ambo, ignoring everyone else who ordered her to stop.
“I’ll follow on my bike,” I called, and she waved her hand.
She shook her head. “Send Sparrow; you’ve got more important things to do.”
“You’re my priority, Lantern,” I exclaimed, outraged.
Lantern’s lips creased into a small smile. “Sapphire, send Sparrow. You need to be elsewhere.”
I knew what she was saying without having to say the words. She wanted me to go and question the assholes our sisters had captured. It was then I realised I didn’t know the timeline of events. Which business had been attacked first—or had they been simultaneously hit to divide our strength?
Before I could reply, the doors shut, and the ambulance pulled off. I stared at the surrounding carnage. This shit had to end.
???
In the end, I headed to the hospital. The prisoners we had could wait, but Lantern couldn’t. She rolled her eyes when I entered her bay, but didn’t argue. The docs came and checked her over before sending her for an X-ray. I was rather surprised that they did, as I didn’t know an X-ray would show up glass. Finally, I sat with her as a doctor pulled slivers of glass from her.
He’d given Lantern a local, but even so, she winced as the shards were pulled from her skin. She ended up with twenty stitches, which I thought was lucky.
“How are the other victims, doc?” I asked, and he looked down his nose at me.
“I can’t answer that.”
“Look, I don’t want their medical history. I want to know they’re okay,” I retorted.
“And I’m bound by HIPAA.”
“Okay. I’ll find someone who can give me answers,” I stated.
He nodded and turned to leave, but stopped and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Your friend was lucky. Someone else wasn’t.”
I closed my eyes. Someone had died, and I still didn’t know if the Royal Harlots had been the target. Offering a nod in thanks, I let him go.
“I’ll be outside.”
“Okay. I’ll just get dressed,” Lantern responded.
