67. Utah

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

utah

“ H ave to get Kyle down quick,” Jersey said as soon as we made it through the garage and to the door that would lead us into the kitchen. “He’s already been up there too long.”

Somehow, the house being on fire had settled in the back of my mind as a secondary issue to just getting the murderous crowd around Indy taking care of. Kyle had been upstairs all that time keeping an eye on the two of us with smoke rising from the fire that had nearly engulfed the first floor.

Said fire had taken over the doorway that would get us from the kitchen to the rest of the house. We both moved for the dining table that sat off to the side at the same time. Jersey grabbed one end and I the other. We flipped it and forced it through the doorway with the tabletop down so we could get across the fire like crossing a bridge.

Dandy met us on the other side of the table in an instant and I could feel New Jersey’s anxiety level hit the fucking roof at the sight of the dog without Kyle.

“Where is he?” he asked…the dog?

Just for that dog to blow my fucking mind when it took New Jersey’s shirt sleeve in its mouth and started to actually lead the fucking way. Everybody jumped when Indy popped up right beside us in the doorway of Memphis’ bedroom.

“Fucking hell,” Jersey hissed. “You about got shot.”

“Oh, um. This might not be the best time, but guys, this is Nevada,” Indy said.

“Shit,” came out of my mouth involuntarily when I forced my body past Jersey to be able to stand between him and the other two as Nevada stepped into sight through the smoke.

“Why is she alive?” Jersey asked. “Toss her in the fire.”

“Maybe just go get your friend,” I said and tried to keep pushing him to just follow the fucking dog. “Why is the dog the only other creature in this house making any sense right now?”

I could hear Kyle coughing in the distance so at least the man was still alive. And it was enough to actually draw Jersey’s attention back to that task.

“You two problems,” I said and pointed back and forth between Indy and Nevada. “With me.”

I turned back for the kitchen just to watch part of the ceiling collapse into the fire and block every bit of that path back out of the house.

“Hoss,” Indy said from behind me while I looked from window to window trying to decide our next best option. He handed me the radio for my ear and it went straight into my ear without another word.

“Utah?”

Something about having her voice directly in my ear again made me feel like I could breathe a little easier in this disaster.

“Yes, angel?”

“Everybody okay?” she asked.

I looked back down the hallway in the other direction to see New Jersey forcing a still-coughing Kyle along with his arm around Jersey’s shoulders and Dandy on the other side.

Nevada seemed to instinctually know to step to the other side of Indy to keep a body between her and New Jersey.

I shrugged my shoulders like Memphis could see it. “All alive for the moment. Or at least for as long as I can keep New Jersey away from Nevada. We need a way out that isn’t the kitchen.”

“Still need to get back into the garage,” Jersey added. “I’m not leaving Hades here in this.”

“Right. I can’t think of anything more important right now than another car,” I said and started to pick a very careful path through the fire that would get us into the bathroom. Out that window would be the closest choice for New Jersey to get back to his precious vehicle. Listening to the two old Marines bicker on that entire journey about whether or not Kyle could be trusted to walk on his own yet didn’t even feel like it could be happening in the real fucking world.

“Even if your lungs recover and you feel fine, your heart might be in danger,” Nevada said at the worst possible fucking time. “Widow-maker’s heart attack happens after the fact. Too much strain on your system from the smoke.”

“I don’t think anyone asked you,” Jersey hissed. “Seriously, why hasn’t anyone set her ass on fire yet? The whole fucking house can burn but we’re just going to walk her out of here with us?”

“It would appear that way,” I said while I forced the bathroom window open. “You’re up first, old man,” I said and motioned to Jersey. It had to be me or him to secure the outside before the others climbed out, and I for damn sure couldn’t leave him in here with Nevada. He seemed to realize that was the case because he didn’t even bother to argue. He took the M4 with him and hopped right out that window. I only waited a couple seconds before motioning to Indy to go next. We just didn’t have the fucking time to wait around and find out which part of the house would cave in next. Once Indy was on the ground, I went through the effort of very awkwardly taking Dandy in my arms and hanging the whole top half of my body out that window to lower her down to Indy.

“You’re not such a terrible kid,” Kyle said to me on his way to the window. So, at least I’d managed to win over one old Marine in this shit show just by being gentle with his dog.

“Coming with us or going down with the house?” I asked Nevada.

She shocked the hell out of me when she seemed to consider the options.

“Get over here,” I said impatiently. “Go.”

“I didn’t do this to you guys,” she said so quietly that I barely heard it.

“Yeah, it’s really not me that you’ll have to convince.”

“I think I’m with Jersey on this one,” Memphis added in my ear. “Toss her in the fire.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Now, now, sugar.”

“What?” Nevada asked.

“He’s not talking to you, bitch,” Memphis snapped, knowing damn well Nevada wouldn’t hear that either.

“Out,” I said to Nevada quickly, before Memphis really did demand that I set a human on fire. I wouldn’t have felt good about it, but I couldn’t say with any amount of certainty that I wouldn’t have done it.

Jersey paced around just a few steps outside the group trying to watch in every direction while I took his place under Kyle’s arm to get him ready to move again.

“The garage, Indy,” I said and nodded toward the back of the house to tell him to start moving that direction.

“Been waiting my whole life for this moment, hoss,” he said and pulled a gun from his belt. It was hard not to smile at that.

“Down!” Jersey screamed.

Nevada listened.

Kyle dropped straight to the ground before I’d even realized I wasn’t holding him up anymore.

I was on a knee not even half a second later.

And a single gunshot put Indy on the ground in front of all of us.

Watching Jersey take several steps forward while he fired several more rounds than would have ever been necessary to kill one human was something that I was certain would be burned into my brain for the rest of my life.

