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I looked over my shoulder, confused, and as my hand reached the knob the door swung inward, sending me tumbling back into Knix's arms. Texas stood there, panting. His shirt was ripped on the side and there was a line of blood on his knuckles. A bruise was forming on the side of his face. Knix took the lead, pulling meback.
"What happened?" hedemanded.
Texas' eyes were wild and there was still residual shock on his face, despite the fact that he must have run straight from wherever he had been with the others back here. They hadn't been gone that long, had they? My eyes trailed to the clock on the counter, it had only been about thirtyminutes.
I turned back to Texas, worried about the blood and bruising. He looked at me and reached for me first, pulling me away from Knix. I frowned in confusion, but let him pull me into the hall. Knixfollowed.
* * *
We arrivedat a room much more subdued than the suite. It was a simple hotel-esque style with two queen beds and a small sitting area to the side of the bathroom. As Texas led Knix and I inside, with me sandwiched between them, I heard Grayson cursing. I took in the mess; a lamp laid on its side in the corner, the cover off and the bulb busted. One of the beds was pristine and unslept in while the other was nearly destroyed, with the sheets stripped away. I was certain there should have been more pillows, and the one that remained was rippedopen.
"What happened?" Knix demanded. “Where are theothers?”
“They–”
Just as Texas opened his mouth to answer, there was a loud thump and a cursing moan in the bathroom. We looked at each other for a moment before Knix stepped forward, reaching for the door knob. It opened and inside we found Grayson on the tiled floor between Bellamy andMarv.
"Damn it, hold still," Marv snapped, wiping at a cut on the top of hishead.
"I'm fucking fine." Grayson waved Marv away and gripped the edge of the tub to pull himselfup.
Marv cast an irritated look at Grayson before pushing past us to into the room. I glanced from Knix's confused expression to Texas' lightly bruised face. He was still breathing harder than normal, Inoted.
"The brother was um..." Texas began as Grayson and Marv glared at each other. “Well, when we got here,he–”
"I was trying to help you, idiot," Marv snapped,interrupting.
"Stop," I said, huffing at him. Marv closed his mouth, but continued to glare silently. I approached Grayson, grabbed his hand, and snatched the cloth away fromMarv.
Marv, Knix, and Texas watched as I tugged Grayson over to the unshredded bed, shoved him down to sit and began dabbing at the cut along his hairline. "You can't wipe at it," I said. "It just makes it sting more." I was no doctor, but I knew enough from old injuries during my mom's episodes to know thatmuch.
“Where’s Bell?” Knixasked.
“Josh took off,” Grayson answered. “When we got here, we caught him…” He nodded his head towards the bedside table and I let my eyes roam that way. A wide rubber band sat next to a metal spoon and a dirtysyringe.
"Meth?" I asked, shocked. When Grayson had suggested drugs, I never pictured anything so...hard.
"Heroin," Grayson corrected. "He just...he was..." Grayson took a deep breath, reaching up to still my hand. I pulled away as he took the cloth from me. "He was about to get high when we got here. He saw..." Grayson glanced at Marv and Texas out of the corner of his eye. "Them," he continued. "And he lostit."
"Punched Texas in the face," Marv said. "When he tried to run the first time, we tackledhim."
"Is that how you got your cut?" I asked, turning back toGrayson.
He dabbed at his wound, but it was all but done bleeding. "Yea."
"He managed to throw us off and bolted," Marvfinished.
"Bell?" Knix askedagain.
"Took off after him," Texas supplied. "I came to get you. There's no telling what security will do if they find out what's been going on. The upper management knows but no one else. It'll take for freaking ever to get this sorted if the cops get called and we get detained forquestioning."
I crossed my arms and stared at Knix. "What do wedo?"
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I noticed he was doing that more and more. Did he have a headache? Or was that just something he did when he wasfrustrated?
"Marv," he said. "Go find Bell. If he's caught up to the older Caruso, phone me. If not, get him to the docks. That's likely where he'll gonext."
"You think he's going to leave?" Iasked.
