Chapter 43

*RYKER*

I watched as she fell to the floor, the color leaving her face almost instantly. I heard someone scream but it sounded as if it was coming through a tunnel. Echoed, and mumbled. Deacon ran to her as I stood frozen. My side burned some, but I couldn't pay attention to that. What was probably only a few seconds felt like hours while I waited for her to open her eyes. “Iris? Keep your eyes open.” Deacon talked to her calmly. I stood there willing my legs to move. “Ryker, call an ambulance.” He yelled at me; I knew what he was saying but I still couldn't budge. He stood up, walking towards me, the closer he got the blurrier he was. He hit me hard, open handed across the face. “Ryker, snap the fuck out of it! I need your help.” He begged. He was shaken, but still calm. Deacon was great under high pressure. I usually was too. I don't know what has happened to me. This woman has changed my whole being. I walked over, suddenly more conscious, but still panicked. I kneeled down beside Iris, who was breathing heavily, but not for the reason I enjoyed. “I am so sorry baby girl, so very sorry. After you are better and safe I am sending you back to school. I can't put you in any more danger. She looked at me and smiled. I don't know how she found the strength to smile with a bullet wound in her abdomen. “I love you.” She whispered before her eyes started to close again. “Iris, stay awake, stay with me.” I pleaded with her and looked up towards the heavens pleading with God as well. I never was a praying man, but I prayed for her.

Deacon walked out of the room, minutes later he came back with towels and a washcloth. “The bathroom was stocked; they have been staying here for a while.” I looked up at him, but he wasn't talking to me. He was talking to the men in his ear. They were canvasing the block and looking for Claud. We wanted to take them all out. Minutes later, two his men walked into the room, they grabbed Ivy and handcuffed her. I had forgotten she was in the room. She shot her. I stood up and walked over to her. Her stare was blank. “I hope she dies.” She mumbled at me, her mouth bleeding. “Don't take her to jail. Take her to the safe house.” I said coldly, refraining from smacking her in the mouth. I don't make it a habit to hit women out of anger, only pleasure. I wanted to. I wanted to kill her. Her eyes got wide at my request. The men nodded. It had been a long time since I used that house. It wasn't somewhere I wanted to go. It wasn't the person I wanted to be. They had left me no choice. I will eradicate all of them. Every last one. That little bitch will help me, or she will be locked up there forever. I turned back to Iris. Deacon had covered her wound in towels and used the washcloth to wash her face. She was awake but fading. “Where is the ambulance?” I asked kneeling back down and reaching for the washcloth. “Two minutes out.” He reached me the tub of cool water.

He looked down at me and told me I was bleeding. I hadn't even felt the burn since I first realized it was there. “Let me see.” He said to get up and walk around to where he was. I lifted my blood-soaked shirt to find a hole in my side right above my hip. “I think it just went through muscle and skin. Looks like her bullet traveled through you then went into her.” I got dizzy. Suddenly the burning and the pain had come back like waves crashing through me. We both heard the sirens; the ambulance was there. I told Deacon to follow our normal protocol. We will pay the ambulance to take her to Dr. Ayden Treml’s private practice. Deacon pulled out his phone and called Ayden. He and I have been friends for years. He takes care of all of my sensitive cases. Especially those I don't want advertised or to end up in the justice system. He is an excellent Dr and surgeon; I don't trust Iris with any other M.D. Deacon spoke to him on the phone as the EMTs walked into the room. One was an older man, greying, with a small beer gut. The other was surely a rookie, young, impatient. He had a look of fear in his eyes when he looked down at Iris that I didn't like. “Do you know what to do here?” I asked sharply stepping in front of them both. “The young man looked at me and nodded. “Yes, we do sir. We are taking her to Dr. Treml’s office. It is roughly an 8-minute drive from here by ambulance. We will keep her awake and stop the bleeding. Place a I.V. fluids will be full power, and we will watch her closely. As for you, we will need to place the same I.V. as it seems you have lost a lot of blood.” I looked back at Deacon, and he nodded comforting me. Knowing he was okay with the EMT made me feel better. Deacon was very versed in healthcare. He has saved me many times.

The ambulance driver was right down to the second of how long it took to get to Ayden. I watched as they kept Iris alive each time she tried to leave me. She had lost a lot of blood. I was terrified. I wanted to be with her, but not even Ayden would allow me in the room. “No, Lorcane. I will take care of her. Go let my nurse clean your damn wound and get you sewn and bandaged up and let me take your lady back and keep her alive.” He didn't wait for my response, just continued down the teal hallway to his operating room. I stood there dazed for a moment, still terrified, still afraid she was going to die on me. She was already sedated when he brought her out of the trauma room, so I didn't even get to tell her goodbye. I walked back to the nurse. “Are you ready sir?” she asked softly, trying to be courteous to my anxious state. I nodded, thanking her, before following her into the trauma room. I had felt a lot of pain in my life. I was smacked around by my overbearing father, I've been stabbed, hit, almost chased down by a car, kicked multiple times by a gang, and shot in the shoulder. For some reason this one burned and throbbed worse. The nurse didn't speak as she did her work. She flushed my wound. Took me to a CT to make sure nothing serious was injured. I laid in the room bandaged. She offered me pain medicines, but I refused. I didn't want to be out of it when they told me how Iris was. Deacon came in to let me know Ivy was locked in at the safe house. They hadn't found Claud yet but were still looking for him. “Anything on Iris yet?” I asked him painfully trying to sit up on the uncomfortable bed they had me on. He shook his head no, “I have two men stationed in front of that hall, and a pager for Ayden to reach us on as soon as she is out of surgery.” Deacon handed me the pager.

The nurse came back in to let me know there was no major damage. I had to have antibiotics and stitches. It took her little time to stitch me up and bandage me. She wrapped my entire waste with more bandages and smiled at me. “You are good to go to the waiting area, Mr. Lorcane. The pharmacist will bring your antibiotics and pain meds to you.” I thanked her for helping me and walked slowly to the waiting room. Deacon sat there watching the door like a hawk. As calmly as he was sitting there, I could see the worry in him. He has grown attached to our dear Iris. I don't think it's a sexual thing, or anything romantic, I think he has grown to care for her in a family way. He would protect her without my orders too. That thought comforted me. As bad as its going to hurt me, which will damn near kill me, I am going to send her away. I am going to keep her safe, and cut ties, to protect her from my life that won't stop following me. I will be going back to a place inside that I don't want her to know. Lorcane. A man no one knows as Ryker. A man who kills to get what he wants. A man who does whatever it takes to get justice. I will take them all out. I took a deep breath. I know he will watch over her when I make her go. When the vibration went off in my hand, I had forgotten I was holding the pager. The door opened and Deacon and I stood up simultaneously. Ayden looked pale and sweaty, he was breathing heavily and looked at me with wide almost frightened eyes. “Lorcane, we need to talk.”