Part 20 (1/2)

Jimmie quickly turned and aimed his gun at my approach. His mouth dropped opened in relief at the sight of me. Tears swelled in his bloodshot eyes, and breathing heavily, he stared at me, ready to break. ”I'm so sorry. I tried, but I . . . f.u.c.k! I f.u.c.kin' tried . . .” Immediately, he turned his attention back to the person before him. ”Come on, don't do this to me.” With b.l.o.o.d.y hands, he pressed against the wound as he grunted. My body shuddered, terrified as I leaned over his shoulder to have a closer look.

My heart was ripped out of my chest as I gasped. My mind was screaming and yelling, but I stood mute. I collapsed beside Jimmie, and the gun I held dropped onto the cement floor, making a distant clinking noise. Forcing Jimmie aside, I looked down and witnessed the one person that I loved more than anything in the world covered in blood. I couldn't breathe as my beloved was gasping for a last breath. I watched as the face of my truelove turned slightly blue while she continued to gulp for air, and then her eyes locked with mine before her lids shut closed and her jaw spread open.

Traumatized by what I was witnessing, my throat collapsed as fear coursed through my veins. Reaching down, I gathered up her body and pulled it into mine. With a shaky hand, I tried to locate the gunshot wound.

I shook my head viciously. This could not be happening. This had to be another nightmare. I'm not going to lose you. Come on, wake up. Come on, wake up! My eyes blurred with tears, and I blinked them away as I brought that face against my chest. ”Come on, baby . . . Come on, you need to get up.” With b.l.o.o.d.y hands, I caressed her soft, perfect skin. I tried to wipe the blood off, but it continued to smear along her perfect cheek bones.

I wanted to scream from the top of my lungs as I rocked back and forth, trying to keep myself from breaking down. I wanted so badly to be strong. There wasn't much I could do, but I needed to do something as I pressed my fingers along her soft eyelids. ”Come on, baby, open your eyes. Just wake up for me.” AHHH! I needed to do something. I was useless! The love of my life was motionless and helpless, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I felt a hand press firmly against my shoulder, pulling me away, telling me that help was close by.

But help wasn't there at that moment. Something needed to be done now! ”No, I have to do something. I have to at least try.” Still rocking, I pressed my lips against the frigid lips that I had kissed a thousand times before, those perfect lips that used to make all my worry and stress disappear once they touched mine.

In between small gentle kisses, I began CPR. ”Come on, baby, don't leave me. I need you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX.

MARCUS.

”Sir, we need you to step aside.” A paramedic shoved at my shoulder as he and his partner hurried to Mia.

With hefty breathing, I stayed kneeling beside Mia as I watched them quickly work on her. They both lifted her body onto a stretcher. One held a hand at the wound while the other placed an oxygen tube against her face. Everything was happening fast as they rushed out of the building. I quickly followed behind as I heard them discussing medical terminology that I couldn't understand. ”Hemothorax” and ”chest tubes” were mentioned. What the f.u.c.k was going on?

In the ambulance, the female paramedic quickly lifted Mia's s.h.i.+rt and swiped a cloth along her rib to clean the blood. Then she cut small incisions along the fourth and fifth ribs. The male paramedic handed his partner a couple of tubes. He placed the first tube in one incision and the other tube in the second. Blood drained quickly from one of the tubes. ”W-what are you doing?”

The female nodded at her partner, who hopped into the driver's seat. ”Sir, I need you to come in or stay back. We have to get to the ER now.”

I quickly jumped in and took a seat along the bench. The sirens went on and the ambulance moved at a rapid speed. Mia gasped for air as her chest expanded. My chest expanded along with hers in a sigh of relief. ”Is she going to be okay?”

”I don't know, sir. It's hard to determine how severe the injury is at the moment. She's lost a lot of blood. The gunshot appears to have pierced her lung. The tubes right now are helping her breathe. They are removing the blood that filled her lungs as well as pumping in air that she cannot breathe on her own.”

”B-but she'll be okay, right?” I couldn't help the desperation in my tone. I just needed to know she'd be okay. I needed to know that she'd wake up in a few hours and I could hold her again. I needed to know that I was not losing her.

I just needed . . . her.

Before I knew it, the ambulance came to a complete stop, the back doors opened wide, and they pulled the stretcher out, rus.h.i.+ng her into the hospital. I hurried behind them, but I didn't have a chance to look at her one last time. They were too quick for me as they hurried out the doors. I stood there, breathless, as my entire world came crumbling down.

As the minutes ticked by, my desperation increased. My clothes were splattered in blood, and I wasn't sure whose it was anymore. I sat in the waiting room with other families surrounding me, waiting to hear the news about someone they loved as well. Despite all of the hustle and bustle, the only sound I heard was the clock ticking, second by second, minute by minute.

