Slashes in the Snow: A Baum Squad novel

by Never , M.

  “Death.” I lunge at Deacon but am restrained by Bone and Breaker. “You tell me where the fuck she is, old man, or I will beat you within an inch of your pathetic life and dangle you there.”

  “No place I haven’t been before, kid.” He squeezes the trigger, and a shot of adrenaline has me speeding toward him like a bullet from a Semi. I knock him off the chair, and we wrestle on the floor. We grapple around for the gun, both grabbing it at the same time. Several shots pop off, and blood suddenly pools beneath our bodies. It all happened so fast, my mind is having difficulty catching up to my body. I’m ripped off the floor and hauled to my feet by Bone and Breaker.

  “Ky, you’re shot.” Hawk lunges toward me, pressing his bare hands to the wound.

  “So is Deacon.” Fender inspects his injury, feeling for a pulse. I see him shake his head.

  My father falls to his knees. “John,” he calls him by his God-given name. “Where is Kira? Where the fuck is she?” He shakes him violently, but there’s nothing, no response. He’s dead.

  “No, no, no,” I slip into denial. “That can’t be it. We didn’t find her.”

  My father looks up at me with a gallon of tears in his blue eyes. My father, the strongest man I know. Crying.

  “Slash, we gotta get you to a hospital, man, before you’re the next one to meet the Reaper.” Hawk begins to push me to the door.

  “I’m not going anywhere. We have to find her!” Woozy on my feet, I fight to stand on my own.

  “She’s gone.” Hawk puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me square in the eyes.

  “No,” I break down. My legs turning to jelly.

  Bone and Breaker support me as Fender presses a kitchen towel to my side. “Keep pressure on it.”

  My father rummages around the small kitchen until he finds what he’s looking for. “Keys. To the truck outside. Get him in the flatbed.”

  “No!” I scream in pain. And not the pain from the gunshot wound. The pain from my heart being pulverized into dust.

  “Ky.” My father grabs hold of my neck and presses his forehead to mine. “We have to go. I can’t lose you, too. Listen to Fender, or we will drag your unconscious ass out of here. Time is not on our side.”

  I bawl like a baby in my father’s grasp. “She can’t be gone.”

  “It looks that way.” Two streams of tears race so fast down his face, you could name them like rivers.

  “Yo,” Vet’s voice suddenly cuts through the chaos. “We found a shovel with fresh earth on the side of the house. Looks like there’s a grave about twenty yards out into the woods.”

  I perk up at his sudden announcement. I push my way forward as we all haul ass out of the house.

  “Ky, you need to get to a hospital,” Fender argues with me as I stumble into the woods, holding the cloth against my side.

  “I’m not leaving her.”

  “Son—” my father tries to reason.

  “No,” I snarl. “I’m the Prez. It’s my fucking call.”

  Everyone shuts the fuck up after that.

  When Tempest comes into view, he’s stripped down to his undershirt, sweaty, dirty, and digging like a maniac. “Hurry up.” His blackened, ink-covered arms flex hard with each hearty scoop of dirt.

  We all fall to our knees and dig, the tension so sharp it could slit each one of our throats clean.

  “Kira,” I yell, light-headed and weak. “Kira!” I gouge handful after handful of cool earth, believing if anyone can survive this, she can. I rake away the soil until my biceps burn and my fingertips scrape something hard.

  My emotions implode as we discover the long wooden box, and I nearly puke at the thought of what could be inside.

  If I can’t trust you, it's over before it even began. Her words wash over me like acid. They broke me then, and they’re breaking me now. It can’t be over. We had so little time. Barely any at all.

  My father, Vet, Tempest, and Breaker open the box, and we find Kira bound and unconscious inside.

  “Get her out.” Fender jumps into action. Lifting her limp body up, they lie her on the ground. Tempest cuts her hands and feet lose with his pocket knife as Fender checks her vitals at rapid speed. “No pulse, but she’s still warm.” He starts compressions, and all I can do is crawl next to her and beg. Beg her, beg the Lord, beg any god who will listen to let her live. To bring her back.

  “Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten . . .” Fender’s voice is like a far-away echo. “Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.”

