It felt like half of me was numb and the other half was overactive. I struggled to crawl, but I knew I didn’t have much choice.
It was either maim the fucker before they maimed me, or…
Well, yeah. Those were my options.
No bueno.
Managing to get my knees under me, I surged up just in time to get my hands on the edge of the dresser. When I hauled myself onto my feet, I toddled there like an overgrown fourteen-month-old, trying to find my balance, before I grabbed the vase and started to cling to that godawful railing that ran around the wall in what was supposed to be a decorative manner.
When I made it to the other side of the room, having edged my way around it now, I groaned when the door finally opened.
I lifted the vase high and timed it just so.
When the person peered into the room, I gripped the doorknob for support and put all my weight behind it.
As I brought the vase down, I wanted to weep with relief as it collided with the very feminine head.
When she shrieked then twisted around, I saw her surprised glare, but I also saw the blood spouting from the wound.
I looked down, and I realized the vase was made of thin glass, which had shattered around the rim while the body remained intact in my hold.
I stared at it for a second, not even registering the pharmacy assistant who I knew darted in and out of wards like a frightened mouse, whose name I didn’t even know. When the jagged edge of the vase penetrated my sensibilities, I knew what I had to do.
Just as the bitch screamed and started coming for me, I stuck the vase out and sliced through the air.
When it snagged on her throat, I carried on with the momentum and watched as the arterial spray arced around the room like a symphony of color, coating me in her blood.
Her surprise was clear, her shock and pain evident, but I felt bupkis, because just as she quivered on her feet, hovering there until she slumped on the ground, I did the same.
Except knowing I was safe now, I flopped back and onto my side, uncaring that I was lying in her blood, uncaring that my eyes were on hers as she died, taken from this miserable world and hopefully into one that was even more fucking miserable.
As I passed out, I promised myself four Big Macs and four portions of fries as a reward for a job well done, because if ever I’d deserved to break my diet, it was today.
Six
Steel
No one knew where she was. No one recalled seeing her leave. They just knew she wasn’t answering her pages, her cell phone wasn’t working, and that she was nowhere on site.
I only knew that much because Rex had called in some favors with our allies, the Five Points, and some of their doctors—including one of the foundation’s heads—actually worked on their payroll. With their help, we had access to the hospital in a way we’d never have been granted legally.
I knew Lodestar and Maverick were working on things from their end, hacking into the CCTV around the vicinity of the hospital, but it was like she’d disappeared into thin fucking air.
Where the fuck was she?
This slick move just made me feel like the Famiglia was behind all this, and it would totally explain why we couldn’t seem to find her, why we didn’t know which direction they’d taken her—
My cell buzzed, and I stopped tugging at my hair as I peered around the parking lot and grabbed it from my pocket.
Unknown number.
I frowned but answered it. “Hello?” I asked warily.
“Steel?”
Her voice sent relief surging through me. “Where the hell have you been?” I snarled, and the second I did, I wondered what the fuck was wrong with me.
Why was it so goddamn hard to be nice to her?
I blew out a breath, almost missing the quiver that told me she’d just started crying, and as I bit my lip, feeling like an evil cunt, I rasped, “I’m sorry, Stone. You’ve just had me worried, baby. Where the fuck are you?”
“I-I don’t know where I am,” she croaked, but her voice was stronger now, and I knew why.
I’d pissed her off and hurt her feelings. Talk about a double whammy.
Blowing out another breath, I rumbled, “Who took you?”
“A woman from work.” She cleared her throat. “She’s dead.”
“You took care of her?”
“Yeah. It was either that or be taken care of myself.”
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, hating that she knew what it was like to take someone’s life.
Death in a hospital and death on the gnarly streets were two separate things entirely.
I’d never wanted that for her, and that was one of the reasons why I’d tried to keep her out of it. Tried to keep her away from this shit.
I plucked at my bottom lip as I turned on my heel and headed into the hospital.
Security eyed me warily, as did the rest of the staff, and I knew all my brothers had been getting weird looks too but, so far, the in with the hospital was working and we were allowed full sway, even if our presence set everyone on edge.
When I saw Sin hovering by the corridor that led to the oncology unit, I waved him down. “She’s okay. She’s on the phone,” I mouthed, as Stone was saying, “There’s so much blood, Steel.”
“You probably know the exact amount being all book smart and all.”
She sniffed. “Book smart and seeing it on the carpet beneath you are two separate things.” Her second sniff morphed into a gulp. “It was so easy, Steel. So easy to take her life.”
I cringed inside. “I’m sorry, baby.”
She started sobbing, and I swore to fuck it tore my heart out.
“When did—”
“I passed out afterward. She drugged me to get me here, and whatever it was, it knocked me out twice.” She released a shaky breath. “I-I have no idea where I am.”
“You need to go outside.”
“Steel, I’m doused in blood. I look like I’m the one who should be locked up, not her.”
