Page 31 of Ruined

The rain finally stops, and I climb on the back of his bike, not caring about the wet seat. He drops a helmet on my head and explains what he wants from me as his passenger.

“Lean into the turns, not against them, okay?” I nod along with each new instruction he gives me until he climbs on in front of me, kicking the bike to life. He takes my hands and tucks them into his jacket pockets. “Since I don’t have gloves for you, leave them there so you don’t lose a finger,” he shouts over the roar of the engine, and we lurch forward.

“Put him on the table,”Wyatt commands, grabbing his bag from next to the sink on the far wall.

Darnell carefully lays Kain on the exam table, seeming reluctant to move away. “He regained consciousness for a few seconds before blacking out again when I picked him up out of the sidecar.”

“You did good, Darnell. Now, take a step back, and let me do my thing,” Wyatt tells him, trying to keep his tone light and professional but also conveying the seriousness of the situation.

Wyatt places monitor leads on Kain’s chest and side near his heart and studies the output for a second. A part of me wants to demand he stop standing there and get to work fixing my brother, but a more rational side knows he’s in control, that he’s doing what he needs to in order to properly treat Kain.

“He’s in hypovolemic shock, we need to get the IV hooked up, and he needs oxygen. If you’re not either injured or here helping, I need you to leave the room. Lucifer, did you bring those blood bags up I asked for?” Wyatt blurs around the room barking orders and hooking Kain up with an IV and oxygen.

“Yeah, they’re in the cooler under the window,” I reply.

“With the lives you two lead, I’m sure one of these days, this will come in handy,” Wyatt says, hooking Kain and I up to blood donation kits. “Starting your own personal blood bank is a smart idea.”

He was right all those years ago after we almost lost Kain to a gunshot wound that required a transfusion of three units of blood. Today, I’m grateful we listened and maintained that supply downstairs.

“Great, let’s get one bag set up, and I need you to monitor his vitals while I close up these major wounds and stop the bleeding.” He carefully unties the sleeves of Darnell’s jacket, replacing it with a handful of gauze. “I’ll say this now, Darnell just might have saved his life by tying this jacket around his abdomen the way he did.”

I hook a blood bag up to the IV Wyatt put in place and stand to the side. For the first time, I notice Eden standing in the corner, her face white as a sheet, her eyes red rimmed. Her body is covered in small cuts and scrapes, but otherwise she appears to be okay, just in shock.

“Eden,” I whisper and get no response, not even the smallest of reactions to her name.

Wyatt sets to work in silence, cleaning and closing the worst of the wounds before dismissing me.

I walk to Eden, stopping directly in front of her. Her eyes are fixed on Kain, blind to everything else. I place my hand on her side to silently guide her to a seat. A cry of pain tears from her and she doubles in on herself, clutching at her side.

“Eden, what the hell happened?” I ask a bit too brusquely, pulling my hand away quickly.

“I’m fine,” she whimpers, wrapping an arm protectively around her waist while using the other to brace herself against the wall. “Kain’s the one we need to be worried about.”

“You’re obviously not fine. Tell me what the fuck happened to you.” My anger rises the longer I’m left in the dark. The longer she defies my order.

“Lucifer,” Wyatt says in a calming manner from behind me. “Why don’t you let me take a look at her? One of us will be out to update you as soon as we’re done.” He places a hand on my shoulder and not so gently guides me out the door. “Trust me,” he whispers before shutting it in my face.

* * *

“Explain it to me again,”I command Darnell as I pace the hall outside of the room. Knowing my brother and girl are injured on the other side of the door and there isn’t a fucking thing I can do to help is driving me insane.

“I’m not sure how many other ways I can explain this to you, man. We rode up, spotted the flipped SUV, caught sight of your girl being surrounded by a bunch of thugs. We got closer, and the guys bolted. I saw your brother unconscious on the ground. I approached them and—”

“This was Donovan’s doing,” Eden chimes in, cutting off Darnell.

“What are you doing? You should be lying down,” I growl at her, pointing back to the medical room.

“I’m done sitting on the sidelines, Lucifer. I’m not some damsel in need of fucking saving. Not anymore.” She stands taller, holding her head high and shoulders back, despite her injuries.

“No, you’re a butterfly caught in the spider’s web full of dangerous men who will stop at nothing to make you theirs.” I know she’s not a damsel, she’s so much stronger than she knows. The willpower this woman has to survive, to push through anything thrown at her, is unfathomable.

“And does that include you?” she asks, a glimmer of what I can only describe as hope in her eyes.

I must study her a moment too long, because once she breaks eye contact with me, she doesn’t look back. “Besides, I have information you guys need.”

“She’s not wrong. Other than Kain, she’s the only other person who was present for the whole interaction. You want the full story? There it is,” Darnell states, gesturing to Eden. “Besides, as I was about to say, when I approached your little hellcat here, she pulled a mother-fucking gun on me. She’s a fierce one, this girl. She wouldn’t let me get close until you spoke directly to me, and she heard you ask me to bring them here.”

I look from Darnell to Eden, surprised by what he’s tell me. “Really?”

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