  No response, so he gives her two solid breaths and starts again. “Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten . . .” And then once more. My vision comes and goes as I lie next to Kira just holding her hand. Bone keeps pressure on my wound, but I’ve gone completely numb. I don’t feel a fucking thing except despair. I start to drift off, it becoming nearly impossible to keep my eyes open.

  “Ky, don’t you fucking give up, boy.” My dad shakes me. “Stay awake.”

  I flutter my eyes open, but they’re so heavy. I just want to go to sleep.

  Then I’m startled by a jerk of my hand and sharp gasp. Kira coughs, gulping in air, and I’m suddenly thrust back into consciousness.

  “Oh, thank Christ.” Fender collapses from exhaustion as I haul Kira weakly into my arms.

  “Ky?” she cries disoriented, hugging my tightly.

  “You’re okay now, Snow. I’ve got you. We’ve got you.” I cradle her in my arms and clutch her face. The angelic face that caused me to fall madly in love the moment I laid eyes on her. But it was her soul that kept me coming back. A soul that is too precious to take from this world. To take from me.

  “You came for me.” Her voice is shaky and small, but it's still the most magnificent sound I have ever heard.

  “Always.” I try to hold on, but the pull of the darkness is too strong. Black inky spots cloud my vision, stealing the sight of Kira away from me.

  Then, in a snap, everything just disappears.

  23

  Kira

  “Ky?” I scream as he just passes out right in my arms.

  “Fuck, get ’em up and into the truck.” Fender scurries to his feet.

  Everything is happening so fast. I’m confused. There’s too much movement.

  “Sorry to break up the reunion, princess. But we gotta get Slash the fuck outta here.” Bone lifts his unconscious form off the ground, and he’s hauled away by three of the other guys.

  What the hell is happening? I’m left alone once again, an exhumed grave right at my feet. My grave. I shudder, recalling Deacon dragging the wooden casket through the woods. Recall the paralyzing fear as he kicked me into it and closed the top.

  “You’re not alone, Little Darlin’.” I look up to find Gerard standing beside me. His hand held out.

  I don’t know how or when he got here, but I reach for him desperately. He hauls me up, securing me in a bear hug and I completely break down.

  “It’s okay,” he coos. “It’s okay.”

  “Gambit, we gotta go!” Breaker yells through the trees.

  “We’ll talk more.” Gerard pulls me in the direction of the house.

  I yank at my hand. “Where’s Deacon?”

  “Gone. Dead. Ky killed him.”

  “What?” I step forward in a daze.

  “Like I said, Darlin’. We’ll talk more. Right now, we need to worry about Ky.”

  Gerard and I run through the woods to where everyone is waiting. We hop into the back of the pickup, and Tempest peels away.

  “How far to the nearest hospital?” I sidle up next to Ky’s unconscious body, placing his head on my lap. There’s blood everywhere. It’s seeping through his clothes, on his hands, and all over the truck.

  “A few miles out. Vet already called ahead. They know we’re coming.” Fender and Bone keep continuous pressure on the wound, and I feel completely helpless.

  “Why didn’t you take him to the hospital sooner?” I viciously snap. Out of anger, out of fear, out of worry, out
of uncertainty. So much is circulating so fast my thoughts are a muddled mess of brain cells.

  “We tried.” Fender looks directly into my eyes. “But he wouldn’t leave you.”

  I gaze down at Ky. His cheeks are pale and cool to the touch. I can’t stop the onslaught of tears. They’ve been falling since the moment I opened my eyes.

  I kiss his forehead, his nose, and length of his scar, then I pray.

  I also beg Ky to fight. I whisper how strong he is. I whisper how much I love him. How much I trust him. Then I plead, “Don’t let it all be for nothing.”

  My heart squeezes painfully in my chest from the lack of response.

  When I look up at Gerard, he’s as pale as Ky, his eyes bloodshot but missing tears. He’s holding them back. He’s holding it all back. The devastation right at our fingertips. Knocking at our front door. If Ky dies, Deacon wins, and it really will have all been for nothing.

  When the hospital comes into view, Tempest seems to take this as a cure to drive more like a maniac, hitting the gas and fishtailing through the intersection.

  “Hey!” Breaker bangs on the glass. “Let’s not put anyone else in the hospital!”

