Page 53 of Perfect Chaos

“I can't take all the credit; my brother and the boss did the actual hard work.”

The two people behind Ramos remove their masks, and it's as if the entire world takes a breath.

“Hey, I'm Ramos’ brother, Xeno Santiago, and the boss, or I guess you can say my partner in crime, is Natali Delgado, the leader of the Delgado crime family.”

My lips move to properly introduce myself but the words die on my lips as everything goes black.

Gavin

Maizyn goes pale before her knees buckle. I grab her hips in time to stop her from wobbling, thinking it’s a side effect of an adrenaline rush. My heart beat skips out of my chest as her eyes begin to roll back in her head. I don’t react fast enough, her upper body bending forward at an awkward angle. Atlas catches her upper body as she goes completely limp. “No, no, no, what's happening?”

“Take a breath and lay her flat on her back.” Natali takes command of the situation. Yelling orders for medical supplies as Atlas and I gently set Maizyn on the ground. Atlas holds her head in his hands to keep it off the gravel.

“Check her pulse.” Attempting to follow Natali’s instructions, I fumble, trying to feel for it, but my hands are shaking too much. “Hey, let me do it. I got it.” Natali moves my hands out of the way, checking her radial pulse. The silence feels heavy as I wait for an update. “We have a heartbeat, but it's faint. We have to move quickly. There is so much blood covering her. Did anyone check to see if any of it was actually hers?”

“No, I didn't even think to check. She was acting fine.” I look to Atlas. His voice sounds completely disconnected from the scene unfolding around us. Tears stream down his face, but he otherwise looks emotionless. I've never seen him like this, and it only amplifies my fear more.

“I need to cut off her vest. Hand me that pair of fabric shears. Xeno hands her the shears, assisting her with removing the bulletproof vest from Maizyn’s body. “Shit. She has a bullet wound and is losing a lot of blood. There is a bullet hole through the side of her plates. She was probably hit on an angle.” Xeno’s voice sounds clinical as Natali begins fumbling through a medical bag. A rolled-up blanket is placed under Maizyn’s head before they begin cutting her shirt away from the injury. More and more blood begins pooling underneath her.

Ringing in my ears intensifies, the voices around me begin to blur into one, and I can't move. It's like I’m paused while the rest of the world around me moves at twice the speed. Someone tries pulling me away from her. I fight their hold, not wanting to leave her side until I know she is okay. I don't stop until Ramos’ voice breaks through the fog. “Gavin! Relax, give them space to work!” It wasn’t until that moment that I realized it took both Ramos and Atlas to pull me away. They are too calm while she's bleeding out on the ground. And Atlas hasn't said a single word since finding out she was shot.

“She needs medical help. Someone call 911.”

“You know we can't do that. Cops and hospitals ask questions, and I don't think anyone here feels like explaining all the dead bodies; let them work. This is their livelihood. Once they get her stable, we will transport her to the personal facility on the compound.”

Everything in me wants to lash out, but I know he's right. Atlas stands beside me like a statue while we both watch as they pack the wound. Xeno makes a call to whom I'm assuming is their doctor, telling them to have the facility prepped for surgery. Any sense of time I thought I had is completely thrown out the window.

Atlas and I lift Maizyn from the ground once we're told to do so, carrying her into the backseat of one of the SUVs. Atlas cradles her head while I keep pressure on her bullet wound. The drive feels like forever. The further we go, the paler she looks. Her lips turn a blue tint. It feels like we are running out of time. It feels as if I'm watching her slip away; she's bled through the towel I'm pressing against her wound. Blood coats my hands at this point. The entire ride, I stare at her face, just hoping to see her green eyes flutter open. It's fucking agonizing, and I feel like I'm suffering alone. Atlas acts as if he's not even here; his fingers run through her hair. But otherwise, he's robotic.

We rush her into the facility when we arrive, we place her down on a gurney, and they refuse to let us go back with her as they rush her into the operating room.

We sit in silence as the doctor is working on her. Ramos sits in the seats next to us the entire time. I’m not sure why he decided to stay when Xeno and Natali left, but I’m grateful for it. The doctor comes out covered in blood, and I immediately expect bad news. There is so much blood. Atlas and I rise to our feet as the doctor approaches. “Is she okay?”

“She’s stable. The surgery went well, I was able to remove the bullet without any issues but she did lose a lot of blood. Most of the blood loss happened prior to getting her on the table. She did need a blood transfusion but overall everything went according to plan.”

“Are we able to see her now?”

“They are moving her to a recovery room now. You should be able to go back and see her shortly.”

“Thank you, doctor. For everything.” Even I can hear the relief in my voice at the doctor's news. I’m glad she is going to be okay.

The doctor leaves through the same door she came. Atlas and I sit back down next to Ramos. Now that I know she is okay, my frustrations build. She shouldn’t have been there in the first place and the fact that Atlas has been quiet the entire fucking time is really starting to piss me off.

I turn to face Atlas, my anger finally boiling over. “How could you let her come with you?”

He doesn’t even look at me. Staring at the wall in front of him instead, “I didn't let her do anything, Gavin. You know as well as I do that she makes her own choices.”

“Oh, so now you talk? You don’t say a single word to anyone the entire time she is bleeding out. The entire time I’m holding pressure to her wound, you leave me with my own thoughts, but now that she is okay, you want to talk?!”

“Will you both stop arguing already? How is that helpful?” Ramos hisses the question out like he is scolding a child.

“I don't remember asking your opinion on the matter, Ramos. You promised you would get her out if things went wrong.” I’m not sure what exactly he is referring to, but Atlas seems pissed; he clenches his fist before running his hands through his hair.

“And I kept my promise. She's alive, isn’t she? Based on what happened in there, that girl is the only reason both of you are still breathing. So if I were you, I would be fucking glad she was there.” Ramos storms out, shutting us both up in his wake.

Silence settles back over us. I don’t want to spend this time arguing with Atlas. I sigh in frustration, finally turning back to him. “I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault. I was just so afraid we were going to lose her.”

“I know, man. I know. I didn’t mean to shut down on you either.”