AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The self-defeating thoughts threatened to take over when I looked down at the woman I loved. I would lose her. I would lose them all. Two guys I’d come to feel true friendship with.
Milo and Cohen both said something, looking at me for the answer. My breathing quickened, and I knew I would pass out if I didn’t stop it.
“Asa! Snap out of it. This isn’t the time to freak out. Fin needs you,” Cohen bellowed.
I shook my head, the decision made. “No, I’m just in the way.”
Cohen walked over, his own panic evident in his eyes. I waited for him to tell me I was right and that he’d take care of Finley. Dropping my head, I inadvertently placed my face in the path of his fist, and I stumbled back as pain filled me.
The throbbing in my jaw and cheek helped center me, and I peered up, finding Cohen watching me. He shook out his hand, his knuckles red as he watched me. Cracking my jaw, I raised a hand, touching the spot and wincing. The pain filled me, and I held onto it, knowing it was the only thing keeping me from spiraling back into those thoughts.
“Thanks.” I nodded, relaxing Cohen, who’d probably wondered if I would retaliate.
“I need your help, don’t leave us, man.” He stepped forward, squeezing my shoulder and staring me in the eyes. “I know this is fucked up, but whatever demons you’re fighting, leave them for now. We’ll figure them out later. The woman we both care for is hurting, and right now, that’s our focus. She needs all three of us. Maybe… even four. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that my handler is the leader of the OrderandBlackhawk, and… well, yeah.”
He cleared his throat, and I noticed some of his own demons surfacing. Cohen was right; we could deal with them later when Finley was awake. Taking a deep breath, I slowed my heart and cleared my head. When I opened my eyes, I found that his eyes were clearer.
“Okay, what can I do?”
“If you can callRyker,” he sneered, “and help Milo, I’ll keep trying to break through the encryption.”
Nodding, he handed me his phone, the five unanswered calls showing. Hitting the dial button, I placed it on speaker and kneeled down toward Milo. He was taking her pulse and muttering under his breath.
“What do you need?”
“What don’t I need,” he snapped, closing his eyes. He looked up, an apology on his face as his eyes filled with remorse. I didn’t need to hear it, though. We were all stressed, so I stopped him.
“It’s okay. Better question. What can I do to help you?”
“What?” bellowed over the phone speaker, and we both stopped to stare at it.
“Um, Mr. Ryker?” I asked, picking it up closer. “This is Asa.”
“It’s just Ryker. Fin ready to tell me?” he asked. I could almost hear the smug smile he had to be wearing.
“Not exactly, um—”
“Listen, until she’s ready to tell me, and we can have a conversation. I have a secret order to run,” he interrupted, cutting me off.
“Do you have a medical wing?” Milo blurted, ignoring the man’s rudeness. “We need to get her to one before she deprives all of her organs of oxygen and dies. Is that urgent enough for you?” he shouted. It was the first time I’d witnessed the usually calm and collected man irate, and I had to say, I liked it.
“What happened?” Ryker asked as the sounds of his movement echoed through the phone.
“We don’t know. She’s in shock. Something you said made her go pale, and then she collapsed to the floor, staring off into space. She didn’t even know who any of us were before she passed out.”
“Fuck, okay, listen, I’m on my way. Tell Cohen the encryption key is 02141995.”
I looked up as the phone clicked off and found Cohen nodding that he heard it as he entered it. The door clicked open, and Milo picked up Fin as we hurried out of the room. Turning in both directions, Cohen took off to the left, hopefully leading us to the medical wing. His face was a little ashen, and it helped me not feel so scared, knowing that we all were.
We turned down another hallway, coming to a door, and found Ryker standing in front of it. “Come on,” he urged, motioning for us to enter. Medical staff awaited us, taking Finley and quickly hooking her up to monitors. Cohen and I stepped back, letting them do what was needed, but Milo stayed, and I think it helped ease our minds knowing he was there.
When they shut the curtain, we stood with Ryker, whose cocky expression had changed to one of concern. Perhaps he wasn’t so bad if he cared for Finley that much.
“Why is MKG bad?” I asked, bringing his eyes to mine. He sighed, looking at Cohen briefly before finding my gaze again.
“I’ve handled this all wrong. We’ve gotten off to a wrong start, and I’m not even sure I know what’s really going on. I thought Fin and I were playing our games like we used to. It was how we flirted, but it seems like it’s something more than that. Why does she hate me?” he asked, looking serious.
“You’re Blackhawk, right, from the club she joined to find my sister?”