  Tempest stops short at the emergency room entrance where there are already people waiting. They’re dressed in scrubs and paper aprons, with masks on their faces and a gurney all ready.

  There’s so much commotion once we stop, it’s hard to keep track of it all.

  Ky is slid out of the flatbed and rushed away before I even have a chance to say goodbye.

  “Kira, let’s go,” Gerard calls to me. I crawl next to Ky’s pooled blood, the image now burned into my memory.

  Gerard lifts me up and out of the truck. Then he stashes me under his arm protectively, exactly the way Ky used to.

  I find myself in the waiting room. It’s like reality is setting back in. I’m aware of my surroundings. I see everything clearer and feel everything more distinctly. Like my emotions are magnified. They’re too big for my little body. It’s feels like I’m going to explode.

  I sit next to Gerard just holding his hand. The room isn’t very large, but there’s enough space for all the rugged, tattooed men covered in dirt to pace about.

  These are all the people Ky loves. Every single one of them is here. Even Gerard. The father who’s been absent from his life for over three years.

  “Kira?” Gerard squeezes my hand.

  “Yeah?” I turn my head in his direction vacantly.

  “What’d you do to your hair?”

  I touch my messy bob. “Deacon snuck into the house while I was sleeping and cut it,” I explain shamefully. “And then he sent it to Ky.”

  “Piece of shit.” Gerard runs his palms over his face with an exasperated huff.

  “Ky likes it.” I recall what he said after Dahlia fixed it.

  It’s sexy as fuck.

  I would give anything to hear him say that to me again. I’d keep my hair short for the rest of my life if that’s what he wanted. Just as long as he’s with me, I’d do almost anything.

  I lean on Gerard’s shoulder, just watching the time tick by. Waiting is agony. It’s amazing how long a minute lasts when you stare directly at the clock.

  “You know he apologized to me,” Gerard shares randomly.

  “Oh?” I lift my head to look at him.

  “He said you told him to do it. That if the two of you were going to be together, we needed to fix things.”

  “It’s the truth. How could our relationship work if the two of you hated each other?”

  “I never hated Ky.”

  “I know. I think deep down he didn’t hate you either. He was just hurt and didn’t know how to deal with all those feelings.” I place my tiny hand over his. It’s so much bigger and covered with tattoos. The combination an illustration of our two worlds merging together.

  He smiles weakly. “It felt good getting him back.” He looks straight ahead and his voice cracks at the end of his sentence. He doesn't need to finish his thought. I already know what he’s thinking. It was good to get him back . . . even if it was for just a little while.

  “Should we get you checked out, Little Darlin’? I’m sittin’ here worrying about Ky, I completely spaced on you.”

  “I’m fine, Gerard. Shaken up. Totally in shock, but fine. I don’t want to be anywhere but here with you.”

  “You know your mother is going to cut my balls off when she finds out about all this.”

  “I know. You’re screwed.” I offer no consolation.

  Gerard’s jaw drops, then his lips curl up into an appreciative smile. “I love you way too much, little girl.” He wraps his arm around me.

  “It's hard not to.” I snuggle against him.

  “Ky never stood a chance,” he grunts.

  “Nope,” I agree.

  “Kira.” Hawk clears his throat off to the side of Gerard and me. “I thought you could use some coffee.”

  “Thank you.” I accept it graciously, even if he is one of my least favorite people on the planet right now.

  “Can I sit?”

  I look at the empty chair next to me. “Sure.” I shrug.

  Hawk takes a seat and rests his elbows on his knees. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for causing trouble with you and Ky. I was just trying to protect him. It’s my job, ya know.” He looks over at me so solemnly. His apology is sincere. “Ky is one of my best friends. My brother, my leader. I just wanted him to have his eyes open.”

  Through Hawk’s explanation, I come to realize just how important Ky is to the men in this room. I observe each and every one of them, and they all have the same worried, misplaced look on their faces. They’re a band of brothers, lost boys, and Ky is their Peter Pan.

  “I appreciate your apology. And I accept it. Let’s just start fresh, okay?”

  Hawk nods forcefully. “And just so you know, no matter what happens with Ky,” he speaks with so much anguish on his face, “you’ll always have someone to turn to. Anyone of us, all of us. We’ll be here if you need us.”

