Chapter 21: Edge
21
EDGE
I opened my eyes and looked around in confusion. It only took seconds for me to realize I was in a hospital room, and then I remembered why. All of it returned to me in a single moment.
Pulling my gun and going out to look for Snarl.
Hearing the flurry of gunshots coming from inside the diner.
Running back inside and seeing Evie fall to the ground.
A bullet ripped through my chest before I could fire a shot.
My gun fell to the floor seconds before I did.
Watching Evie's brother kick her as my vision faded to black.
"Evie," I rasped and tried to move.
"He's awake," someone said.
"Evie," I repeated.
Dice's face appeared in my line of sight, and he looked like hell. "Hey, man," he said. "Welcome back."
"Evie," I said again.
He grimaced, and my heart sank.
"No," I groaned.
"Oh, no, no, no," Dice rushed out. "She's alive." Any relief I felt quickly disappeared when he continued. "It's been touch and go with her, and she hasn't woken up yet."
I wanted to ask for more details, but my mouth was so dry I could barely talk. "Water," I croaked.
"Oh, sorry, man," he said and pressed a straw to my lips. "Here you go."
I took two small sips and groaned in pain. Everything fucking hurt.
"I'll get the nurse."
"Wait," I gritted out. "Tell me everything first."
"It was bad, man. When I got there, everyone was down, and Snarl was about to kill Evie. I shot him and tried to help her. Ink, Walter, and Buck showed up a few minutes later and jumped in. Byte was shot three times, and Ranger was shot once. Byte was awake and talking right after surgery, and Ranger came to the next morning. He also has a head injury, but he's doing good. Irene was shot twice and refractured her collarbone. She's been released from the hospital but refuses to leave Evie. You and Evie were hurt the worst. He barely missed your heart, and you lost a lot of blood. And Evie—" He halted and turned away from me.
I tried to reach for his hand but couldn't make my arm move. "Tell me," I pleaded.
"He performed CPR on her until the paramedics arrived," Phoenix said from the other side of the room. "Her heart stopped twice before they got her to surgery. They had to remove one kidney and the lower part of her lung. The surgery went well, but now she has an infection they're dealing with. She's not out of the woods yet, but she's slowly improving."
"How long?" I asked and tried to reach for the water.
"I got it," Dice said and once again put the straw to my lips.
After a few sips, I tried my question again. "How long has it been?"
"Four days."
"What?" I blurted, followed by a burst of pain. "Ow, fuck."
"How are we doing in here?" a female voice I didn't recognize asked.
"He's awake, but I think he could use something for pain," Phoenix said.
"Oh, good. Welcome back, Mr. Ellis," she said. "Can you rate your pain on a scale of zero to ten for me?"
"Fifteen," I breathed.
"Got it. I'll be right back."
"We need to talk about something before that pain medicine knocks you out again," Phoenix said quietly.
"What is it?"
"Dice, watch the door and let me know when she's coming back," Phoenix said and lowered his voice. "This is going to be unexpected, so try not to tense. Who killed Evie's roommate?"
He was right. His question was completely unexpected, and I greatly appreciated the warning. "Muzzle or Snarl. They were both there, but I don't know which one specifically did it. Why?"
"Incoming," Dice said.
The nurse entered with my pain medicine. She injected it into my IV, pushed some buttons on one of the machines, asked me a few questions, and left the room in record time.
"Why are you asking about Randall?"
"Right before Dice shot him, Snarl said Evie was the one who did it and demanded that she admit to it."
"What?" I asked. There was no way. I tried to remember the conversation Evie and I had about her roommate's death. She told me about everything leading up to the night Randall died and how Muzzle and Snarl showed up at her job when she got off work. I somehow kept myself from gasping when it hit me. "She never said who did it. She was telling me what happened and had to stop because she got choked up. I finished for her saying, ‘…and they killed him.' She didn't correct me. Wait. Did she admit to it?"
Phoenix nodded. "She did, but I don't think it's as simple as that. Evie doesn't strike me as the type of person who would kill someone, unless she had to."
"You think they made her do it?" I asked. My eyes were starting to feel heavy, and I knew I wouldn't be awake much longer.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I think."
"I remember her saying something about Muzzle being mad at her for trying to frame him and Snarl. I pointed out that it was a weird thing for him to say since they actually did it. She brushed it off by saying he wasn't a smart man. But his choice of words makes sense if they made her do it. It all makes sense. The reason she was so scared at first, how she wouldn't talk about them or Randall, and why she ran away. It all makes sense." My voice faded as my eyes closed. There was more I wanted to ask, but I couldn't stay awake long enough to do it.
I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, it felt like I'd been hit in the chest with a battering ram that was on fire.
"Holy fuck," I grunted.
"What's wrong?" Dice asked.
"Hurts."
"I'll get the nurse."
When he came back, he picked up the cup of water. "Want something to drink?"
"Yeah," I said and tried to breathe through the pain. I'd never felt anything like it before, and I desperately wanted some kind of relief.
Thankfully, my nurse arrived quickly with the pain medicine. "Now that you're waking up, we're going to put you on something called a PCA pump. You'll have a button you can press to instantly deliver pain medicine when you need it. It will have limits set, so you won't be able to overdose."
"Thanks," I said. I didn't care what they did as long as it took the pain away.
"Evie?" I asked when she left the room.
Dice shook his head. "No change, man."
"Who's with her?"
"Irene, Duke, and Carbon are in the room with her, and there are always at least two brothers outside her room. Phoenix and Badger go back and forth between the rooms."
"How are Byte and Ranger?"
"They're both doing good. Ranger should get to go home tomorrow. They were going to release Byte today, but Gabby convinced them to keep him until tomorrow so they can take them both home at the same time."
"What about the Mad Dogs?" I asked quietly.
"They know what happened. Phoenix called their president to arrange a sit down, and Hound told him to fuck off. So, we're keeping an eye on them, and we'll be ready if they make a move before we do."
"Who's watching them?"
Dice chuckled. "Apparently, Flint put trackers on the five bikes that were in Cedar Valley. It was a fucking genius move, but Phoenix didn't know whether to be pissed or proud."
"Wait until you have a kid in the club," Phoenix said as he entered the room.
"Prez," I started, but stopped when he held up his hand.
"I don't want you worrying about this shit right now. We've got things under control for the time being. We'll know if they head this way, and we'll have plenty of time to get the Devil Springs chapter and the Manglers here."
"What about Croftridge?"
"We're on a light lockdown. The clubhouse is empty, and everyone who isn't here is staying on the farm. Copper sent a few guys to Croftridge to watch over things, since most of our crew is here."
"I'm sorry for all of this."
"If you weren't laid up with a gunshot wound, I'd smack you across the back of your head. This isn't your fault. Just like it isn't Evie's fault. There's nothing for you to apologize for."
"I should've stayed in the diner instead of chasing after Snarl," I admitted.
"You did exactly what anyone would have done. And you don't know what would've happened if you'd stayed. You could've been killed instead of injured. Same goes for Evie. It happened the way it did for a reason. We might never know that reason, but I'm thankful as fuck that you're all still here with us. Like I said before, you focus on getting better, and we'll deal with the rest."
"Thanks, Prez," I said and closed my eyes. I meant to only close them for a moment, but it was hours later when I opened them again.