CHAPTER 7

“It could have been worse.”

“How?” There’s anguish in his voice. And pain. He’s hurting.

“She’s not dead, that’s how.”

My head hurts.

Dan? I try to call to him, but nothing comes out. Why can’t I talk? I reach for him, and it’s like he’s ignoring me or something.

“Did you arrest them?”

“No, not yet.”

“Why not?”

“We have to find them first, Richards.”

Is that Barney Fife? It sounds like him.

“How can you not find four people who were all in a car accident? There’s no way they escaped without serious injuries.”

“Unless they were Supernaturals.”

Dan’s quiet for a long, long time. “Why would they hurt the person they went to for help?”

Is he talking about me?

Did I get hurt?

He said car accident…was I in an accident?

“Dan, the people who hurt your wife aren’t necessarily the people who went to her for help. There are many in this city who hate our unit…those who would do anything to strike back at it and its detectives. Yes, the vampires approached her, but there are so many other things that could have done this. And for any number of reasons. She might have pissed someone off. That’s another angle we need to look into.”

I do piss a lot of people off.

There’s a knock and then heavy footsteps come inside.

“Dan, I just heard. How is…”

RJ’s voice trails off, and I can literally feel his horror. That’s the best way to describe the emotions wafting off him. It tastes like lemon slices that have been out for too many hours in the hot sun.

“Not good.” Dan sighs and moves closer to me. The heat radiating off him is all I need to be comforted. Some of my fear and confusion melt away. His love is like a warm blanket wrapping around me and chasing away the worst of the cold. Speaking of warm blankets, I’d very much love to have Eli around. I’m seriously cold.

“Who are you?” Barney Fife asks.

“I’m RJ. I own the tattoo shop where she works.”

“How did you find out she was hurt?”

“I have a friend who was listening to the police scanner. They called me when they heard two of my employees had been in a serious accident. I called Rachel and Carson and got no answer. I rushed straight here.”

“Rachel?”

“She doesn’t want people to know she’s Emma Crane,” Dan explains. “She uses the name Rachel Maddox at work.”

“Why?”

“If you don’t know who her father is, then you are not the person to be in charge of this investigation.”

There’s more than a little bit of contempt in my husband’s tone. I think he’s finally getting aggravated with old Fife.

“You’re about to meet her father,” Dan says darkly. “I phoned him as soon as she went into surgery. He should be here any minute.”

RJ whistles. “Good luck with that.”

Good luck to anyone dealing with Ezekiel Crane when he’s in Papa mode.

“What happened?” RJ asks.

“She and Carson noticed a car had been sitting outside the shop for longer than it should have been. They decided to leave together, and Carson would come to our place. They clocked someone outside in the shadows as well, and then they were chased when they got into the car. Four cars slammed into them. Carson has a ruptured spleen and a broken arm. He’s out of surgery and sleeping.”

“And Rachel?”

Dan sighs heavily. “She suffered broken bones, a ruptured spleen, damaged kidney, a piece of glass entered her lung, and there’s some cranial bleeding and swelling as well. There was blood on the driver’s side window, which wasn’t smashed like all the other windows in the car. She’s in critical condition.”

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

“If you pray, then go say a prayer for her. Even if you don’t pray, go down to the chapel and say a prayer for her. She believes, and that’s enough.”

“I’m going to check on Carson, and then I’ll stop by the chapel and say a prayer for her. Anything I can do?”

“Yeah, there is. Make a list of people you know who might have a problem with her. We’ll need it.”

“Any client of mine did this, then I got no problem handing them over. Most of the people who come in and get inked use her designs. I’m more than sure they’ll want to help.”

“I know how they feel about snitching…”

RJ cuts Dan off. “This ain’t snitching. It’s protecting one of our own.”

“Thanks. Get me that list as soon as you can.”

“I just need to go to the shop and look through my files. We keep records of threats. I’ll bring it to you first thing in the morning.”

More footsteps, and then a world of swearing starts. Evan is going to owe the swear jar thousands if he doesn’t shut up.

“What the hell happened?” he demands, a low fury in his voice I’ve only ever heard once.

“Four car pile-up,” Barney Fife tells him.

The growl that emits from Evan is enough to send the strongest warrior alive running.

“She was targeted,” Dan says. “We don’t know by who yet, but we will.”

“Targeted? Does this have anything to do with the meeting the other day?”

“I don’t know.”

The room is quiet for a while.

The silence makes me uneasy. I don’t like it.

