Revved (Axle Alley Vipers)(69)
“Don’t take another step,” he slurred.
The shakes got worse. If he didn’t do something now, the gun could easily go off by accident.
“You took everything from me. My house, my wife. Once you’re gone I can have it all back. You got plenty of money, all those businesses. Who you think’s gonna get that when you’re six feet under? You ain’t got no kids.” He took another slug of gin, then licked his lips as if he could taste it, taste the money that would go to Reid’s mother if anything happened to him.
He searched his mind for something, anything to say that might stop this, but came up blank. What could he say? His father hated him enough to want him dead.
The rev of an engine broke through the silence, tires squealing as a car sped past the house. Just some kid going for a joyride, but his father turned his head to see what the noise was. Reid took his chance, the only one he’d get, and lunged. But his father spun back at the same time.
The smash of his gin bottle hitting the concrete floor was closely followed by an earsplitting explosion.
Then what felt like a fucking sledgehammer tore through him.
A second later, Reid hit the ground, hard.
Then everything went dark.
Chapter Twenty-Five
A low incessant buzzing forced its way into Rusty’s dream, the same dream she’d had every night for the last few nights. Reid, lying behind her, heavy arm draped across her waist, face buried against her neck. They were talking, laughing, then she’d roll over, cupping his face, smiling up at him, and he’d whisper, “I love you, Rusty.”
The buzzing sound started up again, and she threw an arm out, grabbing her phone off the bedside table. What time was it? Had she slept in? Holding the phone in front of her face, she blinked several times, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the harsh light coming from the screen. 11:37 p.m.
She’d only been in bed for half an hour. The buzzing immediately started up again. She’d missed four calls, and the number flashing on the screen wasn’t one she recognized. Could be kids messing around, but then again—she hit the call button. “Hello?”
“Rusty?” A deep voice echoed down the line.
“Who is this?”
“Law.”
Law? “Why are you calling me in the middle of the damn night?”
“It’s Reid.” There was a pause. “You need to come to the hospital.”
She shoved off the blankets, swung her legs out of bed, and sat up. “What happened?”
“He’s been shot. He’s in rough shape. I don’t know…having you here…I think it could help.”
She was already on her feet, pulling clothes from her closet. “Where are you?”
Law rattled off which hospital they were at and where to find them, then disconnected.
Reid’s been shot.
Law’s words echoed through her head like someone was pounding on a gong, the words getting louder and louder until she wanted to clutch her head in an attempt to stop it.
How? Who? What the hell was going on?
Pulling on a pair of jeans, she yanked a shirt over her head and shoved her feet into a pair of Converse sneakers, then ran out the door. Law had said he was in rough shape. What did that even mean? She started to shake, uncontrollably—what if…
No! Don’t even think it.
Twenty minutes later, Rusty was jogging down a long corridor toward a grim-faced Law. He was leaning against the wall outside one of the rooms, his face lined with worry, his body tense.
“How is he?” She’d managed to hold herself together on the way, but now, seeing the fear on Law’s face, she was close to losing it.
He shook his head. “Don’t know. He just came out of surgery, and they won’t tell me a damned thing.”
The door to Reid’s room opened and a nurse came out, about to walk right by them. Rusty grabbed her arm. “Please. How is he?”
“Are you family?”
“I’m his girlfriend.” The lie slipped past her lips easily, because despite it all, despite everything that had happened, she still loved him. If he came out of this—no, fuck that—when he came out of this, she’d make sure he knew it.
Because, dammit, she’d believed him when he told her that he loved her. She hadn’t wanted to. But God, she’d seen it in his eyes when he’d said the words. She’d been too afraid, too much of a coward to risk her heart, to hear him out, to give him another chance.
“Please, we’re going out of our minds here.”
The nurse offered a small smile and rested her hand on Rusty’s arm. “He’s going to be okay. The bullet missed his main organs, and the surgery went really well. It’s still early, but we think he should make a full recovery.”