by L. Wilder
With Max’s attention focused on the van, the driver lunged at him. The garage filled with the sounds of their fists colliding against their bodies, their grunts after each blow, and the shuffle of their feet. Max was holding his own, until the driver jabbed him hard in the ribs and tackled him to the ground. Knowing Max was distracted, the man next to me tightened his grip on my arm and started pulling me towards the back of the van. I tried to fight him, but he was too strong. Like a rag doll, he dragged me. I wasn’t a daring person who knew what to do in the heat of the moment. I had to think things through and calculate my next move, but there wasn’t time for that. It was all moving too fast, like a blur flashing before my eyes, and I couldn’t even form a complete thought.
The man had just opened the van door, when the muffled sound of a gunshot brought everything to a stop. Everything stilled as my heart began to race. I had no idea who had been hit, and the fear that Max had been hurt made my entire body tremble uncontrollably. Time seemed to move in slow motion as I stood there waiting for some sign that he was okay. I looked through the back window and relief washed over me as I spotted Max walking in my direction. He hadn’t been shot again, but it was clear that he was hurting. I could see it in the way he moved, but the determined look in his eyes was still there. Apparently the big brute next to me also saw Max, so he began to struggle even more adamantly to get me inside the van. He was trying to push me inside when Max slipped up behind him and snapped his neck. There was no sound, no sign of attack—just a surprised expression on the man’s face as his lifeless body fell at my feet.
“We need to move! Now!” Max reached for my hand and led me towards the car. He’d only taken a few steps when another gun shot was fired, this time hitting Max in his side. He tried to hold on to my hand, but the force of the blow was too much, and his body fell to the ground with a hard thud. I’d thought they were all gone, that Max had taken care of all of them, so I had no idea where the shot had come from.
“No, no, no! Max!” Crying, I knelt beside him and placed my hand on his wound, frantically trying to stop the bleeding. His face was twisted in a pained grimace as I pleaded, “Max. I need you to hang on… I need you to be okay. Please, Max.”
“Tristen, you have… to get out… of here,” he gasped. His eyes widened as a shadow fell over him.
I was too hysterical about Max to notice that the man from inside the van had stepped out and was standing behind me. He reached for my hair and took a fistful in his hand, pulling hard as he jerked me to my feet. “Bitch, get your ass in the goddamn van!”
With my arms flailing, I stumbled back and slammed into the man’s chest. I wanted desperately to stay there with Max, but the man gave me no choice as he continued to wrench my hair with one hand and press the gun to my head with the other. “Now!”
With the barrel of his gun at my temple, there was no way I could fight him, so I did as I was told. I started towards the door and was about to crawl inside when I heard the man say, “Well, look who we have here. It’s the man of the hour.”
I quickly turned and saw Nathan standing at the front of the van. He pointed his gun in our direction as he snarled, “It’s been awhile, Joey.”
“Not long enough, if you ask me.” The man kept his gun aimed at the side of my head as he snarled, “You know, Lenny kept trying to tell me that we didn’t have to worry about you anymore. He said it’d been ten years, and you’d let it go. I knew he was wrong. I knew you would never stop looking for us. As soon as I checked the GPS on Darla’s phone and saw that they were headed to Washington, I knew it was you.”
“You’re right. I won’t let it go until you and your brother are six feet under,” Nathan growled. He motioned his head towards me as he asked, “So, tell me, Joey… what’s your play here?”
“I needed a bargaining chip, and she’s it.”
“How’d you even know about her?”
“We were already in the county when you and your guy showed up with Lenny and Darla. We followed the GPS out to your warehouse, and we waited there until you left and followed you home.”
“Why go to the trouble? You were at the warehouse. You could’ve come after Lenny then.”
“That’s just it. I don’t give a fuck what happens to Lenny,” he snickered. “We had a deal go south a couple of weeks ago, and with him out of the picture, I can make Calhoun think he was the only one behind it.”
“And that way, Calhoun will stay off your back.”
“Damn straight. I’ve got a good thing with him. I’m not letting Lenny fuck it up.”
I was trying to keep up with the conversation, but it was hard to focus with the barrel of his gun digging into my temple. I looked over to Max, and my eyes widened as I noticed that he had his weapon pointed towards Joey. He motioned his hand to the side, signaling me to try to make a move. I still had no idea why the man wanted to take me, but I knew nothing good could come from me getting inside the van. Knowing I had no choice, I aimed my knee for his midsection and nailed him right between the legs. His breath whooshed from his lungs as he stumbled backward. That’s all it took. One moment, one shot, and it was over. The man released his hold on me as his body collapsed towards the van and toppled inside.
When I looked back over to Max, blood was pooling around him and his eyes were closed. “Max!”
As I knelt down beside him, I could see that he was struggling to breathe. “Nathan. We’ve got to do something.”
Nathan lowered himself down next to me as he said, “Max. We’re right here. I’m calling for help.”
