Sinful Duo: Lost Angels MC, page 16
I continue to look even after I hear the angry curse coming from him and when I look down, I finally see what my panicked mind couldn't realize before. Grabbing as many of the bungee cords I can get my hand on, I brace myself to make a move. When he starts to reach for me, I lunge toward him, we’re both surprised when all the remainder of the cords fall away, and I get two hooks to gash his extended arm. He rears back on a curse and I do my best to worm away keeping the remainder of the cords with me. Backing myself into a literal corner, I prepare for him to come at me again.
Blood drips down his fisting hand. It makes a plopping sound as it drips onto the carpet, “I continue to underestimate you, but I won’t make that mistake again,” he produces another knife from his pocket, this one longer than the one he had earlier, and a part of me worries where the other has gone.
Wishing I had something more to defend myself, my eyes start to flicker around, and they find something that may be useful. My fingers wrap around it just as Axel grabs hold of the rope still holding my legs together. He yanks so hard I come easily out of my corner, but so does the loose radiator pipe. Swinging, I hit him in the face. He catches himself with an arm at first, but as soon as my arm comes back up, I hit him again. As I get to my knees, I get more leverage and I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
At some point the knife falls from his fingers, his verbal protests cease, and then when he no longer moves, I slow my swings to an eventual stop. As I take in the damage I've done, Axel isn't recognizable, I've never seen so much blood, or seen so much damage done to a person. Acid bubbles in my stomach and I lose what food Echo had managed to get in me earlier onto the floor beside his body. Echo...Tank…
I'm too terrified to check if Axel is still alive that I push the thought away as I grab the knife he had left go. The rope cuts away like butter at my feet, and I don't look back at the body as I walk away.
Being that I have no idea where Axel has them, or even where I am in comparison, makes me wish I had felt well enough to get a tour of their house. I settle on the first door I come to. I’m cautious but being it's a closet I move on quickly to the next door. Thankfully something of use!
I pull the rifle off what I assume is Echo’s dresser and exhale in relief when I find it loaded. Axel was stupid to not check the house for weapons. I take a cursory look around the room, wishing I had time to explore it, but it reminds me of something I had plenty of time to see in Tank’s room. Walking quickly to the door of his room I go right to where I saw the big knife hanging on his wall and tuck it in with my slung arm.
Feeling better about my odds, I go back out into the hallway, opening each door to reveal what's hidden behind them.
It seems to be destined to be the last door I swing open. At first, we all look at one another. Echo and Tank are strapped into chairs much as I had been. A man I vaguely recognize is standing between them holding a rifle of his own. We start to bring our guns up at the same time, his goes off first hitting the door frame right next to my good shoulder, but when I fire mine, I don't miss. He slumps to the ground in a heap without a brain to keep him standing.
Three other men that I haven't noticed make themselves known as they rush me, one grapples the gun from my hand, one pulls me into a bear hug that holds no affection and the third… well the third rushes past the three of us from the garage and down the hall. When I hear the front door slam, I assume it's not for a coffee run. With the angry looks the two other men give to one another, then to the door, I'm betting on it.
“He's got the right idea,” I say to them. They focus back on me. Then I understand why all of them are familiar. They're Scavenger members, “Axel is dead, and I took my phone back. You can guess the first call I made,” I let that sink in for a second before I continue, “I think I can hear the sirens in the distance.”
The guy that holds me lessens his grip, then all together, “Chuck, I can't go back to jail. I'm out of here,” Chuck nods his agreement and hands me back the gun, following his fellow member out.
Leaning the gun against the door frame of the garage, I don't wait to hear the door hit them on the ass on their way out, before I'm at my guys’ sides.
“Lidia,” Tank rasps out.
“Shhh, I'm here,” I smooth my hands over his face and kiss him chastely on the lips before I take the knife from its hiding place and cut away at the rope behind the chair. When I come back around, I notice him holding his leg and make a distressed noise in the back of my throat. “Oh my God, what happened?”
He raises an eyebrow as if it should be obvious, since he holds a knife in the other hand still covered in his blood, “Their chosen tact of interrogation,” then I gasp as I notice several spots where his clothes have turned red.
“I’m so sorry, Tank,” I hiccup, “This is all my fault.”
“Don’t, don’t do that. This was an act of an absolute lunatic. You are not responsible for his actions.”
“I wish I could do something,” then I remember Echo and turn towards him.
Before I can cut Echo free, Tank speaks again, “Don’t.”
I look back, “Why not?”
“Take a better look,” he says as he starts to stand.
When I do, “Fuck,” I groan. There is a knife buried in his left eye, his head slumped, body only being held by the ropes I had been about to cut. I was in such a frenzy to have them released that I hadn't really taken them in.
“He was awake when it happened, but thankfully he passed out soon after. Did you really call the cops?”
I start to shake my head, “Axel has my phone.”
“Did you at least tell the truth about him? Is he dead?”
I shrug, “I couldn’t make sure, but if he isn’t, I’ll be surprised.”
“I’ll get my phone and make a call. Stay with him,” I watch him as he limps through the door.
