Lethal

by Robbins, Cassandra

I look over at him as I take a long drag of nicotine into my throat. “Doc was working with the Feds. Sandy’s involved and whoever she was talking to killed Doc.” I swallow the smoke and feel it burn all the way down my throat. I need to pick up Eve and get to a safe place. I feel like I’m high. My head is buzzing almost as if I’m in a tunnel and a bee is next to my ear. The doors open and I see my lawyer Rodney emerge, his dark suit out of place on this warm day. He has his arm around Eve as he ushers her out. My heart does this tightening thing.

  “Stay here and keep the engine running.” It comes out as a growl. My whole body says, Get to her. Maybe it’s all the crazy training I’ve been through. But something’s wrong. I feel it, know it.

  “You bitch! This is all your fault. Your fucking brother ruined everything, then Blade ruins everything.” Sandy stands two feet from Eve, her eyes darting around like a wild, caged animal’s.

  I’m moving as I fast as I can because this can’t be happening. We’re in the middle of the Burbank Police Department. Sandy continues to scream at a shocked Rodney and Eve. Her greasy hair and fucked-up skin almost look like she’s been dipped in oil. I can smell her as she looks over at me either because I’m calling for Eve or Eve is calling for me. In slow motion I watch her hand go straight for her dirty backpack and I know what this insane bitch is thinking.

  All my mind is saying over and over is get to her. It’s like blinking Christmas lights.

  I’m so close. Why can’t Rodney take her inside? Why aren’t there any police? I’m screaming, but so is Sandy. No one but Eve seems to hear me. My eyes find hers and everything in me is in her. She has somehow become my reason for breathing. And at this very moment, I know what I need to do. What I will always do if I’m lucky enough to be able to spend more time with her.

  I’ve had these moments in my life where my mind stops and focuses on the events that are happening. I see Eve’s beautiful blue eyes wide and defiant at Sandy. My whole body’s on alert. I don’t know how I know that Sandy is going to do the unforgivable but I do. For the first time in my life, I literally take a bullet for someone. The noises are muted now. And I’m falling. All I feel are cool hands on my hot face as I fall to the concrete. I have never minded dying. With all the shit I’ve done in my life, I certainly can’t be surprised. I close my eyes and I see a blond-haired boy who looks up at me with eyes so blue they can’t be real. He has to be mythical, a magical being because he smiles and calls me daddy. Then everything goes black.

  EVE

  I’m on the ground. Jason’s warm body has cushioned my fall. It takes me a moment to get my bearings. The smell of copper—or is it metal?—is all around me. I blink as I look at his beautiful face. His green eyes are almost black and I reach up to touch his face. Vaguely I hear the ravings of the woman who shot Jason.

  Shot.

  Jason.

  I squirm as he tells me to stay still but I can feel warm wetness that I know is his blood flowing onto my belly. The woman screams like a caged beast, but all I can do is focus on Jason.

  “Eve, Angel, you’re okay?” He hasn’t moved—it’s as if he can’t. Fear takes hold of my whole body and I realize I’m clinging to him and yelling.

  His eyes blink and he lays his full lips, which always are warm, on my forehead, but this time, they’re cold.

  “Jason… don’t you dare close your eyes.” I force myself to look around at the commotion. Cops are everywhere, guns are drawn, and that crazy bitch is restrained. Dirt and smoke cause me to choke or maybe it’s only my own tears.

  “Eve? Are you hurt?” He grunts it out.

  “No.” I grab his face with two hands. “She shot you.” Then I look over at Ox who is struggling to get to us and I hear Rodney tell me I need to let go of Jason, that the paramedics must get to him. I nod and Jason grunts again. But his lips are still on my fevered skin.

  “It’s a boy, Angel. I see him.”

  “Jason? What the fuck? Someone help me.” I look up as Axel screams and two police taser him. Someone lifts Jason off me and I watch in muted slow motion as they give him oxygen and suddenly I’m in the ambulance with him along with Rodney.

  “Eve? When we get to the hospital, I want you checked out.” I don’t talk as I watch him talk on his cell. I stare at the guy in blue scrubs as he tends to this man who has become my life. I reach out and touch his hand, the one with the tattoo. It’s warm and I clutch at his strength.

