by April Lust
Then she leaned against the car and covered her face with her hands as she cried.
He brought her close and spoke softly into her ear. “What is it?”
“She’s going to be so messed up.”
“Sara?”
She nodded against his shoulder. “All that’s happened. It’s too much for a four-year-old. It’s going to scar her for life.”
“No.” Jace stroked her head. “How much do you remember from when you were four? She’ll forget over time. And she has you. You give her so much love and affection that it’ll be okay. She’ll be fine. She knows she’s loved and safe. That’s what matters. She won’t keep being abused. It’s over now.”
Not like when he was a kid. How badly had his father’s abuse messed him up? Maybe worse than he thought. But that had gone on for years. And he hadn’t just watched his mother get hit and ordered around. His dad hit him and his brother for years before anyone did anything about it. Most of his life. And he’d turned out okay, hadn’t he? Maybe. Maybe not.
But Sara would be okay. He’d make sure of it. If Isabella let him, he’d be the best father to her that anyone could be. He’d make sure she always was safe and always felt safe. He’d slay monsters under the bed and in the closet if he had to. Whatever it took to make sure she felt safe, he would do.
And the same thing for Isabella. He’d teach her to shoot, get her a gun. Make sure she knew without a doubt that he’d always come for her and Sara. He’d give his life to protect them. He’d do anything for them. He didn’t want her to have any reason to be afraid, ever.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jace said.
He didn’t want to worry her, but the sooner they left the better. All of his guys who came on bikes had left. But Aaron sat in his car, making sure they were okay.
“You’re right.” Isabella straightened up and wiped her eyes. “Getting her back to something normal is the best thing. We’ll go to the hospital, make sure your hand is okay, then get her home.”
“We can skip the hospital. Let’s just get her home.”
Isabella walked around to the driver’s side and they both got in the car. She looked back at Sara. “All set?”
In his mirror, Jace saw Sara nod and squeeze Cuddles tight. Isabella started the car and drove off, Aaron following behind them.
###
Isabella didn’t care what Jace said. He was going to the hospital. With all they’d been through, the last thing anyone needed was for his hand to get infected or something. It wouldn’t take long. She couldn’t wait to get home, to stand in the hot shower and let the water burn away the stress and dirt of the day.
What a long day it’d been. No wonder she was so tired. It was hours after the time she normally went to sleep. She yawned and glanced back at Sara. Fast asleep. She looked over at Jace and smiled.
He took her right hand and kissed it, then held it in his. It felt so good to have him touching her. Even if it only was her hand. Any contact with him was like heaven. She fast forwarded through the next hours in her mind. They’d go to the hospital, get him fixed up. Then they’d go home and get cleaned up. Maybe they’d even shower together. And then, they’d climb into her bed together, naked and clean.
Her body started to tingle all over at the thought. When they’d slept together before it’d been the best sex of her life. And she wouldn’t mind having it again. And again. And again. Maybe even for the rest of her life. Hopefully it would take a long time for him to get another house or fix his, which meant he’d have to stay with them for a good long while.
She couldn’t believe Lionel had burned his place down. Who did something like that? Was it bad? Jace had said someone had been trapped inside. That meant it had to be pretty bad, right? You didn’t get smoke inhalation and get trapped inside the building and burn your hand if it was just a little kitchen fire. He’d said his car was ash. So that meant it had to be really bad. Was there anything left? Had he lost everything?
She considered that for a moment. She had left behind most things when she left Craig. Some things were just too big or impractical. Important things like baby photos were easy to carry because they were all digital. They were saved online anyway. Important papers were small and easy, too, but Sara had had to leave most of her favorite toys. They had Cuddles, who’d been her bunny since she was a baby. A few other stuffed animals came along, but her bigger toys had to stay. Her bike, puzzles, most of her books and DVDs. Isabella had been slowly rebuying a lot of things, but didn’t have much budget for all that.
For Jace, he might have lost everything. It wasn’t like he’d gotten the chance to pick out his favorite clothing, like she had. If it was gone, it was all gone. Everything from bedding to dishes to books and movies to even his car. Where was his bike? He must’ve been on it if his car was there. So his bike should be okay. But what had he lost? What was valuable to him?
She couldn’t imagine having nothing at all except the clothes on your back. How was he handling this all so well? Shouldn’t he be freaking out or losing it right about now? Maybe he was just in shock. She looked over at him. He stared out the window, still holding her hand tight.
“You doing okay?” she asked.
He looked over and gave her a smile. “I’m perfect.”
“You sure?”
“As long as you’re safe and Sara is safe, yup.”
“But your house burned down today. Is anything salvageable?”
He shook his head. “Highly doubtful.”
“That doesn’t upset you?”
He shrugged. “It sucks, yeah. But the things that are most important to me weren’t inside the house, so it doesn’t matter that much. It’s just stuff. It can all be replaced.”
