Page 2 of Ramshackle
“Dane!”
I follow Vera’s voice reluctantly as she pounces on him with a hug. Dane doesn’t react immediately. It takes a second for whatever is on his mind to be put on hold before he hesitantly raises his arms and then wraps them slowly around his sister.
“Vera,” he breathes, his voice muffled by her shoulder as they hold each other.
I ball my hands into fists. I take a step toward them, ready to unleash my anger on her—
“Kell!” Aiden demands sharply, and I snap my head around to follow his voice.
He and Reid are kneeling in front of someone in the shed.
Oh, shit.
Jackson.
I turn and run.
Aiden peers at the blood on his hand. “He needs a healer. Pick him up and we’ll all head back.”
“What are you going to do about Raegan?” Reid inquires, his stoic tone edged with something more.
It’s suspicious as hell, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Get her back, of course. What’s it matter to you?”
“She was the reason you’d asked for my help in coming here. If you’re still going after her, then I’ll continue to assist you until you get her back.” His blue eyes slide to Dane and Vera’s mini reunion, his expression darkening before returning his gaze to Aiden. “And Vera?”
I carefully slide my arms under Jackson, cursing at the wetness I feel, and lift him as Aiden replies, “She’s coming with us.”
“To the bunker?” Reid presses.
“No. Back to the firehouse.”
I can’t read his face very well, but I can almost feel the relief from him at Aiden’s answer. He’d said something about Vera at the library, hadn’t he? I can’t remember now, but it doesn’t matter because the point is moot. We can’t put the Guild in danger by bringing Vera to it.
Aiden faces the open doorway. “Dane! We’re leaving. Now.”
Dane grabs Vera’s hand, pulling her behind him as they jog into the shed.
We crowd around each other, making sure everyone has a point of contact with someone before Reid’s gift activates. The moment our feet land in Old Red from Reid’s teleportation gift, it’s chaos.
“Get him on his bed and strip him. Reid, bring Cassandra here. Dane, stay with Vera in the living room.”
The firehouse is still a mess from the attack. We didn’t waste time fixing anything after putting the fire out. We’d called Reiddown here immediately so we could follow them with the clue Jackson left us once he flew away with Raegan and Thorne.
Jack is motionless in my arms. He hasn’t moved once since we got to the island, where he was unconscious in the shed behind Raegan. I do as Aiden ordered and carry him to his room to set him on his bed. Snatching a pair of scissors, I roughly cut up the middle of his hoodie. It’s a pain in the ass because of all the knives he has stored there, so I keep angling the scissors to go around them until I reach the end.
Carefully, I extract his arms from the sleeves and roll him out of it without cutting him further. Not that a few small nicks would mean anything at this point.
He’scoveredin blood.
No one would notice by looking at him. There’s blood spattered and smeared on his face, but otherwise, his dark clothing hides the rest. I only know because I could feel it as soon as I touched his saturated hoodie.
I shove his black shirt up under his arms to check for injuries on his chest and hold my breath. Nothing but some bruising.
I roll him over.
Fuck...
“How bad is it?” Aiden questions, entering the room.