I try to speak again, but I can’t. I’m not surprised, honestly, after hearing the extent of my injuries. I’m lucky to be alive, from the sound of it. If I were to guess, Rhea’s protection is why I am. I’ll have to thank my mother. I don’t want to, but Mama will make me say thank you to Rhea.

A phone rings. I recognize the ringtone. Eli’s calling Dan.

“Get here as soon as you can. We need you.”

Warmth surrounds my hand when he takes it. His fingers entwine with mine, and his breath is warm against my ear when he leans down. “Please don’t die. Eli’s on his way. Just hold on until he gets here.”

Am I that hurt? I mean, my head hurts, but that’s about it. There’s no pain anywhere else. Or do they have so much pain medicine pumping through me everything is numb? Or has my body shut down to the point it’s protecting me from the pain?

Dan sounds so scared. He has to be in pain, too, since he feels everything I do.

I hope to God he wasn’t driving when this happened. At least I know what happened now, thanks to Dan. I don’t remember it, but it would make sense Carson and I noticed what we did.

Calm down.

Kane? Why can I hear Kane?

Because I’m in your mind. Calm down. You’re only going to make your brain injury worse. Getting upset helps no one.

Easier said than done.

He laughs. I’m sure.

Kane is a fully fledged Reaper, albeit on the outs with the other reapers. He was my old reaping tutor, but they decided to punish him for helping me with things outside of reaping. They tortured him, I rescued him, and now he’s a part of our family.

Don’t let Dan see you. It’ll scare him.

I know.

Am I dying?

Yes, but your Guardian Angel is on the way. He can save you.

I’m dying? No.

Calm down. You’ll only make your brain die faster.

He says this like it’s something I can do just because he tells me to.

I’m here with you, Emma. Be calm. You’re not alone.

I know I’m not alone. Dan’s here.

You know that’s not what I mean. Should Elijah not get here in time, I’m with you both.

Crap on toast. I’m that bad?

Yes, you are. So please do as I ask and try to stay calm.

Stay quiet and try not to think about the fact that I’m dying. Riiiiiiiight.

Don’t be a brat.

“Just breathe, baby. Please, just breathe.”

“She’s on a ventilator,” Barney Fife reminds him. “It’s breathing for her.”

“Why don’t you go and try to find the people who hit her?” Dan’s tone says it’s not a suggestion, and I hear footsteps leaving the room. “I really don’t like that guy.”

Me either.

“Just sleep and focus on healing. I’m going to be right here when you wake up.”

If I wake up.

“Eli will be here, and he can heal you. Just hold on, sweetheart. Help is coming.”

I’m surprised he didn’t call Rhea.

He did, but I don’t think she’s in this world at the moment. Wherever she is, she can’t hear him.

I wouldn’t have asked her for help anyway.

We know.

He sounds as exasperated as Dan does when we talk about my mother, the goddess Rhea. I at least don’t hate her anymore. I’m just indifferent to the woman who birthed me and then walked away, leaving me to be a blood sacrifice to a Fallen Angel.

“Nurse?” Dan calls softly.

A moment later, someone enters the room.

“Her blood pressure seems to be going up. Should I be worried?”

“Let me call the doctor.”

Soon, more people crowd the room. Why are there so many people in here?

“If I were to guess, she’s trying to wake up, but it’s the last thing she needs. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, and she needs to sleep. I’m going to put her into a medically induced coma for a few days. If we can keep her body at peace, it’ll stand a better chance of healing, Mr. Richards.”

“Do what you need to do. Her father, Ezekiel Crane, will be here soon. His plane just landed, and he sent me a text. I’m warning you now, he’s going to be a handful.”

“I can handle Mr. Crane. He may be her father, but you are legally responsible for her. Your authority here is all I’m concerned with.”

That’ll go over well with Papa.

I can hear Kane snort in my mind. The sound is like a knife slicing through my head.

“Put her to sleep if it’ll help. She’s had seizures in the past, ones so bad she almost died from them. I don’t want to take any chances with a brain injury.”

“I saw her history, and I’ve already contacted the hospital in Charlotte for her records. Is there anything else we should know?”

“No, not as far as I know. The seizures are what I’m worried about, given her brain injury.”

“Putting her into a coma will help. The less her brain has to work right now, the better. It can rest and heal.”

The world starts to slow, and the words being spoken begin to slur. What little consciousness I have slips away, and I fall asleep, the world around me as dark and silent as a tomb.