“But you lost everything you own?”
“Nah,” he said. “I have my bike. And this shirt and these pants.” He chuckled. “I have insurance. It’ll be fine. You can help me go shopping if you want.”
“I do like to go shopping.”
“See. It’ll be a fun time.”
She let this sink in. Was he really so okay with all this? “Maybe you’re still in shock.”
“Isabella, I’m fine.” He kissed her hand again. “Everything I care most about in the world is right here in this car or heading to the hospital.”
###
Isabella turned into the hospital and Jace gave her a look. “What are you doing?”
“You have to get your hand checked out,” she insisted. “And don’t you want to check on your friends?”
“What about Sara?” He looked back at her.
“She’s sleeping now and she’ll probably stay asleep. She’ll be fine.”
They climbed out of the car and Isabella scooped Sara into her arms, wrapping her little legs around her to hold her so she could stay asleep.
They went right to the ER. Aaron had been behind them, so wasn’t inside yet, but Derrick and Alex were there. Derrick was talking to the nurse at the window and pointed to Alex, who was sitting in a chair in the waiting area. The nurse came around the corner to him with a wheelchair and they helped Alex get into it.
“Hey,” Jace said, and hurried over to Alex. “I’ll come check on you in a bit. Make sure that arm stays attached.” Jace lightly punched the shoulder opposite of the arm that’d been shot.
Alex nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
Derrick and Jace bumped fists and Jace came back to where Isabella stood near the admittance window. When the nurse came back, he went over to talk to her.
“Hi, I was here earlier for smoke inhalation and a burn, but I had an emergency and had to leave.”
She looked up at him with an unamused expression. “Your name?”
“Jace Peters.”
She turned and rifled through a stack of folders. She pulled one out and flipped it open. “Right. You were the one who left without being discharged.”
“Yeah, sorry. I had an emergency.”
“Have a seat. We’ll give you a call.”
>
Jace walked to the closest seat, Isabella right behind him with Sara in her arms. They sat and waited.
Aaron arrived and walked over to them. “Hey, man. Where is everyone?”
“Alex is being looked at. Derrick is with him. Haven’t seen anyone else yet. I’m waiting to be seen. Again.”
Aaron nodded. “I’m going to the room Daniel was in.”
“Send me an update.”
“Will do.”
Aaron left and Jace slumped back in the chair and closed his eyes. Isabella ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. Warmth spread through him, drawing a smile from his lips.
“Jace Peters.”
He opened his eyes and saw a doctor looking around the waiting room. They all stood and followed him to a small trauma room.
Jace sat on the edge of the hospital bed, his feet dangling causally from the end. Isabella sat by his side in one of the padded chairs, still holding Sara tight in her arms, as the doctor cleaned his burn. First he sprayed some sort of antiseptic. It was cold and soothed the hot skin, but then he dabbed at the burn with a gaze pad, which took the coolness away. Next, the doctor took out some sort of wipe. Like a wet wipe, but smelling much stronger of medicine and chemicals. He wiped it across Jace’s hand. Jace tried not to react to the pressure and friction as the doctor worked, but it hurt. He gritted his teeth and tightened his other hand into a fist. Finally, it was done. The doctor smeared some ointment on the damaged skin that cooled it and made it feel a little bit better. He relaxed some. The doctor wrapped a bandage around his hand and stood up, finished and satisfied with his work.
“Okay,” the doctor said while making notes on his clipboard. “Keep it dry and clean. You’ll need to change the bandage once a day, and use this ointment.” He handed Jace a small white tube, which Jace stuck in his pocket. “Come back to see me in a week.”
Jace nodded. “Sounds good. Thanks.”
The doctor nodded at him and left the room.
“Guess we’re all set,” Jace said, sliding down from the edge of the exam bed. “I want to check on Daniel and Alex real quick, then we can go home.”
Isabella yawned, but smiled at him. “Sure.”
“Want me to take her? She must be getting heavy.”
“No, your hand. It’s okay. I’m used to carrying her.”
In the hall, Jace took out his phone and called Aaron. “Where are you guys?”
“With Daniel. Room 109. Man. It’s not looking good.”
Jace swallowed hard. “We’ll be right there.”
“How is he?” Isabella asked.
Jace looked at her and the despair must’ve been obvious on his face before he even said anything. Her eyes grew wide. He shook his head tightly. “Not good.”
They hurried over to room 109 and went inside. Aaron was there watching and Daniel’s girlfriend, Angie, sat close to his bed. Tubes and wires ran from Daniel, who lay in the bed, far too still. It looked like a machine was breathing for him.
“What’s going on?” Jace asked.
Aaron and Angie both looked at him, but Angie turned her attention back to Daniel.
