Chapter 100 Roses have Thorns
Eden’s Point of View
“Excuse me.” I grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him quickly before he could leave, my eyes darted towards the ink I noticed on his neck, and instead of the dragon or the Chinese letters Benita had told me about.
It was a butterfly, and there wasn’t any other tattoo on the other side of his neck. My eyes widened almost immediately as I realized I had the wrong man.
“Is there any problem?” The man asked again as he stared down at me uncomfortably, and my eyes finally flickered to his face, and then I noticed they weren’t brown, they were blue. Almost immediately, my fingers unwrapped from his arms, and I stepped back.
“I’m so sorry.” I blurted, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “You just look like someone I know, pardon me.”
I quickly turned on my heels and walked away from the area as quickly as I could, with my heart pounding in my chest.
Eden, are you crazy!? I mentally yelled at myself, what if the man I grabbed was Nico? What was I going to do? He is a fucking gangster; putting my hands casually on him will definitely kill me.
I probably need to go somewhere to cool off…
I am not a cop or some special service agent— I am a doctor.
My eyes darted to the admission nurses. I should probably tell them as well; no one can get to Benita’s room without going through them first.
“Good morning, Doctor Eden.” Nurse Dean smiled. They all gathered around the moment they noticed I was approaching them, so they stopped all other things they were doing.
“Good morning…” I confirmed with my wristwatch that it was still morning, and it’s only a minute away from afternoon, so I guess I can let that slide.
“You look so tired.” Nurse Mary added. “Haven’t you been getting enough sleep?”
My hands flew to my face as I touched it, yes, she was right, I haven’t been getting enough sleep.
“I try sometimes.” I reached for the sticky notes in my pocket. “Forget about me, there is a situation, we are on the lookout for a tall man with a tattoo on each side of his neck; the right side has a dragon, the left side has Chinese letters.”
“Oh, what does it say?” Nurse Bethany inquired raising a finger. “I can read Chinese characters.”
Dean coughed mockingly. “Really? I wish Nurse Kim were available today. I’m sure she can read Chinese, so we can prove your obvious lies.”
“No, she is Korean, not Chinese.”
“I didn’t say she ‘was’ Chinese, I said she could ‘read’ Chinese.” He fired back, emphasizing his words.
I watched them as they argued among themselves, and the noises in my head were already too much; I didn’t need more.
“Calm down…” I urged them; I just needed them quiet. “I am not saying he is coming; we'd better hope he doesn’t. It doesn’t matter what the letters mean; all you have to know is that the moment you see a man with these tattoos on each side of his neck, you call the security team discreetly, he is dangerous and armed. And I would really appreciate it if one of you called the police…we will need them here today.”
“Yes, Dr. Eden.” They chorused; I was about to leave when I suddenly remembered. “Also, let me know before any visitor is allowed to see Ms. Benita Jones.”
They all shared a look.
“Wait, Doctor, her brother came by a few minutes ago.” Dr. Bethany said as she took to her files, flipping open the patient’s visitor’s book. “Her name is Benita Jones, right? Some Mr. Mario Jones, who is her brother, just came in.”
Her perfectly manicured fingers stopped at the name, Mario Jones, who signed in about seven minutes ago.
My eyes narrowed. That was impossible. According to the police, Benita doesn’t have a direct family; she doesn’t have any brothers, and if she did have a secret brother, she would have mentioned him to me while we spoke.
“Did you see the tattoos on him?” I asked curiously, and they all shook their heads.
“He was wearing a turtle neck; his neck was completely covered, but he was a tall man with a strong build, dark hair, and brown eyes.”
The moment she described, I felt my heart cease functioning, and in a moment, I leg moved on their own…
“Inform the security team!” I screamed as I ran off. “It might be an emergency.”
I ran as fast as I could, my heart slamming against my ribcage. The elevator was in use, I didn’t have the luxury of time to wait, so I decided to use the emergency stairs, and climbing up was a motherfucker.
Ignoring the pain in my legs, I pushed myself past my natural limits, stumbling as I went. When I finally got to her floor, I was almost out of consciousness, and I could see black dots in my vision.
I paused for a minute to catch my breath when I heard a scream and a loud clanking of things falling.
Everyone in the hallway stopped their eyes peeping curiously in the direction of Benita’s private ward.
Then a loud pop! The sound of a gun!
Someone has a fucking gun in the hospital!
Everyone screamed, patients, doctors, nurses, every single person in the hallway either ran off, limped away, or was wheeled out of the area by their attending medical practitioner as fast as they could.
I slammed my fist on the emergency button in the hallway, and the alarm sounded. This was a B-level threat, which could become S-level depending on how many people have guns in the hospital.
It could be a mass shooting or an assassination.
I rushed towards Benita’s room, pressing my back against the wall with my heart pounding in my chest. Luckily, the door was left open, and I peeked inside. A man was standing with his back to the door, and Benita was on the floor, bleeding from her arm.
Seems like the gunshot wound wasn’t serious. I felt a breath of relief escape me. “Please, Nico…” She begged, trying her best to move away. “Please, I’m sorry.”
“Do you think you could leave me, and I will just let you go?” He snarled. “You thought I was joking when I told you I would kill you?”
“No… I was just scared.” Benita cried, while I stayed glued to the wall outside, my entire body trembling, and a certain cold seeped into me while I contemplated intervening or staying here until help comes.
I wasn’t a cop… that was a real gun… I could die.
I tried to be logical, I tried so hard, but the glaring truth was that before help came, Benita would be dead.
“Please think about my children, Nico.” She sobbed. “They loved you too, I promise I won’t tell anyone what I saw.”
“I will kill you, and kill them too.” He promised. “You fucking lying backstabbing bitch, yeah, death is what you deserve.”
“Wait… Nico, for God’s sakes, please don’t kill me.”
“If you can’t be with me, then you should go be with God.”
My eyes widened as he took his aim again, my breath hitched once more, and the fear that consumed me seemed to fuel me. I didn’t know what came over me, but I ran into the room, slamming into him with my body, pushing him with all the strength and fear in me.
The next shot got out but ended up hitting the ceiling instead.
The man fell to the ground, the gun falling out of his grip. I kicked the gun as far away as I could, and I grabbed Benita, hurling her from the ground.
She could barely walk, so I had her arms around me and tried to move with her. These were times I regretted not being a man, probably as big as Theron; he could have easily bodied this man, lifted Benita, and run with her.
“Doctor, please save yourself…” She begged; her voice trembled. “I cannot walk.”
It was true, we had barely even moved, we had gotten out of the room but had not even halfway crossed the hallway, and we even risked being shot at.
“Please go while you can.” She begged me earnestly.
That was the most logical thing to do, but I cannot just leave her and act like nothing was happening.
“Ah!” I felt someone grab my hair, and yanked me away from Benita, who dropped to the floor. My eyes widened before my head was slammed into the wall—hard and cruel, and I was punched in the face before I dropped to the floor.
“Bitch!” I heard the groan of the man that towered on top of me, and the ringing of my head intensified, and for a full second, the only thing I could see was the blackness that filled my vision.
I grabbed the legs of the man who had now begun to kick me.
“I will kill you bitch!” He kicked me again with his other leg. I felt the air knocked out of my lungs as his heavy shoes connected with my stomach.
Bile rose to my throat as he kicked me again, so my arms went around to protect my internal organs.
“The hospital is most…ugh… likely surrounded, the police are already on their way.” My voice trembled from the pain that cloaked me.
“Yes, that is just enough time to kill you both.” I heard the clicking of the gun, and my eyes widened when I noticed the gun was now being pointed at me.