Page 58 of Zombie

They both dropped to the floor as chaos unfolded in the warehouse. I ran to Cassie and had her halfway upright when a shot was fired right in Cassie’s back. She jolted into my arms as she let out a sharp gasp. I placed my hand on her back and when I pulled it back it was covered in blood.

“No, no, no, no” I said to Cassie as I lowered her to the ground. Mayhem continued around us.

I looked over at Sarah who was laying half on the ground now pointing her gun at me.

“Fuck you, Dante!” she screamed just as she pulled the trigger, barrel aimed straight at my heart, From the left, Badger shot her directly in the chest, causing Sarah’s shot to go wide and land in the back of one of the runaway customers.

Sarah clasped the wound and tried to stop the bleeding before she fell to the floor and took her last breath. Badger shot her once more in the head for good measure to make sure she was in fact dead and would stay that way. Buyers started lunging for their weapons and sprinting toward the exit.

My focus came back. I needed to tend to Cassie who was now bleeding all over the ground. She grabbed my hand, hers shaking violently as the life was being sucked out of her. “I’m so… sorry,” she mustered out.

Tears filled my eyes as I realized that someone that was important to me was about to die yet again. “No. No, it’s fine. We are going to get out of here and get you checked out and then we can make a plan for everything.”

Cassie let out a chuckle before it turned into a cough that was filled with blood. Blood started to dribble down the corner of her mouth. “Take… care… of her” were the last words she managed before her whole body went slack. I couldn’t stay where I was, I needed to move and get the women and children out of there.

Gunfire filled the room as FBI agents and police swarmed inside. I ran to the cages, trying my damnedest not to get shot.

“Monte, Machine! Help me get the women and children out of here!” I called out over the ringing in my ears.

Just as I opened the first cage, I felt the sharp sting of a bullet entering my right lower side. I dropped to the ground.

Buddha ran over to me as Monte and Machine worked in tandem to unlock the cages. Searing hot pain radiated from my side as I gasped for breath.

“I got you, brother,” Buddha said as he scooped me up bridal-style and got me out of the building.

Buddha hurried to a group of ambulances waiting in the parking lot, calling out to the paramedics. The chaos was already beginning to die down, and police were ushering people out of the warehouse in handcuffs.

I looked at my friend, who I thought hated me, with confusion. “You came?”

Buddha nodded his head, emotions swimming in his eyes. “We would have never let you do this alone.”

Relief swept through me at his admission. I opened my mouth to respond, but my muscles were going slack, my head spinning. My vision blurred, then faded to black.

FORTY-SIX

LENNIE

I sat next to the hospital bed where Dante lay almost lifeless. He looked so pale under the fluorescent lights of the hospital room. By the time the ambulance had gotten him to the hospital, he had almost bled out.

Knowing that he was hurt just about killed me inside. I needed to be with him. Yes, I was still furious and hurt because of him, but that didn’t stop me from loving him.

The Elite Squad plus little Ryann were in the waiting area; the hospital only allowed two visitors in the room at the time. My mind was still reeling from the fact he had a daughter. Chief had explained to me when he’d arrived at the hospital with the little girl that Dante had a child and she’d been held captive which led to Dante being blackmailed into “working” for Sarah. It had explained so much as to why he would have gone against his team and lied to me. I wanted to tell him that I understood and that I forgave him, but I needed him to wake up first.

Buddha walked in, his expression somber.

“How is he?” he asked, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets.

I glanced at Dante. The only way I knew he was alive was the rise and fall of his chest and the heart monitor that kept beeping.

“Surgery went well, but we aren’t out of the woods just yet.”

Buddha nodded and scrubbed a hand down his face. Tears pooled in his eyes. “I was so fucking hard on him. I should have kept my cool and heard him out…”

I stood up from my plastic chair and walked over to Buddha, placing a hand on his arm. “We all have said and done things that we regret. But the important thing is that we are all here now in his time of need and showed up when it mattered most.”

Buddha nodded before walking over to the bed and placing a hand over Dante’s. “Z-man, you need to wake up so you can kick my ass for being a total jackhole.”

Moments later, Buddha left the room. One by one, each teammate came in, offering words of love and apologies. Dante was surrounded by a family made not through blood but through bond.