Page 78 of Wild Night

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

IVY

When I feelthe urge to open my eyes again, this time, they do as I demand. They open. The room is dark, the beeping still incessant. Inhaling a deep breath, I begin to cough. I feel like I can’t quite breathe.

What the fuck?

Placing my hand on the center of my chest, I wheeze, unable to breathe deeply at all. Then it all comes flooding back to me. One memory after another—the note, the office, all the guys standing around, and then… the heat and theboom.

I start breathing faster as the memories play on a loop, almost like a fucking movie. Did they all die? Did they live? Am I dead? Fuck, I don’t know what the hell is going on. The harder I panic, the less it makes sense.

Then the door opens, and I watch as someone wearing nurses’ scrubs walks through the door. She stops at my bedside, checking the machines, and when her eyes scan my body, she smiles when she realizes I’m awake.

“There is a whole room full of people who will be happy to know that you’re awake, Justin Whitmore.”

Well, I guess I’m not dead, then.

“Is everyone okay?” I ask, although it comes out as a whisper, because my throat feels like I swallowed a cupful of broken glass shards.

“Let me get you some water. You’ll feel a bit groggy from the anesthetic, but I’ll have the doctor come by to talk to you about what happened.”

“I had surgery?” I ask. Although it’s not a question. It’s more like a statement.

“You did,” she confirms.

I’m not sure how I should feel about that. I’ve never had surgery before. I don’t ask her any details about it. It’s clear that she probably isn’t supposed to talk about it to me, at least not before the doctor.

“Everybody else is okay,” she says softly, reaching for my hand. She wraps her fingers around it, squeezing gently. “You bore the brunt.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, I close my eyes. Thank fuck. I’m relieved I’m the one who was hurt the worst. She releases my hand, then moves toward the door, stopping before she opens it and looks over her shoulder at me.

“You have a lot of people who love you. The doctor will probably send your parents in with your permission after he’s spoken to you.”

Giving her a smile, I dip my chin slightly. She opens the door and passes through without saying anything else before she disappears. I want to tell her to let Posey in here before my parents, but I guess that’s something for the doctor.

Thankfully, the doctor comes in a few moments later. He gives me a smile because we’ve known one another for years. Notjust because we’re both professionals in a small town, but also because we went to high school together.

“George,” I say, my voice still sounding like shit.

“You’re a lucky bastard, Justin. But then again, you always were,” he says before he tells me all about my ailments.

I broke my arm, which required surgery. Six weeks to fucking heal before I can take the cast off, something I hadn’t realized I even had. I hit my head hard enough that they were worried about a brain bleed.

Luckily, all tests came back normal.

My lungs are a fucking mess from the smoke and shit I inhaled, though, but eventually, I’ll make a full recovery. Silver linings and shit, I guess.

“The police will be by tomorrow to get a statement from you. Clearly, someone tried to hurt you, Justin,” he murmurs. “Don’t keep information from them.”

“Because I’m a Vicious Reaper?” I ask.

He jerks his chin. “That and because you want to catch them first. You don’t know who the fuck you’re dealing with here. If they could do that to your office, who knows what the hell they’ll try next.”

George isn’t wrong. But he’s not right, either. I may not know who the fuck I’m dealing with right now, but I do know they won’t get a chance to try it again, police or not. Before I tell anyone a damn thing, I need to talk to Posey, my parents, and then Bullet.

In that fucking order.

“George,” I call out. “Can you send my fiancée, Posey, in first?” I ask.

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