Chapter 39

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

SHEP

The minute JJ's body went still and limp in my arms, my heart shattered into a million pieces and nothing mattered except getting out of this hellhole and saving him.

When Gabe and I had run down those stairs and the first thing I'd seen was JJ hanging from a wall broken and bleeding, a rage like I'd never felt had taken over.

I'd torn through anything and anyone who'd tried to stop me from getting to my vicious viper.

"Gabe, fucking hurry. He's slipping."

Gabe's eyes widened, and he picked up the pace even though he was already going fast.

"Got it!" The door pushed open and we hurried through, closing it behind us. "Run."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I raced through the sewer as fast as I could, not caring what I was stepping in as I did.

"Look up," Nick said. "Manholes. If my too-fast research is right, the third one should be far enough off the property and near the vehicle…I hope."

It was better than what I had, so I'd listen to Nick. I counted, "One, two." I heard someone go through the red door behind us. "Three!"

Gabe moved in front of me and thankfully, the manhole cover was loose. He lifted it.

"Mason," I heard Gabe shout. "Shep, give him to me."

"Don't fucking drop him." As carefully as I could, so as to not cause more damage, I hoisted JJ up. He was deadweight. It was a good thing Gabe was strong enough to lift JJ out, because this wouldn't have worked otherwise.

I climbed up as soon as JJ was through. A bullet flew by me, but I was able to cover the manhole in time.

Four was standing outside the vehicle, staring at JJ as Mason and Gabe tried to get him into the back seat. I was so worried about JJ, I didn't hear anyone behind us…but Four did, and he pulled the gun from my waist. I spun and watched as he took down five people in a row in quick succession. When there were no bullets left, he threw the gun at the head of another, jumped on him, and tore his throat out with his bare teeth. Holy fucking shit.

"He's in…what the…" Gabe came next to me. "Four, let's go. JJ needs help."

That was all he needed to hear. All of them dead, Four raced to the car and slid in, lifting JJ's legs and resting them on his lap.

I did the same but with JJ's head. "Go," I yelled as soon at the doors shut, and Mason peeled out of there.

Ideally, I would have wanted Angel to take care of JJ but one, we were too far, and two, he needed more care than Angel could provide.

"There are clothes in the trunk," Mason said. "I'll get JJ into the hospital. You two change and meet me when you're cleaned up. Four, if you want to stay here, you can."

"I go with JJ. Must protect him." His speech was stilted again. It was as though he were in a trancelike state.

"Okay, but you'll need to change too. You have blood dripping from your mouth, and I don't think they allow vampires in there."

Four nodded. "I'll go in with Gabe and Shep. Get JJ in for help."

"Will do." Mason nodded.

We were at the hospital in under four minutes. Mason ran inside and got help. I gave JJ a quick kiss on the forehead and slipped out of the car, grabbed the go bag from the trunk, and we ran to a discreet place to clean up and change.

When we were done, we met Mason in the waiting room.

"How is he?"

Mason's smile was full of sadness. "I don't know. They took him through the doors, but they won't know anything right away."

"Harper Reese was nowhere to be found in there. He's the head of the snake, and he has to die." I clenched my fist. "If I have to storm his ivory tower and beat him to death with a paperweight, I will."

"Oh, my God." Mason pointed, and I followed the direction. On the screen was someone wearing a plain black mask and a hoodie. Their voice was altered, but I knew it was Noel.

"May I have your attention, please? I'm interrupting your program for the real news. What I'm about to share will jar you. This is information no one ever wanted you to know. An organization known as the Alabastrine Consortium has been adopting children from the Portland Orphanage and the Striker Orphanage and raising them to become deadly weapons. Boys have a life of murder, and girls are trained to be the perfect wives to the rich and famous. All of this is led by a well-known man you all have heard of. Harper Reese." He cocked his head. "Don't believe me? Check out this footage."

The video from JJ's camera of Harper strangling him began to play. Confessions poured out of the man whose face was red, filled with anger as he tried to snuff the life out of the one person I loved most in the world.

When the video ended, Noel appeared again.

"Law enforcement is in their pocket—likely higher-ups. They don't want you to know what is happening to the forgotten children of the world, but I do. Something needs to be done to save our children from this kind of life. Rise up with me and rage! Harper Reese, your days are numbered."