  It’s the most heartwarming and heartbreaking sentiment I have ever been offered.

  “Thank you.” I fight to smile.

  Hawk leans back in his seat looking like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

  Gerard sneaks his arm behind me and flicks Hawk in the ear.

  “Ouch! What'd ya do that for, Gambit?” He covers the side of his head.

  “You’re always causing trouble,” Gerard scolds.

  A doctor enters the waiting room, cutting away any small distraction from the dire situation.

  “I’m looking for the family of Ky Parish.” A tall woman with a low bun and glasses announces, and she is rushed by half the room. She looks a little overwhelmed by all the men crowding around her. I know that feeling. That was me a month ago.

  “Back off.” Gerard moves through the throng. “Let the doctor breathe, you bunch of animals.” He stands face to face with the doctor. “I’m his father.”

  I creep up behind Gerard, peeking out behind his broad body.

  “It was touch and go there for a while. He lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion,” she explains clinically. “It is a miracle the bullet didn’t hit any major organs.”

  “So he’s okay?” Gerard asks hopefully.

  “He’s stable, and resting, but he’ll need to stay here a few days for observation. There’s still a concern for internal bleeding.”

  I breathe a small, thankful sigh of relief. Truthfully, I breathe for the first time since Ky passed out.

  “Can we see him?” Breaker asks.

  “Only immediate family while he’s in the ICU.”

  “Well, that’s horseshit,” Bone communicates his dissatisfaction with that response.

  “Sorry. Hospital rules.” She pushes her glasses up her nose matter-of-factly.

  “You can follow me if you’d like, Mr. Parish.”

  “C’mon, Kira.” Gerard places his hand behind my back.

/>   “And she is?” the doctor inquires.

  “She’s his stepsister. They’re very close,” Gerard informs her, keeping a straight face.

  The whole room breaks out into a fit of laughter, even Gerard and me. The doctor clearly doesn’t get the inside joke, but it’s obvious something’s up. She eyes Gerard and me speculatively, then turns on her heel. “This way.”

  As we follow the doctor through several sets of double doors and past the inner workings of the hospital, I begin to feel lighter and lighter. All the worry and stress from the past twenty-four hours lessens with each step closer I get to Ky.

  “Stay as long as you’d like, just please keep your voices down for the other patients.” She stops in front of a closed curtain. The ICU does not provide much privacy. There are lines of beds down several corridors off a main hallway with machines, glowing and beeping everywhere, and nurses coming and going in every direction.

  “Thank you.” Gerard clears away his emotions. He’s a professional at keeping it together. “We appreciate everything you’ve done.”

  She nods. “It’s what I’m here for. If you need anything, ring the bell.”

  “We’ll do that.” Gerard pushes the curtain aside, and I get my first glimpse of Ky. My knees go weak from the sight of him. He’s bandaged and sleeping, with an IV in his hand and monitors stuck all over his chest.

  “Do you think he’s cold?” The blanket only reaches his lower torso.

  “He’s so out of it he probably doesn’t even know what cold is.” Gerard pulls the curtain back, concealing us, and circles around the bed. I yank the blanket up a little farther, just wanting to make him feel as comfortable as possible. Wanting to do anything that will make him feel better.

  Gerard takes Ky’s hand, and the gentle gesture nearly brings tears to my eyes.

  Seeing Ky lying here is excruciating for me, but I can’t imagine the depths of pain it’s causing Gerard to see his son this way.

  “I still remember the day Ky got that scar. He was such a scrawny little shit,” Gerard reminisces. “He hated being so small. Wanted to be tough, just like his dad. I remember sitting in the emergency room, terrified he was going to lose his eye. There was so much blood; the wound was so deep. And here was this little guy who couldn’t put an ounce of weight on him if he tried, being so brave, not a lick like his father. ‘Dad, do you think I’ll have a scar?’ ‘It’ll look so cool’ ‘Can my nickname be Scar?’” Gerard laughs darkly. “I told him Slash sounded cooler. I was such an enabler, but I hated seeing him in that bed. It killed me. But he was a fighter. Just like his old man. More than his old man. His heart was so big for that little body. And now, here we are again.” Gerard gazes at Ky.