I was sliding across the grass to Indy’s side with no memory of deciding I was going to do it.

“Indy?!”

“No,” Memphis’ broken voice said into my ear. “Don’t say his name that way, Colt.”

“Are you wearing a belt?” Nevada asked from right beside me. I definitely hadn’t noticed her appearance. Indy was breathing. He was awake. He was staring at me as hard as I was staring at him.

“Use mine,” Jersey said from somewhere behind us. His belt dropped to the ground between Nevada and me a second later. I felt a hand squeezing my arm but I couldn’t rip my eyes from Indy’s. Until something smacked me in the back of the head.

“Listen to her, kid,” Jersey said.

“I need you to put every ounce of muscle you have into applying pressure directly on top of the wound, Utah,” Nevada said as clearly as could be that time.

My eyes dropped to Indy’s thigh, where blood was gushing from the hole through his jeans. I watched Nevada slide Jersey’s belt under his leg as quickly as she could.

“I am so fucking sorry, Indy,” I said before I leaned forward to put all my bodyweight onto his leg through my hands. Hearing him scream that way was another memory I’d never be able to wipe clean.

“Colt,” Memphis said again.

“Keep it together, honey,” Jersey said to remind us both that he was also listening. “Kyle, watch everything,” he said and handed off the M4 to him. “I’ll be back with Hades. Tell Triss to get Seph running too. We’ll be heading that way in a minute and we need to leave in a hurry.”

I watched Nevada put all of her effort into tightening the belt around Indy’s leg to cut off as much of the circulation as possible while he continued to scream.

Jersey’s car was beside us in the next minute and he was out lying towels across the backseat.

“Everybody in,” he said. “The bleeding one goes on the towels.”

Jersey walked right to Indy and grabbed him under both arms. “His legs, kid. Gently as you can.”

I all but shoved Nevada out of my way to move to Indy’s side to just pick him up bridal style rather than between his feet like a cranky old Marine might’ve expected. Jersey still helped with his upper half while I tried desperately to prevent his lower half from moving at all. We laid Indy across the backseat, Nevada followed, and I jumped right in with them.

“Two other vehicles are driving up and down this road, guys,” Memphis said. “And someone handed off a very accurate description of Persephone and the two of you to the police.”

“What?” Jersey asked. “How would?—”

He stopped talking when I assumed the moment we tossed that construction worker around crossed his mind.

“We need somewhere to go,” Jersey said.

“We need a doctor,” Nevada added.

“Can’t imagine we’ll be able to use any doctor in our regular network,” I said.

“Fix him yourself,” Jersey hissed. “We wouldn’t be in this position if your ass hadn’t come along. Handle it.”

He pulled this car straight into the field to park it next to my truck and his other car.

“I can’t just fix him,” Nevada said. “He’s clearly bleeding from an artery. It needs repaired. I’m a nurse. Not a surgeon.”

She jumped out of that car the moment Jersey opened his own door and they were in each other’s faces immediately.

“You will fix him,” Jersey said.

“We can’t stay here,” Memphis said. “Have this argument while we’re moving.”

Nevada turned to just walk…somewhere.

“I don’t fucking think so,” Jersey snapped and grabbed her by the arm. “If we’re keeping you alive, we’re doing it where I can keep an eye on you, and you can keep an eye on our Judge.”

“Did he just say our Judge?” Indy choked out and forced himself to giggle. “Did I make it? Is this what it’s like to be god’s favorite?”

We were wasting entirely too much time talking.

Indy didn’t have this kind of time.

We didn’t have this kind of time.

I grabbed Indy’s face. “You have to stay awake. If you need to be an inappropriate, weird little shit to make that happen, do it. Stay awake.”

Rather than just agreeing, or actually saying something inappropriate, Indy grabbed both my wrists. His hands were freezing, sweat was pouring off his face, and his entire body was shaking.

We really didn’t have time.

I tried to move but his hold on my wrists tightened.

“Utah, I need you to do something for me,” he said.

I shook my head in a fucking instant. “No. We are absolutely not having this discussion.”

“Please, hoss.”

He was already having trouble keeping his eyes open.

I was having trouble breathing.

“If I don’t get the chance—” he choked out and closed his eyes.

“Nope,” I said and shook his entire body with my hold on his face. “Awake. We’re staying awake.”

“If I don’t get to explain it to her myself, Utah—” he tried again. “I need Memphis to know that I’m so fucking sorry for recruiting her.”

If he’d hit me in the head with a sledgehammer, I would’ve been less confused.

I didn’t even have the fucking time to attempt to sort through that right now either.

When his eyes closed after that, I got out of the car in a fucking rush and Memphis crashed into the front of my body in seconds. I squeezed her quickly, but we really didn’t have time for that either.

I kissed the top of her head. “Ride with Triss, sugar. You,” I pointed at Trista, “drive Persephone.”

“Ope, there’s Daddy Utah,” she said and went straight to the car.

“Kyle, take the dog and drive my truck,” I said and went to intervene between Jersey and Nevada next. I pried his hand off her arm.

“I’m driving the other car,” I said to him. “And you, old Marine number one, you’re going to help the nurse keep Indy awake. Put all those years of staying alive in the field to work.”

Jersey glared at me, but he listened and went to the back of his other Challenger.

“We’re headed to Utah,” I said loud enough for everyone out here to hear me and I took the radio out of my ear to walk it over to Kyle for him to use for this drive.

“Headed to Utah,” Jersey scoffed and shook his head. “Running. We’re running.”

“Sometimes knowing when to run is how you stay alive, J,” Trista said.

I ignored their bickering and went straight back to Nevada and grabbed her by the fucking jaw.

“If he dies, you will too.”