Page 41 of Ramshackle
Good. That’s all I need to know.
Satisfied we’re on the same page, I finally squat and poke at the wreckage on the floor. “What are you looking for?”
“The cuffs.”
“Cuffs? Wait, the ones you used on Raegan?”
“They’re gone. Vera tried stealing them while she was here, so I moved them and locked them away here.”
“Guess she found what she was looking for, then.”
Aiden shakes his head and exhales roughly. “I should have taken them with us.” He pauses for some internal commentary, no doubt, then continues. “Let’s check the locker room for anything. Then grab some clothes and supplies and get back to the bunker.”
The locker room hasn’t changed much. The metal Aiden hid and stored has been taken, though, which means he’ll have to source a new stockpile. The door was still closed as before, so someone had to have transported or portaled her out of the room and to the main area of the firehouse, where they set to work on making that mess.
There are no clues as to who else was with her or how they found her.
It’s a dead end and a cold trail.
She’s gone.
We fill a couple bags with clothing for each of us, including Raegan, and then drive back to the bunker.
Jackson and Dane haven’t moved from where we left them.
“Vera’s gone,” I announce, dropping the bags on the floor. “Old Red’s been trashed again.”
“Which means we’ll all be staying here now that Old Red has been compromised,” Aiden adds.
“She’s gone?” Dane repeats, looking at Aiden for confirmation.
“Someone got her out. There’s no sign of who or how or where they went. But I’d assume she’s with them again,” he answers.
Dane’s face angles down at the bed, and he closes his eyes. It’s hard to tell from here if he’s upset that he’s lost her again or relieved that she’s not there for Jackson to exact his punishment on.
“There aren’t any regular rooms available, and I’m sure we’ll all want to stay close to her, so we can split between this room and the one next door. Or,” Aiden continues when he sees the annoyed look on my face about sharing, “you can go pick out an open bed in the bunk room with the rest of the Guild.”
No thanks.
“I’ll get an air mattress,” I volunteer.
Five days.
Five fucking days of letting her sleep and heal, and she hasn’t stirred once.
I stalk to her bedside again, even if it hasn’t been more than an hour since I last checked, to press my fingers to her pulse. Her heart beats slow and steady beneath my touch.
“I thought Cassandra said she was healed,” Dane grumbles from the other side of the bed.
“She is,” Aiden replies dismissively from the air mattress. He took the night shift watch, but instead of going to the other room to sleep, he stayed here. Probably waiting for her to wake up like us. He just hides his impatience better.
Cassandra removed the medical equipment from Raegan yesterday that kept her hydrated and able to stay in bed, so we’d all expected her to wake up soon after that.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I cross my arms and set my gaze on Jack. He’s been an almost permanent fixture on top of the chair, with minor exceptions for the bathroom and food.
“Then she should have woken up by now. It’s been almost a whole day since Cassandra was here last,” Dane presses.
“What do you think?” I direct to Jackson. He’s been quiet for most of this time, save for small conversations we shared when it was my night to watch her. I know there’s a lot that he’s hiding. He wanted to kill Gordon while we were there. He’d managed to hit him one time right before we left. I’m sure that’s on his mind.
