“What about Charlotte?” Kronos demands.
“S… S…” I cannot continue, the coughs are overtaking me. I stop coughing and blink. I don’t know if I am going to make it much longer. “Someone took her.”
“What the fuck do you mean, someone took her?”
Dark clouds fall over me. I cannot keep my eyes open, even with Kronos yelling at me. “I’m sorry.”
That’s all I can say as the abyss takes me. She’s all I can think about.
My little kitten has to come back to me.
* * *
“Mr. Powers.”
The woman won’t stop talking and shoving at my left shoulder.Why?
“What?” I growl in frustration. I shouldn’t have spoken. My lungs feel like fire is blazing through them. With a gulp, I force my eyes to open. The bright light is awful.
“Mr. Powers, I’m Jackie, your nurse. I need you to wake up for me. We have to get some food in you.”
“Go away,” I say, my voice cracking as another cough comes out.
“Just relax, Mr. Powers. I’m going to get you into a sitting position.”
“No.” She ignores me. My body moves and my head swims. My lungs are still full of water. I’m nauseous and the idea of eating makes my stomach hurt.
“Did two men bring me in?” I watch the frumpy nurse fluff the pillow. If I was the old Ayres and not feeling like shit ran over, I would fuck her. She has wide hips that shake every time she walks. I almost laugh at how anger boils in me as I think about how I miss Charlotte’s soft skin. Dammit, I feel like I’ve failed her.
She moves on to cut up my food for me. Fuck, this is bullshit. “You don’t need to do that.” I’ve never not wanted the company of a woman. Even one as old as this woman. She has to be old enough to be my mother, but the mere presence of her is causing me a headache.
“You’re lucky you weren’t exposed longer to the tear gas, Mr. Powers. Yes, two men brought you in, but this is a sterile unit. They aren’t allowed back here.”
I may be weak right now, but I’m not bad enough off to put this bitch in her place. As quick as I can, I grab her and force her to look me in the eye.
“I’ve killed people for far less. I suggest that if you want to keep your fucking tongue, you bring them to my room.”
When I release her, she stumbles backward. She doesn’t say a word as she flees from the room. I take the deepest gulp of air I can without coughing. This is so fucked up. Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to bring me to the hospital?
My thoughts halt as Kronos and Hypnos come in, each wearing white suits that cover them head to toe. The police officers behind them are dressed the same My left trigger finger jumps in anticipation. The need to kill swirls within me.
Kronos and Hypnos sit down in the chairs on the far side of the room, staring at me. The two I thought were police officers are actually detectives; I can tell by the ties around their necks.
“Mr. Powers, who attacked you?”
My hackles rise. “No idea.”
The detectives shift. “If you tell us, we can get them.”
I almost laugh at the absurdness. Same old song and dance with these chumps.
“I can’t tell you because I didn’t see the person. The person knocked me from the side and was wearing a mask. I can’t describe a single thing about them, except they were fast.”
“If you can remember anything, call us.” Dipshit number one leaves his card on the side table and walks out. Dipshit number two looks like he wants to say something. Shit, he better not.
When he gets to the door, he turns back toward us. “About time you boys got knocked down a peg or two.” He closes the door before we can react.
Kronos is the first to respond. “We found you passed out in the woods and the house was empty. Who did this, Ayres?”