As if I could leave him, though I know even as I stay, there is nothing I can do for him. We will definitely need to call an ambulance and who knows what will happen. I willingly took one, maybe two lives tonight. Vince won’t be able to save me this time.
I don’t dare touch him in the fear I may wake him, but the feeling of wanting to bring any type of comfort is overwhelming. How did this even happen? Axel? Did I really push him to do this to Echo? Guilt starts to reach into every tiny doubt that is pebbled up and down my body. Why can’t I just keep my mouth shut? My vision starts to blur and soon all I can see are shapes, then Tank is there, hugging me to him, smoothing my hair down, and whispering words I can't understand. My free hand grasps at his shirt since I have nothing else to hold onto. It becomes harder to breathe with the sobs taking over my body, but I can’t stop even with how horribly nauseous I am, then the pain of the last day brings me to my breaking point.
Chapter 23
“Jesus.” One second Lidia is bawling into my shirt, making it so wet that it soaked through onto my skin, then she slumps into my hold. It is a blessing I have been holding her so tight when it had happened, or I would have surely dropped her.
“Lidia?” Picking her up I carry her to the mats covering the corner that Echo and I use for sparring from time to time.
Echo...My hands fist as I remember what Axel had done. He came storming in here going on like a madman about how Lidia’s the scum of the earth, and that she would pay. Echo had defended her once, once, I can’t even remember what he said before the asshole plunged the knife right into his eye. I don’t think that was his intended target. Echo had moved at the last second. It happened so fast that for the seconds following I didn’t react at all. Oh but when I did all I wanted to do was pummel them all. I had already been scared out of my mind for Lidia, then when Echo’s eye rolled back into his head and he slumped I wanted to rip everyone limb from limb. I had been livid, but what made me even more furious was how Axel had completely disregarded me when I threw every insult I could think of at him. He had just adjusted his hair and walked out of the room again like nothing happened. Our other captors did no better.
I force my hands to relax as I run them over Lidia, brushing her hair from her face, along the new bruises that are starting to form on her arms and face. It makes me angry all over again, that is, until I notice she’s not breathing. My heart drops and I’m finding it hard to breathe. I check for a heartbeat at her throat, but it’s telling me just as her nostrils had with the lack of oxygen flowing through them. I’ve already called an ambulance for the not so dead Axel in our living room, and I’m fucking glad I called instead of finishing the job.
“Fuck!” I start CPR with shaking fingers. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, don’t die on me now, not when we just found you,” I ignore the ache in my throat as I rasp out the words, but the words need to see the air...I need them to be heard, by anyone that is listening.
My concentration is so focused on Lidia that I don’t even notice that someone has entered the room with us.
“Sir!” There’s a hand on me, I look up and it’s a female paramedic. “Sir, we need you to trade spots with my partner,” a man kneeling on my other side is ready to take over. Knowing only that he’s had more training I let him, reluctantly it may be.
The woman continues to talk to me even after I give her partner room to work, “How long have you been performing CPR?”
“I don’t know,” I’m not even looking at her when I respond. I don’t think I can take my eyes from where Lidia lays on the floor.
“Do you need any medical attention?” she asks me.
I start to shake my head, “I’ve felt much worse overseas.”
“Maybe so, but I can see several lacerations and flowing blood. You’ll want to go be checked out at least.”
“We need to get her to the truck and hook her up,” the guy says.
“Hook her up?” I ask. He looks again at his partner which makes me look at her too.
“We need to attempt another form of revival to get her heart started,” she looks around as she says it, “Does the garage door open?” she looks at me expectantly.
“Yes,” I start to nod, finally understanding what she means. I run over to the button for the door and hit it. There in the driveway are a swarm of cars, but my focus is where they are preparing to carry her to the ambulance. Once they start to move her and try to continually do chest compressions, I remember Echo and why he can’t be here to freak out with me.
“Shit,” I look over at him and see he’s still passed out. I can tell from where I’m standing that he is breathing regularly and strong, “What about my friend?” I look searching for any response.
“We checked him. There’s nothing we can do until we get to the hospital. We’ve administered an anesthetic, the next EMT that is free will get him set for transport.”
Though I am torn between the decision, if either of them are awake, they’d tell me to go with the one not breathing, “Can I come with you?”
“Are you family?”
“Yes,” I say, because it’s true. She and Echo are the closest to family that I’ve got that aren't blood.
She waves me in and I jump in without hesitation.
They don’t waste any time and ignore me as we start to make our way to the hospital. I feel completely useless as they shout orders to each other over the noisy air in the back of the ambulance. I have to force myself to try and not cover her as they place the defibrillator pads to her body. The shock to her body and how she doesn’t respond has my own heart pumping faster for the both of us.
Breathe, honey, just breathe, please don’t leave us. Don’t leave me.
Again, and again nothing. The machines in the background alerting to the beat of her heart that the defibrillator forced her heart to make, then skips to nothing once more. In reality there is so much sound in this enclosed space with us. The paramedics breathing, the radio going off as the dispatch gives orders to the response teams, supplies rattling every time we hit even the smallest bump in the road, even the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears. Yet nothing is as loud as the silence of that machine not picking up her heartbeats.