As he took out his phone, he looked over to me and said, “Go over to Tony’s car and see if you can find a towel or something we can use to help stop the bleeding.”
“Okay.”
I rushed over to the car and opened the door. I was searching the backseat when I heard Tony mumble, “You… have to…. get out of… here.”
Shocked that he was still alive, I placed my hand on his shoulder and assured him, “It’s okay, Tony. Everything is okay. We’re calling for help. Just hang on.”
I turned to Nathan and shouted, “Tony is still alive, but he’s hurt really bad!”
“Find something and place it on the wound. Apply as much pressure as you can, then get back over here.” When I looked around the backseat, I found Tony’s gym bag sitting in the floorboard. I quickly opened it and found several t-shirts. I took one and placed it on his wound, then reached for his hand and rested it on top of the t-shirt. “Tony, I need you to hold this right here. Don’t move it.”
I grabbed another shirt and raced over to Nathan and Max. He took the shirt and rolled it into a ball, then pressed it against Max’s side. My heart ached as I listened to Nathan talking to him. “Hang in there, brother. I need you to stay with me. You hear me? I need you to fight, Max.”
When Max didn’t respond, I started to panic. I’d been terrified when those men tried to take me, but that fear was nothing like the fear I felt when I looked at Max. His color was fading, and his breaths were becoming low and shallow. We were losing him. It seemed like we’d been sitting there for an eternity before the ambulance finally arrived. Once they checked his stats, they decided to have him airlifted to the hospital.
While I was a crying, blubbering mess, Nathan remained calm and steady. He helped them load Max onto the helicopter, while the other medics got Tony into the ambulance. Just as they were leaving, the police pulled up and all their attention was directed towards me. They had questions, but I had no idea how to answer them. I still didn’t know why those men had come after me, so for the third time, I answered, “I don’t know.”
“And you don’t know why they were trying to take you?” the detective asked.
“No… maybe they thought I was someone else, or maybe they were just looking for a way to get their rocks off. I just don’t know.”
“You didn’t recognize any of them?”
“I’ve told you. I’d never seen any of them before.” I glanced aroun
d the garage searching for Nathan. I spotted him staring at me as he talked to one of the policemen. Just knowing he was there helped calm me.
“Do you have any enemies? Someone who might have a grudge against you?” he pushed.
“Not that I can think of. Look, I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“What about the two that just left here with the medics? Do you know them?”
“Tony is my boss. He was the man in the car. He was just dropping me off from work. The other guy was Max. He works security here at the condo.” I knew there was more behind Max’s story, but I kept that part to myself. One of the things I’d learned from club was to keep things simple when it came to the police. Besides, with Nathan’s line of work, the last thing he needed was a police investigation. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get to the hospital.”
“I understand. We’ll contact you if we have any further questions.” He reached in his front pocket and pulled out a business card. “If you think of anything we might need to know, just give me a call.”
“I will. Thank you,” I replied as I started walking towards Nathan. As soon as I reached him, he pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms tightly around me. His embrace was warm, and his strong arms made me feel protected as he held me close to his chest. My body relaxed against him and the chaos around me melted away as I squeezed him back. He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. I could tell how distraught he was by the way he held on to me for dear life.
There are times when a man has to look at the choices he made and decide if they were the right ones. When I finally got my hands on Lenny, everything else fell by the wayside. I hadn’t thought about the blowback, or the possibility that someone else I cared about might get hurt, and it’d almost cost me everything all over again. I knew I’d fucked up. I’d gotten caught up in the moment and didn’t think things through. I should’ve taken a step back and calculated a plan, but I was too eager and too desperate to move on with my life. I just prayed that it wasn’t too late, and I’d have time to make things right. Despite the heaviness in my chest, I felt a sense of relief at having Tristen back in my arms, feeling her body pressed against mine. Just being close to her soothed me. She was able to take my pain and make it bearable. When Tony had called, I knew it was bad. I could hear it in his voice. I’d tried calling him, over and over again, but I’d gotten no answer. I’d been left in the dark as I raced over to the garage, and I couldn’t help but imagine the worst. With it all over and her finally in my arms, the raging beast was forced back into the darkness.
All too soon, she pulled back from our embrace and looked up at me. “We need to get to the hospital.”
“We’ll run over to county first and check on Tony. We’ll see if they can tell us where they decided to take Max.” I knew he was going to need major surgery, and county wasn’t equipped to handle someone in his condition. “It’s going to take them some time to get him stabilized and ready for surgery.”
“Okay.” She followed me over to the car and got inside. As soon as we hit the main road, the questions started. “Who was that man?”
“Joey was one of the men who killed Lainey and my father.”
Her eyes widened for a moment as the words sunk in. “And Lenny is his brother.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“At one of my warehouses.”
“Is he still alive?”
“He is… for now.”
Seeming unfazed by the fact that I was going to kill Lenny, she asked, “Is he the reason why you were gone for so long?”
