Page 82 of Ravaged From Fate

“Don’t worry, no one’s seriously thinking of that yet,” Juniper retorts.

“It was good you messaged me before you went in,” Cyrus says. “It was a pretty stupid thing for you to do, going in that barn alone, but hey, you saved Elsa’s life.”

“Yeah, it was pretty stupid,” I admit. “But I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing when I heard her cry out in pain.”

I turn my head to look at my girl. There are sparkling tears in her eyes.

“Thank you,” she mouths. It’s all I need for my chest to warm up.

She reaches out and takes my hand.

Everything feels better now.

“What happened after I blacked out?” I ask. “Did we get them all?”

“We arrived soon after,” Cyrus explains, now with a serious expression on his face. “You wouldn’t believe how fast we drove out of town.”

“Who were you with?”

“Dad.”

Ah. James Barlowe. It was probably best that a doctor came along, even if he probably hates my guts.

“So, you got there quickly?” I ask.

“Yeah. I managed to subdue and tie up the gang before the police arrived while Dad worked on you.” He sighs. “Well, I nearly got everyone. The leader of the gang, Shade, the guy with the face tattoo, he… escaped.”

I try to sit up in the bed. “What?”

“He’s gone. But don’t worry, he can’t have gone far. It’s only a matter of time before the police catch up to the asshole.”

I shake my head. “The son of a bitch…”

I would really like to get my hands on him for what he’s put Elsa through. And for the bullet in my stomach.

I can already feel the anger building in the back of my throat, but I hold it back.

I glance over at Cyrus and Juniper. I notice them subtly holding hands by their sides.

“Are you two dating now?” I ask.

Cyrus immediately answers back. “Yep.”

“One date,” Juniper says.

“Well, we’ve been too busy being here to worry about dating,” Cyrus explains.

“And I’m not counting sitting around in a hospital waiting room with stale coffee as a date,” Juniper adds with a wink at Cyrus.

I want to laugh but it hurts too much.

“How am I?” I ask Elsa. “The bullet… is it?”

I can hardly put together the thought. It’s what I’m dreading most. The pain in me right now is overwhelming. Is this what I’m going to experience for the rest of my life?

“I’m not the right person to ask,” Elsa replies, knowing exactly what I mean. “Maybe you should ask your doctor.”

My doctor?