  “He’s okay.” My voice sounds calm and strong. The guy looks at me with a strange expression.

  “I need to cut off his shirt. Is that okay?” He looks at Rodney who is getting loud and agitated to whoever he’s talking to.

  “It’s fine.”

  The paramedic hesitates then cuts his T-shirt off. After inserting some needles he turns to me. “He’s lost a lot of blood. Do you know his blood type?”

  I shake my head no as I stare at his beautiful chest. A bloody bruised hole has pierced his side.

  “You’re his wife, right? I mean this guy, he’s like the real deal.” He’s says this as he starts to hook him up to some fluid.

  I lick my dry lips then sit up straight and look him in the eyes. “It’s fine. Fix him.”

  “He’s stable.”

  Leaning back, I rest my head on the back of the ambulance, close my eyes, and try to steady my breath and stomach. Jason saved my life. He threw himself in front of me. My ears are still ringing with that woman’s terrible shrieks and the gunshot.

  “You okay?” I jump at the man’s voice. His brown eyes are focused on me and my white pants, which are covered in Jason’s bright red blood. My pink shirt is drying, stuck to my stomach. I hold up my hand to rub my forehead. “I’m fine.”

  His eyes narrow and he gives me a curt look. “Make sure someone checks you out.”

  I lurch a little as the ambulance turns and glides into the ER entrance. The doors fly open and I blink as the sunlight pours into the ambulance. Hospital staff are pulling Jason out. Rodney jumps down and tosses his phone into his bloody suit jacket.

  “Come on, Eve. We need to get you situated.” He holds out his hand for me. We pretty much run next to Jason. His eyes keep fluttering open as they wheel him away.

  “Wait, he’s waking up.” I move to go around the woman attending to him.

  “Sorry, we can take it from here.” She’s tall and her hair is held in a tight bun. The shade might be red but the bun’s so tight, for all I know it’s brown.

  “But he needs me.” I must sound crazy because she pats my shoulder as she gently walks me in another direction.

  “Are you his wife?”

  “Yes.” It just comes out.

  “Okay, we will send his doctor out to tell you everything as soon as they have any information. But let’s concentrate on you right now. Okay?” She’s talking slowly and so calmly I almost don’t like her.

  The woman lightly touches my arm. “Let’s check you out.” She smiles kindly and I nod.

  “Wait, where is my Rodn—where is the man I came in here with?”

  “I’ll find him and send him to your area.” She guides me through some doors and into the main ER area. “Here.” She hands me some grayish towels. “In case you want to wash up. A doctor will be in soon to examine you.” She shuts the curtain and it’s at that moment that I start to shake. The fear and need to be with Jason almost make me push back the curtains and run. But I have no idea where he is and my whole body is shaking so badly my teeth are chattering. I grasp the aluminum sink and turn on the water as a new nurse says, “Knock, knock.” The curtain opens and a friendly, fit Asian guy in purple scrubs enters.

  “Oh, man… I heard about what happened to you. Can I get you some blankets? You’re shaking.”

  I turn the hot water on and let it sting my bloody hands. Red blood, which looks like paint, spins and swirls down the sink. He’s at the computer asking me questions, half of which I have no idea how to answer. Have I had all my vaccines? My mother’s and father’s medical hi
stories?

  What the fuck?

  “Are you all right?” He looks at me then the water, which I completely forgot was running. He reaches over and turns it off.

  “I think you’re in shock. Please sit.” I look at my hands—they’re clean but bright red. As he glides me to sit at the end of a hospital bed, my hands feel as though someone is taking a needle and poking it all over my fingers and the top part of my hands

  He looks at me and smiles. Reaching into a cabinet, he hands me a couple of grayish white sheet-type covers.

  “Thank you.”

  He’s back on his screen, glancing over his shoulder. “Are you on any medications?”

  “No, but I’m pregnant.” The poor guy’s fingers freeze.

  “You’re pregnant? You should have told us this first. Let me get a doctor.”

  I look around as he leaves. I’m miserable and the shaking hasn’t gotten any better. I’m full-on borderline convulsing. I need Jason. The fear of the unknown is not my friend. Can’t fall apart now—I have to hold it together.