I scowled at that. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Isn’t that my word against hers?” She gulped. “What if they—”
“What if they, what? You haven’t done anything wrong,” I repeated. “We’ve had people looking for you, and the hospital knows you were missing—”
“They won’t want to get involved. She was one of the pharmacy techs, Steel. She was killing patients. They won’t want the scandal.”
I shook my head. “This is nuts.”
“What about our world isn’t?” A panicked sob escaped her. “Oh my God, I’m going to lose everything, aren’t I?”
“No!” I growled under my breath, hearing her breathing start to tick over to double time. “Stone, you calm the fuck down, do you hear me? Nothing is going to go wrong. Nothing at all. You did nothing wrong, she did it. She was the one who took you. You’re the one who had to defend yourself. You did the right thing.”
“Why does it feel like I did the wrong thing then?”
“I don’t know, because you’re crazy, maybe?”
She snorted out a laugh. “That’s it, Steel. Kick a girl when she’s down.”
I chuckled. “That’s how I roll. Look, stay on the line, but I’ll talk to Rex about this.”
Like my words had been whispered from my lips to God’s ears, Rex, Sin, and the others stormed around the corner to meet me.
When we were face to face, Rex demanded, “Give me the phone.”
When he held out his hand, I was loath to give it to him, especially after our last argument, the signs of which he was wearing on his face. But I got it. I did. Even if I was glad he was sporting a black eye too.
Reality was, Stone was like a sister to all of the guys. Shit, she should be one to me as well, but my feelings for her had never been and never would be brotherly.
I wished they had been.
I wished she was just miserable over unrequited love.
Only she wasn’t.
I did l
ove her. Always had and always would. But love made a person selfish, and where she was concerned, I’d always think of her first and foremost.
When he snagged the phone from me, biting off, “Stone? Tell me you’re okay.”
I heard her weeping, saw Rex and the others flinch, and I leaned back against the wall. There was a plastic rail that dug into my back, but I didn’t care. I just pressed my skull against the wall, needing to ground myself to the moment.
I’d tried to take Stone away from the world I lived in, a world where death didn’t come from sickness but from another’s hand. Here she was with blood on her soul and all without her even being tied to the MC. I’d never wanted her to know what that felt like. Never. But she knew now.
She’d experienced it, and the worst thing of all?
She’d been in danger.
A danger that had been unknown to me because I’d put that much fucking distance between us—
“We’re coming.”
“How? I don’t know where I am, so why should you?” she whispered, sounding distressed and distraught, the exact opposite of how she usually sounded.
I was used to her being strong and harsh, but at the moment, she was weak, and fuck if I didn’t want to be the one who got her through this.
Who made shit right for her.
My throat felt thick. Not from tears, but from a cluster of emotions that I didn’t need to be dealing with right now.
“I’m going to get Maverick on it,” Rex rasped, and I realized that she was still on the line, still listening into all this.
I reached for my cell and told her, “One second, baby. Just stay calm and stay on the line until I say otherwise.”
“O-Okay. You’re coming for me, aren’t you, Robin?” she whispered, and I didn’t even cringe at my fucking name.
I got it.
I did.
“You bet your damn ass I am.”
She released a shaky sigh that billowed in my ears as I put the call on mute. I saw Rex was already barking out orders to Mav, and I knew that soon enough, we’d have all our ducks in a row.
When he was off the line, when Mav was working on pinpointing my girl, I demanded, “I don’t give a fuck how much it costs, don’t care what you have to do, you make sure that she’s transferred to the hospital near us, and you make sure that she doesn’t lose any of her fucking credits or whatever the hell she needs to finish her residency.”
He gritted his teeth. “Snapping orders at me is only one way to have the shit kicked out of you.”
I stuck my finger in his chest, even though I knew I was baiting a bear. “You think she should stay here? That she should be around for the fallout? She’s terrified of going to prison, for fuck’s sake.”
“Prison? Why would she be in danger of that?” Link questioned.
“I don’t know, but she’s got it all mapped out in her head.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Is she right? She said the kidnapper was the bitch who was killing patients. Is it likely that the hospital would help cover shit up?”
Rex eyed me warily. “Depends how deep the investigation would need to go.”
My mouth tightened. “We already know the Five Points have their fingers in this pot. Who’s to say the rest of the admin on board here isn’t shady as fuck?”
He rubbed his chin, and I watched him flicker through the options.
“If there’s a body, we could dispose of it, but she hasn’t done anything wrong. There’s no need to cover this up.”
“We can’t get involved,” Nyx muttered. “If we do, that taints shit. As it stands, they won’t think anything of it. She’s a woman who was kidnapped—”
“She said she was drugged, so the drugs are in her system from when she was kidnapped. They’d still be in there, wouldn’t they?” Rex questioned.
“Yeah,” Nyx muttered, then he heaved a sigh. “I know what you said, but we can’t go to her. We have to get the cops involved from the start. It’s already shady that we were asking questions, and the staff will report our presence.”
Rex scratched his jaw. “We’re making this too complicated.”
I shook my head and repeated Stone’s words. “What isn’t complicated in our life?”
