Among the Debris (Son of Rain #2)

by Michelle Irwin

  She was a soldier, just as I had been before . . .

  Before Evie.

  Soldiers didn’t choose their fights—they only ended them. I took the phone with a curt nod before rushing into the hospital to find out more about my love.

  When I approached the nurse about Evie, I was handed a pile of paperwork to complete with insurance and social security information. I filled in the details using the first thing I could think of—one of Lou’s most frequently used aliases. She’d used the name on so many missions, that I had most of the information drilled into my head. Even though it could raise red flags in the Rain systems, it was too late to worry about that. They knew where Evie was anyway, and at least this way I was able to fill out the forms and not raise the suspicions of the hospital staff.

  Then I waited.

  For three hours, I sat in the waiting room with all of the other families, each one of us desperate for information on our loved ones. The atmosphere was cloying. The scent of hopelessness mingled with the sickly smell of pine disinfectant. I couldn’t risk leaving the room until I knew more though. My world had fallen to pieces and wouldn’t be rebuilt until I could hold Evie in my arms and confirm for myself that she was okay.

  One by one, various doctors came through the waiting room doors and called out the name of a patient, some with good news and some with bad. Guilt ate at me for staring openly at the families as the doctors spoke with them in hushed whispers, watching as some clutched mouths, palms covering barely hidden smiles of overwhelming joy, while others tempered their sorrow with hard eyes and dour faces.

  I wanted news.

  Good or bad, I needed to know. I prayed for the good. It had to be positive. Evie had to be okay. I wasn’t sure I could handle anything else. There would be no suppressed emotions or strong-willed nods like my waiting room co-inhabitants. There would be only my own heart exploding in my chest with rage and pain as my mouth rambled explanations for why there was a newborn among the ashes of Evie’s body.

  Unable to contain the concerned energy any longer, I began to pace.

  Why’s she been in there so long with no news?

  At first, I thought that no news had to be a good thing. At the very least it meant she was fighting. After a while, I started to doubt that assessment. Her condition was obviously bad if they had to operate on her for so goddamned long.

  My pacing increased to long strides that took up nearly the length of the waiting room before I swung back around toward the chair I’d claimed. Moving provided some freedom from the noises in my head, if only temporarily. From time to time, the phone in my hand chimed and chirped, but I ignored it. I couldn’t care about Lou until I knew more about Evie.

  What did it matter if my sister was fine if Evie wasn’t?

  Right when I thought I would go completely crazy with the wait, someone finally called out the name of the alias I’d given Evie. When I jumped up and raced over to find out more, I was escorted over to a police officer without even being offered a single reassurance about her condition.

  “I believe you accompanied this girl in,” the officer said, holding up a surveillance photo of Evie.

  I nodded. “She’s my fiancée.”

  “I’m not sure whether you are aware, but your fiancée is wanted for questioning in relation to a number of fatal fires.”

  My mouth went dry as his words sunk in. “I don’t know what you’re talking about officer.”

  Lies.

  Of course I knew. The Rain had framed her for her father’s death. I had no doubt that my father would have ensured she took the fall for the fire—and the deaths—at the Hawthorne Hotel once he discovered she’d been there. The surveillance photo the officer had shown me was almost certainly taken from a camera near the check-in desk at the Hawthorne.

  “I just need to see her,” I added.

  “I’m afraid we can’t allow anyone in to see her until we’ve been able to question her in relation to the matter.”

  If he planned on questioning her, maybe she would pull through. Not wanting to appear too positive, I pushed down the tide of hope that rolled through me. “Is she under arrest?”

  The officer pressed his mouth into a hard line but didn’t answer my question.

  I decided not to push him on the issue, not while I was getting something—however little it might have been. “Sorry, I know you probably can’t tell me that, but maybe you can help me. I don’t know what this is all about, but I really need to know that she’s going to be okay. Is there any way that I can talk to her doctor or something in the meantime?”

  After a small pause where he assessed me with a cautious eye, he raised his hand and called someone over. Coming over to join us was a no-nonsense looking woman in a white coat. Her auburn hair was drawn back into a neat ponytail, and she had a grim expression on her face. After the officer left me in her care, she introduced herself and advised that she was consulting with another doctor on Evie’s case.

  “We have stabilized her for the moment, but to be frank, it’s still touch and go. She has first and second degree burns to a significant portion of her torso, which should heal with time and will hopefully result in minimal scarring. Of greater concern is the risk of acute respiratory distress from smoke inhalation. She had some swelling in her airways, and the concern is that this might worsen in the next seventy-two hours. It also appears that she is suffering from a severe infection. She’s currently being kept under sedation, but we’ll reduce that once the antibiotics begin to take effect.”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I ensured the police officer was far enough away before turning back to the doctor. “Please, can I see her? I just need to know she’s okay.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t allow that.”

  I clenched my jaw, knowing that swearing at the doctor wouldn’t do me any favors.

  “Thank you for looking after her.” I hoped I sounded sincere. Knowing there was nothing more I could get from the doctor, I headed back toward the hard plastic chairs in the waiting room.