My legs bounced in place. I ripped my nails apart as I chewed at them savagely. The waiting game was excruciating, and I couldn't take it anymore. I was going f.u.c.king insane. I plopped my head back against the wall and let out another groan in frustration. It had only been ten minutes since I last asked for an update, but it felt like hours ago. When I thought to ask again, the doors burst open. Glancing over, I saw my mother and Jimmie rush through them.

I stood in place and waited as my mother with teary eyes ran over to me. She threw her arms around me. As she trembled in my arms and sobbed, I tried to keep myself from breaking down. I exhaled deeply and held tightly on to her. I needed to comfort her, to keep myself from joining her in her meltdown. ”It's going to be okay, Mom,” I whispered.

She pulled back with wide green eyes and sniffed. ”She's going to be okay? You've heard from the doctors?” I shut my eyes and breathed slowly and steadily as I shook my head.

”Oh, Marcus . . .” She leaned in and wrapped her arms around me again.

Jimmie approached us. ”Any news?” After I shook my head again, he gently nodded to express his understanding, and sat down in one of chairs.

”You must be hungry, baby.” My mother pulled away and reached into her purse. After she pulled out a tissue from her bag, she swiped it along her cheekbones. ”I'll grab you guys something to eat.” She went to turn.

”Mom, please, food is the last thing on my mind. I'm not hungry.”

Her eyes saddened. ”Marcus, I need to do something. Let me feed my boys.” That was her way of keeping her mind occupied, a way to try and soothe the wrong. I nodded, and just like that, she quickly dashed through the doors.

”Vinnie is p.i.s.sed the h.e.l.l off.” Jimmie said in a harsh whisper as he looked around the room. I sat beside him and ran a frustrating hand down my face.

”The last thing I give two f.u.c.ks about right now is Vinnie and his f.u.c.kin' crew.”

”Yeah, well, how are they going to explain a dead f.u.c.kin' Lou in the hidden street behind the club? When the surveillance video shows you running after him out of the building and then coming back minutes later with blood all over you?”

I shut my eyes, and through clenched teeth, I spat, ”Well, if I recall, brother, you were the one that insisted I f.u.c.kin' go after him. What did you expect? For us to come back holding hands singing 'k.u.mbaya'?”

”This is f.u.c.kin' serious, Marcus.” He leaned over his thighs, placing his elbows on his knees, shoving his hands over his head. ”All of it was worthless. We're f.u.c.kin' screwed either way!”

”I'll take care of it.”

His head snapped up with wide eyes. ”Oh yeah? And how do you expect to do that? By spending the rest of your life locked up?”

”If that's what it takes.”

”Jesus, Marcus, what's gotten into you?”

”What's gotten into me, Jimmie? Out of all people, I would think YOU would know what I'm going through right now. After what you went through with Cynthia? My mind is racing thinking that the doctor will come out and tell me that I lost the one person I've ever loved. My heart is shattered at the thought that I may never touch or feel her again. My body is swamped with guilt because, if I'd just told her from the beginning what we were doing, she would have never shown up to the bust, and we would not be here right now. So spare me a f.u.c.kin' lecture, Vinnie, about what all the FBI agents or even you think I should have done differently. I'm trying hard as h.e.l.l to control everything and hold it all in and not break down right now. I'm trying to be strong for her, and if she gets out of this alive, I'm trying to find a way to beg her to forgive me for all that I've done, because in the end she was always too good for me. In the end, I never deserved her. She never deserved any of this. That's what's gotten into me.”

I stood and walked away, and even though he was calling after me, I kept on going. I needed air. It was hot, and the humidity in the waiting room was suffocating.

An hour later, Jeremy, Megan, and Mia's mother had showed up. They asked what happened over and over again. Jimmie explained to them what had occurred and exactly what was reported on the news-everything that had happened, except that we were involved. Apparently, we were actually at the club for f.u.c.kin' inventory and walked into the bust. After Jimmie snapped a bit at Jeremy, who was suspicious about the entire incident, there was dead silence.

Just then, all of us jerked our heads at the sound of doors opening. The surgeon walked over to us. ”Mia Sullivan's family?” We all nodded. Those who were seated stood, antic.i.p.ating the results. I had been against the wall but was now by the doctor's side.

”Is she going to be okay?” Sara questioned, with concern haunting her tone.

The doctor nodded. ”Yes, she's going to be fine.”

My chest expanded as the air of relief filled my lungs. ”What happened during surgery?” Megan asked eagerly.

The doctor placed the clipboard under his arm and began using his hands to gesture as he spoke. ”In this case, it was a hemothorax. This happens with an open pneumothorax.”

”What? English please.” Jeremy expressed.