The video ended, and the news program came back on. The reporters were, of course, scrambling, and no doubt every researcher was running around.

It was out there in the world. I had to hope with the release of Noel's video, Harper and his merry posse of psychopaths would focus on that instead of us for a while.

Hours passed. Light turned to dark. By this point in time, every station was repeating Noel's video. Everyone in the hospital was talking about it, but I couldn't care. Until I knew how JJ was, nothing else mattered to me.

I didn't know how long we'd sat there, but finally a doctor came in. I rushed over.

"Are you JJ's doctor?"

"Jaxon?" he asked.

"Yes, and we're family. I'm his partner."

The doctor, whose jacket read Dr. Jeremy Kaiser, didn't smile. He looked downright somber.

"Jaxon Porter."

"Please call him JJ; he prefers it," I didn't know why Mason felt the need to say that, but whatever.

"Sure, JJ. I won't lie, he's in bad shape. He took a beating. I'm not sure how he sustained these injuries—that's for the authorities to sort out. He'll need a double knee replacement, though that's not the immediate concern. He has swelling in the brain. We were able to stop the bleeding but that doesn't mean it won't start up again. Four cracked ribs, a large laceration across his chest, dislocated shoulder…in short, I don't have anything much for you. He's been put in a medically induced coma. Right now, only time will tell what happens next."

I swallowed, trying to understand everything the doctor was saying. Fortunately, he wasn't one of those pretentious types that used big words that nobody understood.

"Can I see him?" I asked.

"He's being transferred to ICU at this time. I'm not allowing visitors for twenty-four hours. I suggest you come back tomorrow, and once you do, only one visitor at a time."

"But…"

"No, sorry, I won't budge on this. Whatever happened to that young man was horrendous. The trauma his body went through—honestly, I'm surprised he's alive. I need the twenty-four hours. That will be the most crucial. You can camp out in the ICU waiting room, but that's as close as I'll let anyone get to him right now."

With that he left and while I wanted to fight him on it, I understood. I hated it and I considered sneaking in, but I wouldn't put JJ's life in danger.

No one said a word. We followed the signs to the ICU area. It was fairly empty, just one other person in there.

"I'm not leaving the waiting room." I moved to the couch and sat.

"Gabe and I will go to the shop and get the car. We'll pick up new clothes, food, and anything else we can think of. Four, do you want to come with us?" Mason's expression was mournful. His best friend…brother was in the ICU, and he was doing his best to keep everything together.

"Mason, I'm sorry. This is hard on you too."

"It is, but JJ wouldn't sit around. He'd stay busy and figure out what needed doing. Right now, I need to call his parents, get shit together, and I'll return when I'm done. Four?"

He stared at the floor. "I'll stay too."

"Okay, we'll be back." I watched as Mason and Gabe walked away hand in hand.

I rested my head on the top of the couch and closed my eyes.

"Harper Reese." Four's voice was so small. "That's who is in charge?"

"Yeah." I didn't open my eyes as I answered.

"He'll be almost impossible to get to now."

Four was right. After the carnage Gabe and I left behind, it would be hard.

"Yup."

"But not impossible."

That perked me up. "What?"

Four turned and looked at me, a smirk on his face. Well, I'll be damned.

"Two can get you those answers. I heard he knew things since he was so smart."

"How so?"

"I didn't know who was in charge. Only a few did. Two was high up. I did know they trusted very few places with food. One being a bakery. It was the place that brought us the cupcakes we loved. And once a guard said the boss was obsessed with their strawberry cupcakes. Ate them for breakfast too."

I wasn't sure where Four was going with this.

"Okay?"

Four sighed, almost as if he were exasperated with me. "You bake. You have shown me you can get into the consortium in a way I never thought possible.…You might not be able to get to Harper Reese in person, but your cupcakes can."

Holy. Shit. "You're a fucking genius."

He didn't say anything, but he smiled. Had JJ ever seen that smile? Because it was amazing.

"Maybe I stay here and watch over JJ, and you make sure that once he leaves here, there are no demons following him." He then turned his head toward the TV that was playing Noel's video once more.

"I'll be back, and when I am, this will all be over."

Four nodded and it was hard leaving JJ in there, but I knew in my heart that Four would guard him with his life.