Page 1 of The Merciless

The Panic

1

Watch how you talk of the dead. They have a way of coming back to haunt you.

Luke’s words had struck true.

Because even as he tugged his torn suit over his shoulders and winced at the movement, Ray’s face flashed back in his mind. She never did disappear these hours. These minutes.

It wasterrible.

And haunting in its own way.

She wasn’tdead,he reminded himself time and time again. Even now, as Angel De Santos stared at his reflection in the mirror of his hospital bathroom, he had to repeat the same thought to himself.

She’s. Alive.

He tugged the suit on with a soft sigh. The bullet in his hand was removed, leaving behind an ugly scar that was carefully wrapped with a clean cloth. It came with a fair warning from the nurse to not move around much. An advice he was probably going to forget very soon. He saw his tired brown eyes, the mess of his hair, and ran an unhelpful hand through those strands. The suit had become dusty and torn from the edges but it was all he had.

It was all he needed.

Maya and Alessandro Larsen had left the night before, leaving behind theirchildand Verana Smith. A terrible decision, considering the new,angrybruise on Kyle Larsen’s cheek and Vera’s triumphant look.

He sighed and looked down at his hands, blinking at the way his vision blurred

at the edges at their sight.

He’d had barely three hours of sleep last night, each hour lost to thoughts of how they would go ahead from this.

How he would convince the world without Noah Hassan.

How he would proceed without Raylene Walker.

Angel shook his head now, and took a step away from the mirror, turning on his heels to stride out the bathroom doors.

Mia Andrews, his step-sister, was still working on searching for Akash Smith – the man he was going totear apart.And the others were just as busy getting things ready to leave and gettingsomedamage control done. And he should’ve probably gone to Kyle. Probably should’ve spoken to him about where to go and how to proceed.

But Angel only veered in the opposite direction and landed on the reception desk with a charming smile on his face. The man sitting on the other end barely looked up when he spoke,

“Hi. I’m looking for someone–”

“We’re not allowed to share information about anyone in this hospital.” The man responded robotically, “Please let me know if I can help you with anything–”

“I would look up if I were you.”

The man’s head snapped up at the dangerous undertone hidden within Angel De Santos’s smile. His eyes only widened as he recognized who he was and he stumbled off his seat, sudden beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as he took a step back.

“I’m looking for Raylene Walker.” Angel said smoothly. The man nodded briskly and shot forward to the computer.

“Room number 5, she’s in intensive care. She’s in dire condition, please be…”

Angel had already walked away after hearing the room number. The smile dropped from his face as he walked past people in white coats hurriedly, unable to keep his heart from beating wildly in his chest. His eyes darted around in search of the room, almost losing hope because it wasn’t anywhere–

Room 5.

Angel breathed out, saw the tinted windows of the room, and forced himself to still.

To calm.

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