Page 66 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
“I, I didn’t feel it.”
“Shit,” Cody swore, trying to keep up with Arek weaving through traffic at breakneck speeds. He leaned forwards, trying to slip out of his leather jacket.
“Fuck,” he swore as he fought with his one sleeve. Finally freeing himself, he handed the jacket to Ray. “Look at me, don’t panic, you’re going to be fine. Just apply pressure with this to the wound.”
He swerved to the right to avoid rear-ending a car in front of him and drove up the shoulder until he could cut back across the traffic. Cody hit the call button on his steering wheel.
“Call Arek.” The car didn’t respond, and he smacked his hand on the steering wheel. He fumbled with his phone, his hands shaking as he tried to get it unlocked. “Come on, come on.”
“Watch out,” Ray said.
He looked up just in time to veer around a transport truck, it blasted the air horn as they zoomed by, and then back again to not have a head-on collision. He was losing ground on Arek. He got to his latest call list and hit the last call to come in.
It rang once before Arek picked up. “What’s wrong? Why are you slowing down?”
“Ray’s been hit, and he’s losing a lot of blood.” He looked over at his best friend, and the man’s head lolled to the side, his hands slipping from the jacket. “He’s passing out. Fuck, Arek, I need to help him.” Cody reached out and grabbed the jacket pressing it against his friend’s side. Panic was setting in as Ray barely responded to the hard touch.
“Follow me to where we took Trev.”
“He needs a hospital.”
“Cody, pull your shit together. We can’t go to a hospital, and you know it. Now follow me. We are not far, and the chopper will be gone soon.” The line disconnected before Cody could argue anymore.
“Cody.”
“Hey, we are almost there, just hang on. Okay, buddy?” he glanced over at Ray. His eyes were half-open, his breathing fast, but it was his skin turning a strange greyish color that had him freaking out inside.
“Promise me.” He wet his lips. “You’ll look after Simone.”
“Shit, don’t talk like that man, you’re going to be fine.”
Ray’s hand found his on the jacket and gave it a squeeze. “Promise me, she has no one else. Please.”
“It’s not even a question you need to ask. Of course, I will look out for her, but I’m not going to fucking need to—don’t you dare die on me, you asshole. I promised you a better life.” Ray’s hand slipped away from his own. “No.”
The helicopter veered off, turning back the way they’d just come. He didn’t know what Arek did and didn’t care as they flew down the highway toward the farmhouse that was seeing too much of them lately.
“Stay with me, Ray. Please.” His body shook, tears streaming down his face. He was too scared to look over and just kept his eyes on the road as he prayed once more for a miracle and yet feared he’d already filled his quota.
* * *
Trev topped the flashing button that Arek was calling and then hit the speaker button on his phone. Might as well do two things at once. He signed his name to the letter in front of him. “How did it go?”
“We need you and Delilah.” Trev grabbed his phone, jumped from his seat, and ran for the office door in one swift movement.
“What happened?”
“It was a set-up, and we have a fucking helicopter and at least four cruisers that I can see further back chasing us down.”
“I’m on my way.” He ran past the kitchen and yelled for Sally to stay here just as Renee stepped into the living room doorway.
“Are they okay?” she called out.
“I don’t know,” he shouted back before the door closed behind him. “Shit.” The elevator ride down had never seemed so slow in his life. He sprinted down the street the short distance to the private parking space he’d purchased and, as fast as he could without drawing any more attention, unlocked the door.
“Sweet Delilah, get fired up,” he said as he neared the vehicle. The door unlocked, and the engine roared to life in his presence. “I need you to trace Arek’s phone and set an interception route.”
He pulled the Hummer out onto the street, the garage door sliding down behind them. Luckily, it was late, and the traffic was sparse. He had to agree with Arek that they needed the house back. This was inconvenient.
