Page 21 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part two
“Fuck, it’s good to see you.”
“You should have called.” Ghost hugs me tighter, and I feel a tiny body curl into my side. I wrap my other arm around Bridget’s shoulder as she tries to hide her sniffles.
“I didn’t want to bring you guys into this mess. It happened so fast.”
“We’re here now,” Bridget says quietly, and that’s when I look up. Ghost’s whole family is there with food and drinks for everyone. Just like that, the dam breaks and a sob bursts from my chest. Ghost holds me tighter, locking one hand on the back of my head.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” Ghost whispers. “We’re here for whatever you need.”
My hands clutch at him like a goddamn lifeline. If it were up to Grant, we never would have had this. He hated how close we were growing up and did everything he could to keep us separated, because deep down he knew we would band together against him. It happened much later in life, but we did. We took that motherfucker down together. Ghost lets me get my shit together before he leads me to a chair.
“What are they saying?” he asks once we’re seated.
“Nothing good. They don’t think he’s going to make it out of the coma.”
“Then they don’t know Ari,” Sean says, flopping beside me. “I saw that man take three bullets. One to the shoulder, one to the leg, and one to the stomach. He kicked that fuckers ass for that. He passed out directly after, but he recovered.” I chuckle at that, which I know was Sean’s intention. “All I’m saying is, if you guys start giving up on him, he won’t have a reason to come back. And hewillcome back.”
“He’s right,” Ghost agrees. “They told us the same thing after you got shot. Nurses and doctors kept telling us we needed to make peace, but we refused. You woke up, Gav, and so will he.”
Just the mention of the gunshot has me rubbing my chest over the spot which has turned into a habit. It’s like any time someone mentions how close I came to death, I have to touch it to remind myself that I’m really here. “We’re trying, but it’s getting damn hard.”
Ghost’s eyes land on someone and he cocks his head. “Who’s that?”
I follow his line of sight. “Tivon. He apparently grew up with Ari. It’s a long story.” I look around the waiting room and raise a brow at Ghost. “Where did your wife go?”
“Her and Les went to see Jason with Caden.”
Just seeing how easy Ghost makes his relationships work gives me hope for what we’re starting, but we don’t have any of this without Ari. “Kira’s up there too.”
“Hm. Something else you didn’t tell me about.”
I grimace. “Yeah. I’ve been a little distracted.”
Ghost chokes on a laugh. “I can tell. I can also tell by the way your little boyfriend is staring at you that things have progressed.” My eyes immediately find Tyler’s, not even needing to ask who he’s talking about.
“He knows.”
“It’s about damn time. When did you finally grow the balls to tell him how you felt?”
I laugh. “I didn’t. He told me in his normal Tyler way.”
“I’m happy for you, brother. Don’t be afraid to lean on them.” I raise my brow, and he rolls his eyes. “I know that’s rich coming from me, but they showed me that Icanlean on them.”
“I know, and I’m trying.”
The machines from Ari’s room start blaring again, making the nursing staff bust ass down the hallway. I drop my head in my hands, unsure how we’re going to get through this.
Pull the plug.
I look at the doctor like he’s grown three heads. “Pull the plug? You haven’t even given him forty-eight hours!” They spent all night trying to keep Ari alive. Every time we thought he was in the clear, his machines would start going off again. After the last time, the doctor had the nerve to tell us that we needed to let Ari go.
“You aren’t doing anything for him by keeping him alive, besides making him suffer.”
Most of the teams cleared out when the doctor approached us. It just left me, my team, Kira, and Jason, who they let come down here since he’s the “husband”. “Suffer?” I growl. “You’ve already written him off!”
“I’ll give you some time?—”
“We don’t need time,” Keon cuts in. “The answer is no.”