Aaron moved to stand closer to Jace so he could keep his voice down. “They said his heart stopped a few times. They were able to resuscitate him, but that’s apparently a very bad sign. They don’t think they’ll be able to bring him back a third time if his heart fails again.”
“Okay.” He tried to let this sink in. “What are his injuries?”
“The burns are really bad and it’s making his body go into shock. And that can cause organ failure. So they’re watching for all that now. To make sure everything keeps working.”
Jace pulled up the other chair in the room. “Sit down, babe,” he said to Isabella.
She sat and arranged Sara into a more comfortable position on her lap. Sara was fast asleep and Isabella looked exhausted. He was tired, too. The day had gone on far too long and held too much pain and drama. They’d leave soon, but not until he knew his guys were going to be okay.
Jace walked over to Angie and put a hand on her shoulder. She gripped Daniel’s hand tight. “If you need anything, let us know, okay?”
She nodded. “I just need him to wake up.”
“We all do.” Jace walked to the opposite side of the bed to squeeze Daniel’s other hand. “Come on, man. Hang in there. Wake up real soon.” He stood and watched him for a long while, the machines beeping and whirling in rhythm, moving his chest up and down.
Daniel looked both pale and too red and black. The parts of his skin that were undamaged were pasty white. But he was covered in patches of bright red, some edged with black. They shined like they’d been smeared with some kind of ointment. Large sections of him were covered in soft, white bandages. Most of his face and arms. The rest of him couldn’t be seen under the blanket, but there were thick lumps there, like something was wrapped around his legs and feet.
Little tufts of Daniel’s black hair stuck out from under and between the loops of bandage. But one side of his head didn’t seem to have any hair at all. It was raw and red with blisters. He hadn’t seemed like he was in such bad shape when he’d pulled him from the basement. He couldn’t recall seeing any burns on him at all. But then, there had been plenty of thick, black smoke, and it wasn’t like Jace was interested in a full body inspection of him at the time. He only wanted to get him out.
Now it looked like he’d been too late. Daniel was in rough shape and even if he woke up, he must have a long recovery ahead of him. And who knew what he’d look like. He had been a good-looking guy. And his girl, Angie, was nice-looking herself. They would have made some cute babies. Would have. But now? How long would Angie stay with him if he was disfigured? He hoped she loved him, but they hadn’t been together for years. Months, sure, but was that long to commit to someone through this? He didn’t know.
“Were you the one?” Angie asked.
“One what?” Jace said.
“Who went in to save him?”
“I went in and pulled him out,” Jace said. “But it doesn’t look like I saved him.”
“You did.” She kissed Daniel’s hand and held it tight while tears ran down her face. “Thank you. You risked your life to save him. I’ll always be grateful for that, no matter what happens.”
Jace nodded. “He’s my friend. I wasn’t going to just let him die.”
“You’re a good man,” Angie said. She looked over at Isabella and gave her a weak smile. “You’re lucky to have a guy like that.”
“I know.” Isabella smiled across the room at him.
He didn’t deserve this praise, though. Not when Daniel was lying here like this. So close to death. If he would have gotten there sooner, would have found him and gotten them out faster, maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.
“Hey, man.” Aaron clapped him on the shoulder. “I can see you beating yourself up from across the room. Give it up. You did what you could. You ran into a burning building to pull him out. Plenty of people wouldn’t have done that. You didn’t set the fire. This is on Lionel and the Ghost Reapers. And we made them pay today.”
Angie looked up at this. “You did? How?”
“We took them out,” Aaron said simply.
“Good.” Angie stroked part of Daniel’s cheek that was visible through the bandages and burned patches. “Hear that, baby? The Hawks got them. They took revenge on those assholes for you.”
“Yeah,” Jace said. “But revenge won’t make him get better faster.” Nothing would, except a lot of time and hoping for the best. Jace turned to Aaron. “You hear from Derrick or Alex?”
He nodded. “They’re taking Alex into surgery to remove the bullet. He’ll be okay, though. They said it was a clean shot. No shattered bones or anything like that.”
“Good. Do you know how it happened?”
“Not sure, but it was during the fight when you were dealing with Lionel. A lot of shots back and forth. We got lucky.”
Jace nodded and
dropped his voice. “Did we leave any alive? Any get away?”
“Not that I know of. Unless some of them weren’t there at all. We took them all down. It’s amazing how unskilled those guys were. They must not have gone to the range very often.”
“That’s why weekly is my minimum requirement,” Jace said, glad more than ever that he’d made that rule. It had seemed a little strong at first. Making every one of his guys practice shooting every single week. Some had complained at first. But they did it. And now they’d all seen why. It kept them sharp and practiced. He’d also made them try out different guns and get varied practice. You never knew when you’d be shooting a gun that wasn’t your own, and they needed to be skilled in all types and ready for anything.