Page 24 of Piece You Saved

Aden makes another soft sound. This one was definitely a pain noise. My jaw tightens, and I spend the next several seconds taking Rylan Trevailer apart piece by piece in my mind.

I’ve ripped off his hands and arms, gauged out pieces from his chest, and I’ve just finished ripping one leg off as he howls in pain when Kade rumbles a warning. “Dariel.”

Which is when I realize Aden isn’t the only one making sounds in the elevator.

I silence the low snarls emerging from my chest, stop mentally torturing Rylan, and concentrate on the task at hand.

My wolf and I will deal with him soon enough.

I need to take care of Aden. Aden, who fought so fucking long and hard to survive a shitty childhood, then fought and fought to make it to adulthood when few would have.

I swore I’d always protect him.

I failed.

The elevator door dings as we hit the ground floor, and I release Aden’s shoulder, straighten, and plaster the look of an efficient doctor on my face as the door slides open.

No one is waiting to enter, so Kade and Saige step out into a pristine white hallway, their steps almost soundless on the glossy floor.

“We’ll leave through the ER,” I say in a low tone. “Less chance of Rylan attacking with all the bright lights that way.”

Saige’s back stiffens. Is she remembering the doctor who had his throat ripped out in this hospital parking lot while trying to get her safely away?

With our priority on getting Aden home, Rylan could inflict a lot of damage—possibly kill Aden or Saige—before I put him down.

Kade nods without turning around and changes direction from the back of the hospital, where an emergency door is a spot of green in an utterly blank white hallway.

Our footsteps are mostly silent. Other than the distant beep of some machine and the sharp astringent scent of antiseptic that fills my nose, we could be all alone here.

Kade reaches a set of double doors and pulls his arm from Saige’s waist to shove them both open. The muffled conversation and nurses turning our way reassure me that we’re not by ourselves.

The few nurses and one doctor glance at us as we pass through another ward. Kade pushes through another set of doors. The scent of blood and the volume of conversation increases, as do the cries and whimpers of pain from the patients in the rooms we pass.

Finally, we hit a corner with a sign pointing toward the waiting room.

I continue pushing Aden out through the waiting area and past the nurses’ station. The nurses never so much as glance our way. The gray-haired and narrow-eyed security guard leaning against the wall beside it looks at us once and goes back to studying the waiting area with a heavily creased brow.

And then we’re outside. It’s no longer night. The sky is a muted blue as the sun rises in the distance. The hum of ambulance engines continues on our right and sirens keep flashing on our left as Kade and Saige lead the way past the ambulances and toward the parking lot.

Kade’s arm remains tight around Saige’s waist, his body language screaming protectiveness. He must be thinking about what happened to the doctor who tried to help her and paid for it with his life. I know I am.

Aden groans, and the low growl in the sound makes me snap my head down to him.

“Kade,” I say.

“I heard.”

“Keys.” I fish my car keys out of my pocket and toss them at him. I take less than a second to shrug out of the doctor’s coat and launch it behind a parked car.

Kade picks up the pace. I follow.

CHAPTER 8

SAIGE

Agrowl rumbles from the back seat. I tense, digging my nails into my thighs.

I feel Kade glance at me as he speeds through the city. A second later, he reaches over, grabs one of my hands, and squeezes. “We’re good, angel.”

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