“Yes.”
“And why you didn’t call or message me for days?”
“Yes.”
I could feel the tension rolling off her as she turned and looked out the window. The questions stopped and she became quiet, too quiet. I figured that meant she was overthinking things, or she was pissed and about to blow. Hell, I couldn’t blame her. Everything that had happened was my fault. She, Tony, and Max had been caught in the crossfire, and there was nothing I could say to defend myself. Tristen was still looking out the damn window when we pulled up at the hospital. Without looking at me, she got out of the car and started walking inside. Yep, she was pissed.
She walked up to the front desk and said, “I’m here to see Tony Marino.”
“Are you family?”
Without skipping a beat, she answered, “I’m his fiancée.”
“Come on back,” the nurse told her as she opened the door. When I started following, the nurse pointed to the side door. “The waiting room is right around the corner.”
Remaining quiet, Tristen kept walking forward without looking back in my direction. Left with no choice, I went to the waiting room and sat down. It was almost fifteen minutes later before Tristen returned. She stopped in the doorway and said, “Max is at Regional. They’re prepping him for surgery now.”
As soon as I stood up, she turned and started walking towards the front door. She continued outside and over to my car. As soon as she got inside, she buckled her seatbelt and stared out the window. It was a thirty-minute drive to Regional, and the silent treatment had started to get to me, so I asked, “Do you have something you want to say?”
“No.”
“I think you do.”
“Well, you’re wrong.”
“I’m sorry you got pulled into this. It wasn’t my intention.”
“Seriously, I don’t want to talk about it right now. Max is in the hospital fighting for his life. He’s the only thing either of us should be concerned about right now.”
“Max is going to be fine.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“He’s gotten through worse than this before. He’ll do it again.”
“Who’s to say this time he won’t? He lost a lot of blood, and he wasn’t conscious when they put him in the helicopter. How do you know he has the strength to pull through it this time?” Tears started to trickle down her cheek as she turned away from me. “He put his life on the line for me, and I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t make it.”
There was some truth behind her words, and deep down, I knew she was right. Suddenly, I found myself feeling even more anxious to get to the hospital. Without realizing it, I pressed my foot against the accelerator, increasing our speed as we raced down the interstate. When we finally made it, we both rushed inside and went straight to the front desk.
An elderly lady was seated at the help desk and smiled as we approached her. “Can I help you?”
“We're here to see about Max Fisher. Can you tell me where we need to go?”
“Are you a relative?”
Before I answered, Tristen gave me a quick jab in the side with her elbow. “I’m his brother.”
Something about saying the words aloud hit me. In every way that mattered, Max was a brother to me. There was never a time that he wasn’t there when I needed him, and not just at work. He was there pushing me to be better, encouraging me to do what was right, and he never accepted less than my best. He was there for me in ways that my own brother had never been. I owed him my life, and there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him. He had to make it. He just had to.
She took a minute to search his name in the computer, and then looked up at me with concern. “Mr. Fisher is in surgery. It’s going to be a little while before we know anything. You can sit in the waiting room, and I will have someone come speak to you when they are done.”
“I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”
I reached for Tristen’s hand and led her over to the waiting room. Since it was nearly three in the morning, the place was relatively empty. We walked over to the corner by the TV, and Tristen clung to my hand as we sat down. Like me, she was nervous, but she was trying to keep it together. I looked up at the TV, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying. My head was bombarded with thoughts, making it impossible to think straight. We hadn’t been sitting there long when my phone chimed with a text message
. I pulled it out of my pocket, and as I looked down at the screen, I saw that it was from Ryder.
Ryder:
Any news on Max?
Me:
He’s in surgery now.
Ryder:
Need me to do anything?
Me:
Check in on Tony.
Ryder:
I’m here now. He’s in recovery and doing fine.
Me:
Good. Go see about our guests. I’ll meet you there when I can.
Ryder:
Will do.
As I placed my phone back in my pocket, I looked down at my lap and saw that Tristen was still holding on to my hand. I wanted to think it was a good sign, but I wasn’t so sure. Over the past few weeks, I’d fucked up in more ways than I could count, and I couldn’t blame her for having her doubts. Hell, I had plenty of my own. I honestly didn’t know if I was capable of giving her the kind of love that she needed. Years ago, I’d given my heart to Lainey and losing her broke me. It had damaged me in ways I couldn’t comprehend, and until Tristen, I was fine. I wasn’t good, but I was fine. I had my shit together, but Tristen made me want to be better than fine. I wanted to be better for her. I wanted to give her my best. I didn’t want to be just fine anymore.
We sat there quietly lost in our own thoughts for over an hour, and Tristen was just about to doze off when a nurse approached us. “Are you here for Max Fisher?”
“Yes. I’m his brother.”
“Well, he’s out of surgery, and he’s stabilized. He’ll be in the ICU for the next few hours. If all goes well, they’ll put him in his own room.”
“So, he’s going to be okay?”