  Hanging my head, I tried to figure out what to do next. The simple fact was that I needed to get Evie out before anything worse could happen, but I couldn’t risk her dying on me if I tried to move her before she was well enough to survive travel.

  A shadow moved in my peripheral vision, stopping just in front of me. The movement caused me to look up to see who was blocking the light. Eth threw a bag onto the chair on one side of me before sitting on the other.

  “What are you doing here?” I snapped.

  “Trying to be supportive to my pain in the neck brother even though all I really want to do is kick his surly ass.”

  Closing my eyes, I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair, determined to ignore him but only lasted about a minute before an involuntary chuckle burst from me.

  “Surly.” I opened one eye. “Really?”

  He shrugged. “If the surly shoe fits.”

  I leaned forward. “Why are you really here?”

  “You weren’t answering the messages I sent, and I was worried about what you might do.”

  “You were worried I might find a way to sneak Evie out you mean?”

  “Think what you like, you know there’s a good reason for what went down today, and if it’s any consolation, we thought you were being held against your will.”

  I wanted to call him on his bullshit—they went there without a reason just because of what Evie was—but I was too tired. The day felt like it was something out of a nightmare, but even my worst dreams had never left me so defeated. There was a gaping hole where my heart had been—an ache that swallowed my whole chest, and a headache strong enough to leave me wondering whether my head would explode from the pressure.

  “I don’t even care, man.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples as I sighed. “I just need her to be okay.”

  “Are you sure that’s for the best?”

  Knowing it was useless to argue, I ignored him and hoped he might take the hint and
disappear.

  “It might not be much, but I figured that today you probably lost everything you’d brought with you, so I gathered up some supplies.” He nodded toward the bags. “Whatever else happens, just remember that I’m not the enemy here. We’re family. Family is key.”

  He said the family motto as if it actually meant something, as if anything outside of Evie’s survival did.

  When I didn’t respond to his ridiculous attempt at warm and fuzzy, he left. After a few moments, curiosity got the better of me and I opened the bag he’d left. It was full of clothes for me as well as a few protein bars.

  After seeing what he’d done, I almost felt bad for being rude, until I reasoned that it was a meaningless gesture unless he was willing to walk away and leave Evie and me alone. I didn’t think he would be. Of course, even if I could convince him to do just that, Dad and Lou wouldn’t give up so easily.

  If at all.

  After another hour without any further updates, I couldn’t sit idly by while I waited for news. I had to see Evie, especially if she was as bad as the doctor indicated.

  On the pretense of getting some snacks, I grabbed my bag and headed into the general areas of the hospital. I went in search of a break room or somewhere where I could steal a set of scrubs or a doctor’s coat—anything that would help me to blend into the background of the hospital scene. As I searched, I stumbled into a janitor’s closet and couldn’t believe my luck.

  Of all staff in any company, the cleaning staff tended to be the invisible ones, able to pass through rooms without standing out. Very few people ever intentionally met their eye. I slipped into a pair of spare scrubs that were a touch too big, not so much that I looked ridiculous but they sagged a little around my waist. Then I grabbed a mop and bucket. Keeping my head down, I pushed the wheeled bucket along the halls.

  Nearing the nurses’ station, I pretended to wipe down the desk, but in reality, I checked the schedules. After I found Evie’s room number, I spent a couple of minutes assessing the best route.

  When I started to push the bucket again, I tried to move with a sense of purpose, like I was supposed to be there. No one questioned me, one person even directed me to a mess that had been left in a break room. I waved and nodded to acknowledge them and kept moving.

  A little way down I was just down the hall from Evie’s room, I pushed the bucket into a nearby waiting room. After scoping the scene, I walked up to a large man who looked desperately close to breaking. His fight or flight instinct on the verge of taking over his emotions. I accidentally-on-purpose smashed the bucket against his foot.

  Drawing himself to his full height, he hurled abuse at me, most of the names not entirely appropriate for a waiting room filled with families. Allowing my frustration over Evie’s situation to come to the fore, I answered back with a smartass remark designed to earn me a punch in the mouth.

  When the guy’s fist flew at me, I ducked easily out of the way and followed through with a punch to his gut. Shouts rose all around me as people tried to intervene and break us apart. In the middle of the mass of bodies, I twisted and smacked another person in the mouth.

  The room bustled with shouts and cries. Already strained emotions burst to release a commotion that grew large enough to draw the guard away from Evie’s door. I used the pockets of confused patients to shift away from the guard before sneaking out of the waiting room and through to find Evie. I would have felt guilty if I hadn’t been so concerned about getting in to see her condition for myself.

  Once I pulled the door shut behind me, I turned to look at Evie. Obviously wounded and bursting with a variety of wires and tubes, she looked so fragile.

  My own breath stopped at the sight.

  Her skin was red and raw, not burned so deep that she wouldn’t recover but enough to cause bile to rise in my throat at the thought of the agony she’d wake in. I moved over to her, trying to fight back the lethargy that was rising with every moment. The chain I’d given her just hours earlier was conspicuously absent, so I hunted around the small room for her belongings.