He hissed at that, then he ground out, “Okay. I hear you. We’ll let the cops deal with this, but the second I can, I’ll have her transferred.”
“It’s time she came home anyway,” Nyx groused, eying me with a disdain that got my back up.
If he fucking knew the reason why I was keeping my distance from her, he’d get it, but I wouldn’t tell him because Nyx was my brother, and I didn’t want him to look at me with loathing.
That would kill me.
I hit the mute button, then muttered, “Stone, baby?”
“Y-Yes, Robin.”
“I need you to call the cops.”
“The cops?” she shrieked. “Oh my God, why?”
“Because this can’t be handled in-house,” I whispered. “You need to do this right, and the second we can, we’ll get you out of here and back to West Orange—”
“West Orange? Why? I don’t want to go there.”
“You might not want to, but it’s time you came home. At least there, you’ll be fucking safe.”
“I was fucking safe here until this bitch started to go Grim Reaper on the wards.”
“Yeah, well, there’s shit you don’t know about, shit that’s making things change in the city. This isn’t only coming from me,” I rasped, then I shoved the phone at Rex, hating that she’d listen to him more than she would me.
Fuck, I’d sacrificed so much for her, changed my world for her, and she was listening to my Prez over me.
Goddamn typical.
Rex took the phone, and for the first time he looked apologetic. “He’s right, Stone. It’s time you came back to Jersey. This place is too hot for you now.”
I didn’t need to be the one with my ear to the earpiece to hear her scream, “Hot? It’s NYC. When isn’t it hot?”
“It’s worse than ever before. You have to know that the Italians and Russians are at fucking war, and that half the city is against the Famiglia? At least in West Orange, you’ll be safe.
“Now, do as you’re told. Call the police, tell them what happened, and get them to come to you. When you need to call for next of kin, contact Indy and she’ll be there. She’ll bring you home, and I’ll work on getting you transferred out of this hospital.”
“But I don’t want to—”
“You haven’t got a choice. Shit’s changing, Stone. I’ve already been thinking about getting a guard on you, but you’re too far out, and this isn’t our territory. It would cause shit, so the simplest solution is to bring you under our roof again.”
“Fuck that! I’m not even tied to the club—”
“Bullshit. You and him might not get it, but the rest of the fucking universe is well aware that you’re Steel’s, and that puts you in danger. Now, get off the line, call the cops, and get everything set.
“The second we can get involved without muddying things for you, we’ll be there.”
Everything inside me cringed at what he was asking of me.
Not to go to her.
Just like I’d said I would. Breaking a promise I’d barely finished giving her before it was snatched away.
I sucked in a breath, hating that she whispered, “But I’ll be alone.”
Rex’s face softened, and I grabbed the cell from him before he could say a word because I needed her to hear my voice.
“You won’t be alone. You’re never alone. I’m always with you.” I twisted around to utter those words in a semblance of privacy, but they weren’t enough to stop her from sobbing.
I could hear her heartache and hurt and horror, and all three just fucked with my head, making me want to tear my own heart out at the sound of her pain.
I’d caused her enough pain in this life, and I’d done that to protect her. No one, and I meant no one, was allowed to d
o the same thing to her.
I rasped, “Stone, you hear me. You do what Rex says, and things will roll easier. The second we get involved, you know unnecessary questions will be asked. You have to know that I’m there with you all the way, and I’ll be there to get you the second Indy gives the word.”
Her mouth trembled—I knew it because her words were shaky. “I-I’ll call the cops now.”
“You do that, baby doll. You do that.”
She whispered, “It’s been years since you called me that.”
“Been years since I needed to,” I admitted, no shame in my voice. “Let’s get you home, hmm?”
Stone whispered, “Okay,” and then she cut the call. She might as well have cut my fucking wrists for me because that’s how it felt.
The finality of the blankness at the end of the line was enough to make me want to hurl my phone against the wall. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that she might call me later, even though she wasn’t supposed to. I needed my number to be active so she could be in touch when she needed to.
My cheek ached from where I gnawed on it, and I jerked in surprise when one of my brothers clapped me on my shoulder and squeezed down hard. “You got this, bro.”
I should have known it would be Link.
I cut him a look. “Why does that feel like the exact opposite of me having got this?”
He shrugged. “That’s when you know you’ve fallen. Hook, line, and fucking sinker.”
My mouth tightened. “I knew that a long time ago. I didn’t need the memo.”
Stone
The blood was everywhere.
On me, my skin, my clothes, and the carpet and the walls. It looked like a massacre.
Was I going to get blamed for this?
I just kept thinking I would.
I didn’t have a rap sheet, but I had a sealed record from the stupid stunts I’d pulled when I was sixteen and dealing with the first wave of chaos in the aftermath of Steel’s initial rejection, Mama’s death, and my life starting to go down the crapper.
Gnawing on my bottom lip at the memory, I tapped in 911 and waited for the operator to answer.
Steel: A Dark MC Romance (A Dark and Dirty Sinners’ MC Book 4) Page 9