“Please,” I beg to anyone or to anything that is listening.
I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding as she takes one in. I can feel the tears in my eyes as I grip her hand in mine. Her eyes don’t open, but her heart...it is beating once again.
Thank fuck.
Chapter 24
Please make it stop. That incessant beeping noise not only is driving me bonkers but it's going to make my head explode! Though despite my plea the beeping actually increases. I wish I had a bat. My fingers twitch as I think how sweet it would be.
“Fuck! Did you see that?” a voice I know but can’t place says beside me. My body wants to jump at the sound since all I’ve known up until now is the beeping, but my body feels so heavy.
“Lidia, baby, can you hear me?” another male voice I know, but I can’t match a face to. There's a touch of urgency and desperation I can’t understand in his voice. What is going on? Wasn’t I just coming home from the trip with Emmy? Ah, that had been a really good visit, but I came home early...early for...why did I come home early? It’s a memory that is there yet blurry and just out of clarity to make out. It’s frustrating. I want to clench my hand into a fist, but then I can feel why I can’t. There is a hand in mine, warm and big. It makes me want to giggle because it is so much bigger than mine. Despite its size it brings comfort in the place I am currently in. Adrift in complete confusion and right now, I need the anchor that the contact provides, keeping me in place until the fog clears.
“I think she can hear us,” The voice is closer this time. I can almost taste the lips that say it. A flicker of memory of soft blonde hair down, around broad shoulders, my fingers running through them as...I can feel the heat in my cheeks but the memory is gone as quick as it comes.
“Should we call the nurse? Maybe the doctor?” this one is holding my hand, he’s close, so close I can feel his hot breath brushing against my arm. His beard, I’m sure, is hovering precariously close to my skin...wait...do I know anyone with a beard? Apparently, and why is there so much color invading my vision in little pictures that mean nothing to me?
I want to cry out in my frustration! Though to my dismay nothing comes out, I don’t know where my mouth is, then as I go searching for my eyes, the lids can’t even be forcefully opened.
“Maybe.”
“Shit, I’m going to. I think she’s close to waking this time.”
I shut out their argument and again try to open my eyes. I want, no need to see what is going on, where I am, who I’m with.
A female voice cuts into my panic, “Boys, I know you are eager, but with these things all we really know is that time will tell.”
“But she really moved this time,” the grip around my hand squeezes harder as if he needs reassurance. Concentrating I try and make my hand move once more, “See!”
“It could be a number of things, but I’ll call the doctor if you wish.”
“Yes,” the guys say in unison. A memory invades my mind. I’m lying looking up at a fan, making a decision, and two men are there in the balance of what I choose. It’s odd, why would I think of these two separate people as one? It’s there, right where…
“Uhhhhh,” I have found my mouth and I desperately want to hold my head as it pulses with the most excruciating headache I’ve ever had, as memory after memory ricochets back and forth around into my skull.
“Lidia!” I can hear them, but I still can't see them. Echo, Tank...their names come to me, their faces fill in, and I wish I could see them. I want to know if they were alright. Oh...my...fuck...Axel. The darkest of my memories is there on an unending picture book and I am helpless to re-watch. I can feel the tears in my unopened eyes coming out the corners to leak onto my cheeks. They are wiped away by hands that aren’t mine, but ones I know well, “Open your eyes, hon.”
Another noise from my throat, but it isn’t what I meant to say. It is a jumbled mess of syllables. Though after a few more trying seconds I finally get my eyes to open to low slits. The lights are so bright in comparison of the dark I have been in. Things are coming into focus, and the first shape to solidify is Tank. I want to laugh at how close he is, he is exactly as close as I thought he would be. I want to lift a hand up to meet his furry cheek but I watch as only a single digit moves. Lifting my eyes, I then see Echo standing right next to Tank looking down at me. My fingers clench around Tank’s hand as I stare up at Echo. When I ask him about his eye, I start to cry in earnest when all that comes out are sounds that make no sense. I watch them look at one another through blurred vision, and then to the door.
“Hi, Miss Thompson, I’m Dr. Camden,” he looks down at the chart in his hands one last time before handing it over to the nurse that I hadn't noticed hovering by his side. She seems familiar. The doctor comes up and pulls a flashlight from his front pocket and shines it in my eyes, or at least tries to. I flinch away. The light hurts my head. It starts to pound more now in protest.
“Pupil dilation is back to normal, which is good. We’ll have to give you a few scans to check on other things however,” he nods to himself as if he’s the only one to consult. He looks up between the guys, “Any questions?”
“Dick,” Echo says not at all being subtle. The doctor doesn’t even blink and looks down to Tank.
“Yeah, tons. Might as well cancel the rest of your visits today.” There is a tick in his jaw that I have never seen him use before, “Why isn’t she speaking?”
“Ah yes, well with brain trauma there is a percentage that lose the ability for a while until the brain has more time to heal. However, some never regain that ability,” he says it as if it should already be known to us.
