Chapter Twenty-Six
Beep. Beep. Beep.
This was the second time I’d woken up to a repetitive tone that wouldn’t quit. It was different than the first. The room was quiet, and the beeping sounded like a familiar machine. A sense of déjà vu rippled through me. I’d been here before. An odd sense of security and safety washed over me—or maybe it was the drugs—as I realized where I was. In a hospital.
My heavy eyes fluttered open, and I rapidly blinked to clear the drowsiness from them. I stared at the machine monitoring my heartbeat and vitals.
“Ohmygod,” a voice exhaled. “You’re awake.” A warm hand reached for mine, and I lifted my gaze to Mads’s face.
Her eyes were bright and glistening like she’d been crying. Red puffiness surrounded them. “They arrested Carter. Brock gave them the recording, and Kenna finally agreed to testify against him,” she rushed out, quickly trying to give me all the details.
It was hard for me to take it all and put the pieces together, but the nightmare came back once she started talking, like a tidal wave taking me under. When I finally broke through the surface, my chest hurt and I gasped for air.
I’d been fucking shot.
She gently sat on the edge of my hospital bed, careful not to touch me. “God, what you did… Shit, Josie. That was so damn stupid.”
“I had to,” I rasped, throat scratchy. “He would have shot Kenna.”
“Yeah, butyougot shot,” she pointed out.
I still couldn’t believe it. None of the events seemed real.
“The doctor said it was a clean shot, the bullet went right through. No vital organs were hit. He said you were lucky.” Mads snorted. “Tell that to your overprotective boyfriend who has been wallowing in guilt and misery for hours.” She squeezed my hand. “I’m so fucking glad you didn’t die. I don’t know what I would do without you, girl.”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“He hasn’t left your side.” She tipped her head up, eyes moving to the other side of the room.
I slowly turned my head and saw Brock stretched out on a chair, in what had to be the most uncomfortable position. His head rested on the hard surface of the wall, hands folded in his lap, eyes closed. Blood crusted on his shirt, my blood, and a sheet of white gauze wrapped around his upper arm, below the shoulder.
“Is he okay?” I vaguely remembered Brock leaping after me.
“Yeah. The bullet clipped him after it hit you. He just fell asleep not that long ago,” Mads whispered. “Despite his good looks, he is not a very compliant patient.”
The tube in my arm pumped me full of fluids and meds, and as I lifted my hand, pain radiated to the side of my belly, not far from my hip. Right. Bullet wound. My entire left side was wrapped and taped up. “How long have I been here?”
“Five hours,” Mads informed, and she looked like she had been here waiting for most of them. Tired lines hung under her eyes, and her hair was knotted into a messy bun. “The doctors said surgery was a success. They believe they got all the tiny bullet fragments. I guess, even though the bullet went straight through, it can still leave behind tiny slivers of metal.”
Good to know.
“Your mom and dad are beside themselves. One daughter in the hospital, the other at the police station.”
“Is Kenna okay?”
Mads nodded. “She is going to testify and finally press charges against Carter for what happened over the last two years. I think they are letting her go soon. Uncle Chandler and Aunt Liana left a few minutes ago to be with Kenna, after I promised that I wouldn’t leave your side.”
“Good, she needs them.” I had my boyfriend and my best friend. Kenna needed our parents more than I did.
“And the others?” I inquired, needing to know that the Elite were safe.
Kenna gave me reassuring smile. “Grayson and Fynn went to the station with Kenna. Micah went to get us some coffee. He should be back any minute.”
I raised my brows, because moving anything else took energy I didn’t have. Turns out, getting shot sucked. “Micah, huh?”
She rolled her eyes, fingers fumbling with the white sheet. “Yeah, well. I still haven’t made up my mind about him.”
“Thanks, Mads, for staying.”