Page 75 of Reign of the Queen
"What now?" I question, panting. My head is starting to swim again, and my vision's coming and going in blurry fragments.
"Mat moved my Range to the side of the hospital entrance; we just have to make it there and get you out of here." Theo grunts, my legs give entirely out, and my total weight comes down hard on him and Finn.
“Carter, you're going to lay off the carbs after this, you hear,” Finn jokes through clenched teeth. "Fuck." Finn grunts. "He's not going to make it like this, Theo."
"Mat, how far is the entrance from the elevator?" Theo asks.
"About a hundred feet, give or take." Mateo shrugs. Then the elevator doors open on the main floor.
"Finn, watch our back and stop anyone that tries to get to us." Theo throws me over his shoulder in a fireman's hold, grunting with the strain of the weight. Then we step out of the elevator and head toward the entrance.
A few people are standing around down here. I can see them from where my head bounces up and down across Theo's back with his strained steps. I watch Finn shove a male nurse back against a wall. I can see Mateo's long legs scrambling ahead of us, opening every door in our path.
"Hey, you can’t just take him!" Someone yells behind us, but we don't stop to acknowledge whoever it is.
"Almost there, bro." Theo gasps, his legs struggling with my long-weighted frame.
When we reach the car, Mateo opens the back seat, and Theo launches me into it so hard that I bang my head on the opposite door's window. The haze I'm in causes bursts of lights to appear before my eyes. He throws himself into the vehicle after me, Mateo's already in the driver's seat, pulling away from the curb, and I watch Finn climb into the front passenger seat while the vehicle is already in motion. Mateo doesn't even wait for all the doors to be shut before he's gunning it out of the parking lot, like a man on the run.
"Turn right out of the parking lot and head for the beaches," Finn instructs. He turns in his seat to look at me. "You okay, bro?"
"Fucking peachy!" I try to righten myself into the seat, but my limbs are so weak, and I can't seem to hold myself up. I'm still sweating and feeling like complete garbage. My mouth tastes like puke and ass at the moment, causing me to gag.
Theo grabs onto me, gets me sitting in the seat, and then straps the seatbelt across me. Once he's assured that I'm strapped in safe, he sits back and straps his own seatbelt.
"How's Mia going to be able to manage him? He's still too weak and out of it to be much help?" Mateo asks from the front seat, looking back at me through the rearview mirror.
"Who the fuck knows? Let's cross that bridge when we get there. Hopefully she'll take him in. Otherwise, we have to figure out something quick. They for sure have called the cops and Carter's dad by this point." Theo pants.
"Better come up with plan B real quick. I can't see Mia taking me in, and have you thought about what it means if she does? She will own us." I grunt, pain radiating through my body in spasms, starting at my legs and working its way through my whole frame.
"At this point, I don't give a fuck if she owns us, as long as she can keep you safe, Carter. You need to stay breathing more than we need our pride." Mateo hits the steering wheel with his hands over and over.
"He's right. One problem at a time. Right now, our biggest concern is keeping you alive and away from Mack." Theo grimaces.
The gate alarm keeps going off on my phone sitting on the nightstand. It wakes me from a dreamless sleep. I turn my phone over and see it’s almost six in the morning.Who the fuck could be at the gate?I pull up the gate camera and rub my eyes. What I see has me jolting completely awake and sitting up in bed. Mateo is at my gate, repeatedly pressing the stupid button through the driver’s side window of what looks like Theo’s car.
I press the button that allows me to communicate with the front gate. “Have you lost your goddamn mind fucker? It’s six in the morning.” I blast through the phone. I see him turn toward the camera in the gate and wave.The fucker waves.
“Mia, you got to let us in, please.” I hear Finn’s panicked voice but don’t see him clearly in the camera.
“Why is that? I don’t have to do anything of the sort.” I answer back with disdain.
“Please, Mia, let us in. It’s important.” Theo’s voice calls out with impatience from inside the car.
“What is so urgent you had to come to wake me up at bum fuck o’clock in the morning, Theo?” I ask, already throwing a hoodie over my sleep shorts and tank top and heading out of my room. I hope my mom isn’t awake now with all this drama. These kings will be the end of me and my precious sanity.
“Mia, we need your help, please. Carter’s not well.” Finn tries to convince me in a soothing voice.
“So, take him to a hospital, Finn. I’m not a doctor.” I huff, heading down the stairs to the entryway.
“We just broke him out of one, Mia. Please just let us fucking in. We will explain once we are behind your locked gates. Please,” Theo implores through the phone. His tone starts to worry me, as does his multiple uses of the word “please.” I know he’d rather eat shit than beg me for anything. I hit the button that releases the gate, which opens automatically, allowing them to enter my property.
I rush to the mudroom and open the garage door to see if I can see my mom’s car. I don’t know how I am going to explain whatever is happening here to her. When I reach the garage, I take a shaky breath. Her car is not here; she didn’t come home last night.Well, thank fuck for small mercies, I guess.
Heading back in the direction of the front door, I’ve barely got it open as they pull up to the house, tires screeching as they come to an abrupt stop.
I watch Mateo and Finn jump out of the car and come around to the back passenger seat. Mateo opens the door and I see Theo pushing Carter out the door and into their waiting arms. Carter’s entirely out of it. His head is hanging low like he can’t hold it up. It takes the three of them to heft his large frame up and out of the car. His legs never purchase with the ground. He’s wearing some hospital scrub outfit, and I’m not sure, but it looks like there’s drool or puke on his shirt.