  In a drawer, I found a small pouch holding the pendant. In order to let her know I’d been there, I secured the chain around her neck, relieved it hadn’t been damaged in the fire or subsequent rush to the hospital. It might not have been much of a good luck charm, but it was a part of me, and I wanted her to have it when she woke, just in case I couldn’t be there in person when that miracle happened.

  And it would happen.

  Anything else was unthinkable.

  “What did you do, Evie?” I murmured as I ran my finger along the few unblemished spots on her face. A few places along her shoulder had loose bandages wrapped over them, and I assumed they were the worst of her injuries. I sat beside her, gently caressing her cheek until I gathered up the courage to press a soft kiss against the same spot.

  Dragging a chair over from the other side of the room, I moved to sit next to her. When I did, I clasped her hand in mine and sat with her for an unknown length of time.

  A song burst to life from my pocket, startling me. Figuring It must have been Eth’s cellphone, I rushed to answer it. I didn’t want the sound calling the attention of the guard outside the door.

  “What do you want?” I muttered when I saw the name on the display.

  “I want the same thing I’ve always wanted.” It was Dad’s voice on the other end, just as I’d expected it would be. “You, back where you belong.”

  “I am where I belong.” I looked down at Evie’s pale face and motionless body. “I’m never coming back to your side. Not now. Not after this. I can’t believe—”

  He cut me off. “But first I wanted to let you know about Lou—”

  “I don’t give a shit about Lou,” I spat. “Any injuries she’s suffered are her own fault. That goes for all of you.”

  “How can you say that?” His tone was cool and deadly. “You know what sort of creature you’ve been shacked up with. You know exactly how dangerous they can be.”

  “This wasn’t Evie’s doing.” I felt certain.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Ye—” I cut myself off because although I trusted Evie, I couldn’t be certain. There was a fire after all. An image of Evie taunting me by burning a card during our first reunion in Charlotte flashed into my mind.

  Did Evie start the fire? She had the ability, but I couldn’t believe she would do something with the intention of causing any harm. “Do you know something? Do you know what happened?”

  Dad sighed but didn’t respond.

  “How did this happen?” I growled, needing him to tell me what he knew. “All I know is there was a fire. Did you start it?”

  “You invited a creature into your life who has the capacity to start a fire and yet you have the gall to ask me that.”

  I closed my eyes. Evie wouldn’t hurt someone. She just wouldn’t. “I’ve spoken with her doctors and they don’t know if she will make it. They said that it’s touch and go.”

  “We did what had to be done in order to destroy the creature and bring you home.” He was utterly without remorse and that made me hate him even more.

  I was in serious danger of shouting and being caught in Evie’s room, so I dropped my voice to a whisper—that didn’t lessen the hate it contained when I spoke though. “I don’t care why you did it, or what you think you were trying to do. What you’ve done is reprehensible.”

  “Maybe once that creature is gone, you’ll finally be free and you’ll see we did the right thing.”

  Free? I wanted to reach through the phone and punch him in the throat to cut off his lies. I wanted to pitch the phone across the room in a fit of rage. Instead, I took a deep breath and spoke softly so that the guards outside didn’t hear me, but with a venom so deliberate that Dad would be left with no doubt about just how far across the line he’d gone. “If she doesn’t pull through, I . . .” I closed my eyes and knew that the next words had the potential to completely shatter our already tenuous relation
ship. “I’ll never forgive you.”

  “And if your beloved monster is responsible for a death? Will you be as unforgiving then?”

  It’s impossible. My mind rallied against the thought. I stood and crossed to the window. “What are you talking about?”

  “Louise.”

  “What about her?” He’d been trying to say something about her earlier, but I had cut him off.

  “It doesn’t look good.” His statement hung in the air between us, and I turned to look at Evie lying on the hospital bed. For a moment an image of Lou in the same position struck me.

  Was she that badly hurt?

  “What happened?”

  “Not on the phone. I’ll send you the address, and when you come to see me face to face, I’ll tell you the whole story.”

  “I can’t leave her,” I mumbled to myself.

  “There may come a time when you have to choose between your monster and your life.”

  “That’s easy. There isn’t a choice.” I closed my eyes as resignation sunk into my core. What he didn’t understand was that I’d already made that choice. My own life, and even those of my family, didn’t matter compared to keeping Evie safe. Not anymore.

  “Will you come to see me if I guarantee we won’t move against the phoenix while you’re away?”

  “How can I trust you?”

  “Do you have a choice? You can’t stay in that room with her forever.” His words were a confirmation that not only did he know exactly where I was—meaning he had spies around, but that those spies were poised to become killers or kidnappers with just a single word from him. I leaned my head back against the glass as I ran through my options.

  “Hey!” The cop who’d been standing guard stood at the doorway looking straight at me. “What are you doing?”

  “Shit.” I had to get out of there. I hung up on Dad and slipped the phone into the pocket of the overalls remembering that I looked like I should be there. I grabbed at my pockets, hoping like hell there would be something in there to prove I was supposed to be in the room. My fingers closed around a rag and I pulled it out, pretending to polish the window.