  “Eve?” I hear Rodney’s frazzled voice.

  “Over here. I’m… here.” I stand and open the curtain. This ER is busy. Nurses, firemen, paramedics fill the nurses’ area and I wave at a frazzled-looking Rodney. He rushes over and grabs my arm, pulling the curtain shut.

  “Christ, I’m getting ready to check myself in.” He runs a hand through his light brown hair. His dark blue dress shirt is splattered with blood. His black suit pants are wrinkled and smudged with dirt. I have no idea what happened to his jacket. “Are you okay? Where’s the doctor? My God, you look awful.”

  I almost burst out laughing because after all the horror we have been through I was thinking the same thing about him. “I’m a little cold.”

  “You’re in shock, Eve.” He looks down at his buzzing phone. “I talked to one of the doctors treating Jason. He’s fine. The bullet missed all organs. They cleaned it and stitched it. They gave him a blood transfusion.” I feel my knees literally start to give out and lower myself into the chair to my right.

  His phone rings again. “I need to take this. It’s about security. Also…” He pushes the button on his phone. “Hold on a second,” he tells the caller. “I think it’s best if you stay with my wife.” I open my mouth to say no way but he turns his back so that he can rattle off lawyer stuff.

  I hear myself exhale. Jason is fine. He’s okay… And I burst into tears.

  “Shit, let me call you back.” Rodney hangs up and awkwardly pats my shoulder. “Eve, sweetheart, it’s going to be fine. Unfortunately, these things happen and we deal with them.”

  I glance up at him and hiccup back something between a sob and a laugh. These things happen? I want to tell him that these things rarely happen, and what the fuck?

  Before I can speak, a doctor walks in. I wipe my eyes so that I can see him. He’s African American with a kind smile and eyes that twinkle with compassion. He instantly starts asking me questions about the shooting and wants to know how many months along I am. Moving aside, he allows a nurse to wheel in a machine. I lie back, close my eyes, and let them do what they need to do.

  Half an hour later and I’ve been checked out. They did a blood test and ultrasound before the doctor allowed me to be discharged. Thankfully the baby seems fine. I’ve stopped shaking, and now I’m tired. I need a shower and Jason. Rodney and I are waiting to get our stupid passes. He’s on his phone again, so I’m left waiting.

  The sound of heels clicking makes me look over at a woman. She’s walking fast, something that always amazes me. How can women in heels do that? If I’m not in like a wedge heel or boot, I have trouble. She walks like she was born in them. Her long blond hair hangs down her back, and her giant black sunglasses cover most of her face. She turns and seems to look at me as she pushes the elevator button. When I look away and back again, she seems to be frowning at us. The sunglasses are hiding half her face so I could be imagining it. I peer down at my hands, which are still slightly pink, and then at the older woman behind the information desk trying to confirm my pass. She types the info into her computer at a snail’s pace.

  I try not to sigh, but I can’t seem to help it. She throws me a disapproving look and hands me the passes. Rodney takes them and grabs my arm to guide me. I want to tell him I can walk, but I’m too tired to care. He pushes the button and turns to me.

  “I have to ask you this because the FBI will be here soon.” The ding of the elevator arriving makes me jump. I glance at my reflection in the mirrored elevator, somewhat shocked at my reflection. Jesus, I can’t believe I’m even allowed in here. No wonder everyone is looking at us. I look so bad it’s like I’m in a Halloween costume and Freddie Kruger has gotten ahold of me.

  “What?” I take my rubber band from my wrist and pull my hair off my face into a messy bun.

  The elevator opens and we stand aside as a couple and a doctor exit. As the door dings closed behind us, Rodney shows me his phone and a mug shot of my brother stares at me.

  “It’s… Benny.” I breathe out and search Rodney’s tired face.

  He turns off the screen and puts his phone back into the pocket of his suit trousers. “This is who Sandy is saying killed Doc and made her go crazy.”

  I reach for the handrail behind me and shake my head. “What are you talking about? My brother has been gone for almost a year. And who’s Doc?” I must look unsteady because he reaches a hand out to steady me.

  “Sandy is the wife of Doc. Doc is or was part of the Disciples.” He clears his throat. “He um, it has been rumored that he and Jason hypothetically made a street drug.”

