He pulled a cellphone from his pocket and passed it to me. I started dialing the first person I could think of. Shado. I would have called Isaac but I couldn’t remember his number.
She picked up on the third ring. “City Morgue, you stab’em, we slab’em—wait this is my cell, hel—”
“Shado, call Isaac. Get him to Tulane Medical Center. Jack is in really bad shape. He’s been shot. He’s lost a lot of blood. He needs Isaac. It’s not good.”
“What the hell,” she gasped. “O—Okay, where are you?”
“I’m in the emergency room with him. Please hurry.”
“Help is on the way, Bex. I’ll bring the cavalry. I promise.” She hung up without saying goodbye.
I thrust the phone back at the doctor and staggered around the nurses’ station in the center of the room. I caught myself on the railing outside Jackson’s door, and leaned against the glass. The doctors and nurses inside were in a state of absolute panic. The man in charge shouted something every few seconds, but nothing they did seemed to help.
The only one who could help Jackson was Isaac. I knew that, and they’d learn it soon enough. Isaac Blackthorn was one of the top trauma surgeons in the city. He worked at almost every local hospital. He knew how to save a wolf from silver poisoning, and he knew how to hide the records to avoid exposure. But before all that, he was Jackson’s best friend and knew my husband better than anyone.
A cop appeared, clearing his throat, “Excuse me, Miss.”
“What?” I snapped, unable to tear my eyes from the room in front of me.
“Your friend here was shot twice in the gut, and you were found unconscious beside him. I need to take your statement.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “He’s my husband.”
“I’m sorry. Can you tell me what happened?” The cop shifted his weight, trying to stand more firmly in my line of sight.
“We were mugged,” I lied, clenching my hands into fists. There were only a handful of cops in NOLA who knew the truth about the supernatural, I didn’t have time to verify if this one was among them. Lying saved time, and would protect us both. Telling a normal beat cop that a shapeshifting doppelganger had shot my husband would only land me in the psych ward.“Jackson tried to stop the guy, but he got shot. I don’t remember much of what happened after that. It’s a blur,”
“Did you get a look at the shooter? Do you know who it was?” the cop asked.
“No, it was too dark, but Jack is a detective. It could’ve been anyone. Plenty of people have grudges against him.”
“Alright, and this happened in the—”
“Can’t we do this another time?” I cried in frustration. “My husband is dying!”
“I’m sure the doctors will do everything they can to save him.”
I turned to look at the police officer, fresh tears pouring over my cheeks. “Please, just leave me alone. I can’t think about anything else right now.”
The man held up his thick hands and backed off. “I’ll come back later to finish your statement.”
I glared at him for half a second and turned back to Jackson’s room. I had no clue what was going on. Everything was a blur, but the wavy line of his pulse on the monitor was still moving. His heart was still beating.
“Rebekah!” shouted a familiar male voice from down the hall.
Reluctantly, I tore my eyes away from Jackson and found Isaac bounding towards me. He had his long brown hair tied behind his head, his white coat flapped around his legs like a cape. My heart soared. Shado had come through.
“Help him, please. Help him,” I pleaded as the alpha wolf came within earshot.
“I will. I promise,” he said, darting around the corner and into the room.Isaac commanded authority everywhere he went. The emergency room was no different. I watched him shout an order and it was followed in seconds. The chaos that had ensued before he arrived was gone. With him in the room, there was an order to everything.
“Rebekah?” Shado gasped, rushing up from the opposite direction Isaac had appeared. “There you are, how is he?”
I gaped at her. “How did you get here so fast?”
“I called Isaac and Tate, then I got my shit together and teleported. What did you think I was gonna do? Drive?” She shook her head. “Where’s Jackson? How is he?”
I pointed to the glass in front of me. “I don’t know. Isaac just got here and—”