Page 64 of Hard Game

“What?” I blink and stare down past Maddox, who’s ripped his vest off and now his t-shirt, pressing it against Elijah’s chest.

Elijah.

My eyes slide away from Maddox, and I choke, realizing that my best friend, my partner, is lying in a pool of blood, looking too pale for my liking. I fall to my knees, and Maddox barks at me to put pressure on the wound before searching Elijah’s pockets.

“Eli?” I whisper, unable to see through my tears. “Elijah, it’s me, it’s Lauren.”

Elijah doesn’t reply, but his lips move every so slightly.

“He’s alive!” I practically scream as I see Maddox swiping at Elijah’s phone. “Call nine-one-one!”

Maddox drops the phone soon after, lifting Elijah into his arms.

“What are you doing?! Don’t move him!” I screech, racing after him as he heads for a fence across from us.

“Come with me, detective,” Maddox commands, moving through a gap in the fence and climbing the hill. While carrying my partner.

Oh my God.

My feet finally move as I scramble after him, almost crying with relief when I hear the sound of sirens. I climb the muddy bank after Maddox and Elijah, sliding down on my backside until I finally catch up with them. Maddox places Elijah on the ground and moves to a truck parked nearby.

“Fuck!” He yells before disappearing into the trees. He reappears with a rock in his fist and smashes the truck window, causing an alarm to sound. But he doesn’t seem fazed, so I’m not. Maddox reaches into the truck before jogging over to us with a blanket. “Keep him warm and keep pressure on the wound. Stay here. The police are coming.”

He pauses before dropping a kiss on my lips, resting his forehead against mine before he goes. “Don’t come after me,” he whispers, his fingers grazing my cheek.

Then he’s gone.

34

LAUREN

“Ma’am? Do you need medical assistance?”

I wave my hand at the paramedic bellowing from the ambulance behind me, and he nods, running over with two of his colleagues. He asks me to move back when he sees Elijah and a female police officer jogging behind them, her eyes on me.

“I'm Detective Diess,” I say before she can ask me to leave. I reach for my badge but realize I haven’t got it. “Is Detective Carmen here?”

The police officer nods and points towards the building where Maddox went. I glance back at Elijah and nod as I sit on the muddy bank, refusing to leave him. He’s so pale, and I know his chances of surviving are low. Someone left him for dead, and I’m not leaving him. The sounds of women screaming and sobbing surround me, and I press my hands to my ears, wondering if I’ll hear it even in my sleep.

“Hands in the air, now!”

I cringe, refusing to look behind me as the criminals leave the building, even though I should be glad they’re all getting arrested. I’m too tired to look.

The paramedics lift Elijah onto a stretcher before wheeling him to the ambulance, and I get to my feet when one of the paramedics shakes their head.

“He needs emergency surgery; you can’t ride with us. I’m sorry.” He gives me a sympathetic look before hopping in the back of the ambulance.

I watch as it screeches into the night, a lump in my throat.

Why was Elijah here?

Did he follow me?

Where’s Carmen?

I force myself to climb the bank once more, overlooking the sorry sight that holds the remnants of the Lockwood trafficking ring. The place is crawling with police officers, and I count at least fifteen men face down on the ground, their arms handcuffed behind their backs. Women are being led to multiple ambulances, but most are so weak they must be held up or carried. I try not to look at the body bags being taken into the building, and my heart thumps in my chest.

Where’s Maddox?

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