Healer closed his eyes and lightly shook his head. “I can’t do that. He’s not speaking to anyone.”
“It’s about Ari. I have to tell him.”
Healer sighed, then looked away. Something was wrong. I could tell. Typically, Healer wasn’t so emotional. What happened? “Ari’s dead, Bullseye. Ghost and a few of the others watched the plane she was on as it exploded. There were no survivors. We had a funeral for her and everything. Since then, he’s been in his room mourning her. It’s bad man. He won’t leave.”
He had to be lying. She wasn’t dead. She was alive. I just saw her. She was standing a few feet away from me. “She was just standing there. I saw her. She can’t be dead.”
“Bullseye. You’ve been in a coma for two months.”
“What?”
“Look, man, a lot of shit has gone down. Best rest while you can. I’ll let Reaper and Kitty know you’re awake.”
I said nothing more as Healer left, leaving me to understand everything he just said. A coma? Two months? No fucking way. I just saw her.
It was just a few hours ago.
It had to be.
She couldn’t be dead.
He had to be lying.
Had to be.
I still couldn’t believe who I saw with her. I would never have guessed it. Not in a million years. I had to have been delirious. Maybe the poison made me see the wrong person. But I know I didn’t. I saw him clearly. He even smiled at me. I watched him put the needle in her neck. I know I did.
Thundering footsteps pounded down the stairs as several of my brothers all came to see that I was indeed awake. Some were smiling, others looked relieved, yet all of them looked off. I couldn’t explain it. They didn’t look like their usual selves. When Reaper walked over, I could tell his shoulders were heavy. He was dealing with something big.
“Reaper?”
The next thing I knew, he grabbed the back of my neck, laid his head down on mine, and whispered, “Thank fuck. Brother, you scared the shit out of me.”
“What is going on?”
Standing back up, he shook his head. “A shit show. That’s what. After you got hit with that fucking poisonous dart, Digger and Trout followed your tracks back to the clearing. They figure someone saw you and started chasing you. Whoever the fuck that was, shot you with that damn dart.”
“Jekyll. It was Jekyll.”
“Man, they said you walked, crawled, and dragged yourself over five miles to get back to the clubhouse. How you fucking did that, with that shit running through your veins, I will never know.”
“I saw her. She was there.”
“Who?”
“Ari. She saw me. She was going to help me, but they took her. I saw them, Reaper. I know I did.”
“Look, Dylan,” Reaper whispered. It was the first time he ever used my given name. He never did that. Ever. “So much shit has happened. Ari is dead. Ghost has gone off the deep end. He’s not himself anymore. Grimm is still missing. Your wife keeps busting my balls, and you’ve been fucking sleeping for two damn months.”
“But I saw her alive. They took her!” I shouted. I was getting really tired of everyone telling me the same damn thing.
Nobody was listening.
Sitting up, my head pounded, and it took me a few seconds to focus, but when I did, I said. “I need you to listen to me for one fucking minute, Max. I saw her alive. She was there. She saw me. She was coming to help me. They came up behind her, grabbed her, and stuck a needle in her neck. She is alive, and they have her.”
Reaper’s eyes turned molten. Yeah, I knew using his given name was a big fuck you right in his face, but I needed his attention. So, when he yelled, I braced myself for the repercussions. “I’m gonna ignore that fucking slip, only because you just woke the fuck up, but hear me when I say this. She’s dead, Bullseye. Several brothers saw her plane explode. There were no survivors. We buried a fucking empty casket!”
“No.”
“What do you mean no?” Massacre asked, stepping forward. “Reaper’s telling the truth. I saw it myself. The fucking plane blew.”
“I don’t doubt what you saw or what you believe. But what I’m trying to tell you is that she isn’t dead. I saw her, and they took her!”
“Who took her?” Phantom asked. “Who took Ari, Bullseye?”
“Jekyll and Grimm!”
And that was the moment everyone started arguing.