Page 158 of A Wild Darkness

I’m fucking annoyed, frustrated that I’m in this state. It will prevent me from working with the night crew for a while, and for that, I could strangle Silas with my bare hands, if Stevie hadn’t shot him already.

My eyes flicker back to her, and my thoughts soften mildly. At least I’m alive.

I huff. “Okay, thank you, Dr. Charles.”

“I’ll be here on property for another week, then I’ll go down to once a day to check in with you.”

“Get with Aunt Mae to give her all the details regarding my recovery. She’ll schedule everything,” I tell him.

“Of course,” he says, then smiles and pats me on the shoulder. “Glad to see you’re doing better.”

Christian and Hayden come barging in through the door.

“Sebastian!” Christian calls out. “You’re finally up, you lazy shit.”

Hayden pulls me into a casual hug. “Hey, buddy.”

Then Christian does the same.

I laugh. “Okay, fuck you both. I need an update on what happened after I got shot.”

River drags two of the tufted leather chairs from by the fireplace over to me. Hayden does the same. All the guys sit at my side, including Stevie.

“Stevie killed Silas,” Christian blurts with confidence.

I smile. “I know.”

She tucks a loose, corkscrew piece of hair behind her ear with a grin.

I turn to Christian. “So, what went down?”

He clears his throat, leaning back in his chair. “After you were shot, Stevie was a little uncontrollable.” His apologizing eyes shoot over to her. She avoids his gaze. “So, we sedated her. But only because we needed to get you both out of there quickly and safely.”

I exhale. Hayden and Christian are like my brothers, but I’m not happy about them drugging Stevie. “Go on.”

“After we cleared the space, the rest of the guys took an inventory of the bodies,” Hayden tells me. “We counted the four you told us about, which were the remaining Black Veil Society Members, the woman⁠—”

“Clara,” Stevie croaks, as if it pains her Clara had to lose her life in the midst of all this madness. I do not feel remorse because Clara was as much a part of the Society as Silas was.

Hayden nods in acknowledgment. “Clara. And the two security guards at the back entrance.”

Christian rubs his chin. “I took out the security guard at the front entrance before joining Hayden in the rafters.”

Stevie suddenly stands, her lips pursed. Something is on her mind.

“You okay?” I ask.

She shifts on her feet a few times. “Why did it take so long between the first and second shot?”

Not what I’m expecting her to say, but it’s a fair question and one that I was going to bring up when it was me and the guys.

A dense silence blankets the room.

Christian is the first to speak. “There was an unplanned delay. One of the security guards gave us a bit of a fight.”

“That’s what led to Silas getting away, where he eventually ended up shooting Sebastian.” Stevie’s words have anger in them.

They both nod with somber expressions on their faces before Christian speaks again. “Unfortunately, during dynamic situations like this, it’s impossible to predict every outcome. And this is the risk we all take to do what we do.”