Page 86 of Scornful

Ingrid makes a choked sound, and now I'm certain there's more between her and Bjorn than anyone knows.

The grief in her eyes isn't just for a friend—it's deeper, more personal.

Njal holds her while she cries, whispering words I can't hear.

"When can we see him?" Kraken asks, barely able to keep his voice steady.

"He'll be in recovery for several hours. Limited visitors at first." The surgeon pauses. "He's lucky to be alive. A few feet closer to the window..."

He doesn't finish, but he doesn't need to. We all know what would have happened.

After the surgeon leaves, we sit in stunned silence.

This is what war with the Patriot means.

"I want him dead," Magnolia says suddenly, her voice raw. "The Patriot. I want him to suffer like my baby's suffering right now."

"He will," Kraken promises. "That's a fuckin’ guarantee."

My phone buzzes.

It’s Runes:

Any updates for me?

I text back:

Surgeon just came out. Bjorn is alive, but lost his leg.

His response is immediate:

Bring them back when they’re able. Clubhouse is secure, and notify them of what the plan is.

But we wait.

There's no rushing this, no pushing a mother away from her injured child.

I give Kraken the rundown of how Runes wants to handle this, and he nods, understanding it’s safer for everyone at the clubhouse.

Two hours later, they finally let Magnolia and Kraken see Bjorn.

The rest of us wait in the waiting room, but I keep my eyes on the hallway, watching, waiting to see if anyone has the balls to show up here today.

When Magnolia and Kraken finally come back, Magnolia looks broken.

Kraken's aged another decade in those twenty minutes.

"He's sleeping now," Magnolia whispers. "All those machines... he looks so small."

"He's tough," I tell her, meaning it.

She nods absently, not really hearing me.

Shock does that—makes everything distant, unreal.

"You should head back," Kraken says finally to Magnolia and Njal, even Everly. "Nothing more you can do here tonight. I’ll stay back here, watch things."

Magnolia shakes her head. "There isn’t any way in hell I’m not going to be here with my son, so you can go fuck yourself if you think I’m leaving him."

---