Page 3 of Ramshackle
I don’t answer, letting him see for himself when he stands next to me and peers at the deep gash from Jackson’s right shoulder to his left hip bone. There are other deep cuts around it too, but they’re nothing in comparison.
His breathing is so shallow that I don’t see his body rising and falling. I check for his pulse.
“Well?” Aiden demands.
I bite back a growl at his impatience. As pissed as I am at Jack, I don’t want to lose him either. “It’s there, but it’s slow. Where the fuck are they?”
“I’m here!” Cassandra shouts breathlessly, running into the room and pushing past us to kneel beside the bed.
I take a step to the side to give her more room to work while still enabling me to see what’s going to happen. She shakes her hands out like she’s removing any anxious energy and then places her hands on either side of Jackson’s back. She doesn’t look squeamish or uncomfortable with all the blood, which is one of the reasons she’s such a great healer for the Guild. Cassandra takes her job seriously, even if she can be overly flirtatious. I’d trust no one else to fix my brother.
She hums under her breath, eyes closed.
“His hoodie is soaked with blood. Does he need more?” I’ll rob a hospital if I have to. Anything to let medo somethingother than standing here like a useless idiot.
Frowning, she shakes her head. “He’s lost blood, but not too much. It must be someone else’s, too. I can get this patched up and then he’ll need at least a week’s bed rest to recover fully.”
Aiden and I exchange a look over her. We both know if he wakes up and Raegan isn’t here, there’s nothing and no one who will be able to stop him from going after her. “We’ll need to sedate him,” he tells me, echoing my thoughts.
I nod and cross my arms over my chest. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”
“Go keep an eye on Vera. I’d rather she not be alone with Dane longer than necessary in case she tries something. I’ll make some phone calls about getting the supplies we’ll need for Jack.”
Great.
Cassandra’s gift is already working to close the large wound.
Outside, Reid leans against the wall next to the door, his arms crossed like some silent soldier waiting for his next order from Aiden. I’m not sure yet if I buy it. He wants a spot in the Guild, so it could be why he’s trying so hard to be helpful, but I also think he’s hiding something. Not that I care at this point if hisgift is what helps us get Raegan back faster. I walk past him to the main living area.
Anything that had been on a wall or an exposed surface is strewn across the floor. Papers, shattered glass, knives from the block in the kitchen. There are some drawers and cabinets that had blown open from Thorne’s wind and are now empty. I focus on the overturned table, where Raegan had accepted Jack’s hand and walked away from us.
Fromme.
I snarl and lift the table back to its legs, proceeding to pluck the glass shards stuck in the tabletop. I know that wasn’t what she was doing. Just like I know her going with Gordon was her trying to save us. It shouldn’t have gotten to that point. We’re supposed to saveher. Not the other way around. She’s been through enough, and now she’s doing it all over again.
I’ll find you and drag your ass back here, beautiful. That’s a fucking promise.
“—live in a place like this? What a dump!”
In the living area, Vera’s sitting on the bend of the long U-shaped couch. Her brother is a few feet away on the long side. Within reaching distance, but not right next to her like I thought he would be.
Dane runs his fingers through his hair and sighs. “We were attacked right before we went to the island. We haven’t had time to clean up yet,” he explains tiredly.
“I wasn’t talking about the trash on the floor. Why are you living in afirehouse? The brick is ugly, and it looks like you’re living in the eighties. Don’t you have your own place, Dane? Or do you really still live with your friends like some frat boy?”
I grind my molars at every word out of her mouth. Clenching my fists, I glare at her.
Dane’s voice begins in an appeasing tone, but I’m not having it. I storm up behind the couch on the opposite side of them.
“You don’t like it? Then get the fuck out. Just tell me where Raegan is before the ugly door hits your bitchy ass on the way out.”
Vera’s mouth gapes open like this is the first time anyone’s ever called her out on her attitude before. Well, tough shit. She wants back into the family, she’s gonna have a rude awakening of the crap she can’t get away with anymore. She turns to her brother with a melodramatic sulk. “Do you really want me to leave?”
“No—” Dane starts, but she cuts him off.
“Are your friends going to treat me like this the whole time? I haven’t done anything to them.”
Dane sighs again, loudly, scrubbing his hands over his face a couple times and then back through his hair as if he can wipe away all the stress and emotions he’s caught up in. I can tell he’s conflicted. He should be happy—no,thrilled—to have his sister back. This is everything he’s ever wanted. And yet, he looks miserable already.
