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The screen is so dark that I almost don’t see her… strapped to a fucking table, bound at her ankles, wrists, and throat.
Rage tears through me as laughter crackles out of the speaker and the camera zooms in on her.
“I told you, you couldn’t protect her.”
* * *
“Is there a way to trace the video?”
I’ve tried to stay calm, listening to Finn tap away on his computer while I’m still stuck in this godforsaken waiting room, but my calm is in short supply and quickly running out.
“We knew this guy was good, but it’s been bounced off a ton of proxy servers, which I didn’t expect. Pretty sure she isn’t in Novosibirsk. It also wasn’t sent from her phone, despite coming from her number. A dozen apps can do that, so that’s a dead end too, but I’m trying. Doesn’t help that the voice was filtered. It doesn’t give us much to go on.”
I grip my phone tightly, staring up at the ceiling for a second before bringing it back to my ear. “Okay so what do we have?”
“We know that the bodies dropped here aren’t branded. So either her stalker isn’t a Knight, or he hired privately. We also have a plateless black SUV.”
“So we have nothing,” I hiss, “maybe Luc will think of something we haven’t.”
“Luc is coming? How much longer till he arrives?”
“Not sure. Few hours, he said.”
I look up at the squeak of shoes on the floor and see the same blonde nurse from earlier, who looks at me like she’s carrying a fucking IED. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call when Lucas arrives.”
“Laters.”
For the second time today, I look at her and ask, “What’s wrong?” She shifts from foot to foot, looking like I might slit her throat. I do not have the time or patience for this right now. “Spit it out.”
“Your brother, he has a very rare blood type. We have some, but not enough. Are you willing to be tested to donate? As his brother, you could hopefully be a match.”
I nod once. “Whatever he needs.”
“Okay, please come with me.” She turns on her heel and rushes down the hall. It’s so empty that the click of my boots bounces off the walls and echoes down the empty space. Its only accompaniment the squeak of her sneakers.
I follow her into another room and sit on the bed, rolling up the sleeve of my shirt. I make a fist as she smiles at me, tightening the tourniquet before sliding the needle into my vein. It doesn’t take her more than a few moments to collect the blood. “I’m going to put a rush on this, but to speed up the process, I’ll hook you up for a donation now anyway, just in case.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I grumble and lie back on the bed at her instruction. I don’t care if I’m treated like nothing more than a pincushion. I just need to know he’s going to survive so I can start searching for Octavia.
The very blood she’s taking feels like fire under my skin. Everything about this day is wildly out of my control, and it seems like nothing I do will put it back on track.
Except this. This I can do.
This is needed.
So I lie here, my blood draining from my arm, hoping it’s enough to save my brother.
At least I can do something to save one of them.
I fucking hate being this whiny lost asshole. It’s not who I am, but I’m barely holding my shit together right now.
I stare at the ceiling as another nurse monitors the blood donation, running through a checklist of questions longer than my arm to make sure I’m eligible to donate, which I’d laugh at if I had it in me right now, considering I’m already donating.
The blonde nurse reappears about thirty minutes later, looking fucking terrified again. “Mr. Saint, I’m, uhm, not quite sure how to tell you this but your blood type is A positive. Your brother is AB negative so we won’t be able to use your donation for him, but we have a call in with all other nearby hospitals to see if they have any O negative available that they can send us.”
I take a deep breath, trying not to let my rage overwhelm me. “I’ll call my father.”
Luc might’ve said not to bother, but I don’t have any other choice.