  I shake my head, my mind spinning. “I don’t know anything about that.”

  “Good, so when they interview you, you say exactly that.” I almost roll my eyes, but I’m too tired and can only stare at him.

  “From what I’m getting from one of my guys inside the Burbank PD, Sandy is saying that Benny killed Doc. That he was threatening them and when Doc didn’t do what he wanted, he killed him.” The elevator slowly opens and Rodney takes my arm again. My eyes dart around as my mind spins like a hamster going around its wheel.

  “I don’t understand. This woman is insane! She shot Jason! I hope she dies a painful death at the hands of one of Jason’s gang.”

  Rodney stops and stares at me like I’m insane and maybe I am. But that bitch almost took my life, and that, I won’t ever forgive. He coughs and escorts me past the nurses’ station where they all stare at us.

  “Please, keep that last part to yourself, Eve. Stick to you know nothing and haven’t seen or heard from your brother in close to a year.”

  “Whatever,” I mumble. “My head hurts and I need some clothes. I’m staying with Jason. Who do I talk to that about?”

  We stop at room C49 and Rodney turns to me. “Eve, I honestly feel that you will be safer staying with me and Sarah. She’ll love having you.” He smiles and even though he looks like he wants to drop from exhaustion his eyes are shiny and kind. But I don’t need kind; I need Jason.

  “Thank you, Rodney.” He smiles a little wider. “But I intend on staying here until Jason gets released.” I pat his shoulder and brush past him to the door. A large window greets me. The sun is casting a pretty glow on the two blond heads. I stop for a moment, causing Rodney to propel right into me.

  “Oh, excuse us,” Rodney says to the tall blond woman from before. She sits on the edge of the bed, crying. Jason is propped up with an IV.

  I must make a noise because they both turn and I’m lost in the most incredible green eyes. They’re bloodshot but he’s awake and alive and everything stops for me. I breathe in his breath from across the space. My love for this man consumes me, overpowers me. He is my everything. I don’t care that we’re not alone in the room or that this woman is staring at me. I run to him and he smiles as I throw myself at him. He grunts but laughs.

  “I’m fine, Angel.” He strokes my back since I seem to have latched onto his che
st. The smell of disinfectant makes me slightly nauseous and I bury my face in his neck. He touches my cheek. I stay still and listen to the strong beat of his heart and enjoy the warmth of his skin.

  “Eve… baby, sit up. I want you to meet my mother.”

  His mother? I bolt up to look at the blond woman staring at us in what looks like shock if her open mouth is any indication.

  “Um… hi.” All of a sudden I’m shy. I mean, I’ve never met anyone’s mother. She stands peering at me with the same green eyes as her son—one of those women you can tell used to be beautiful but sun and whatever else life has thrown at her has made her age. She’s tall and thin, but her skin is almost too tan and the lines around her red lips tell me that she smokes. Her long blond hair is almost down to her butt.

  “Jason?” She looks at me then her son, her voice so raspy it reminds me of Emma Stone’s.

  He holds my hand, probably because he senses my neediness. It’s obvious: I can’t seem to stop touching him.

  “Mom, this is Eve. She’s my girlfriend.” He knows I hate being called an “ole lady” and smiles. “And the mother of my children.” The room is all of a sudden warm and I plop down on the chair next to him. Did he say children? I grip the arms so tightly my nails leave marks.

  “Oh my God.” His mom covers her mouth and shakes her head. “Well, that settles it. You need to step down. After what happened today… for Christ’s sake, Jason, you have a baby to look after.” She reaches for some Kleenex and almost violently pulls one out.

  “Mom, this is not the first time I’ve been shot.” He sits up and I’m instantly on my feet making sure… I don’t even know what I’m making sure. It’s like we are bonded together now. His blood is still on me and his baby grows in my womb, but what he did today made me his in a way I can’t fully understand yet.

  “I’m not stepping down. Eve and the baby will be protected. Don’t worry about that ever.” His words make my belly flutter and core clench. “Angel?”

  I look at him, so beautiful even sitting in a blue hospital gown with an IV in his arm. His face is bruised and his coloring is off, but he still radiates energy, a magnetism that makes my heart beat faster.