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“Stop right there,” the young guy that came up with Lyla says from the other side of the bed. I barely comprehend his words because I’m too consumed by the sight of Thane.
He’s tucked under white blankets that come up to his chest. His eyes are closed, and there’s a tube lying across his face, underneath his nose. His tattooed arms stand out against the stark white, a blood pressure cuff wrapped around his upper arm. Both arms are lying by his sides, with an IV coming out of the top of his hand and an electronic clip thing on his finger. He’s so…still. At least all the monitors are constantly beeping in what sounds like a normal rhythm, telling me his heart is still beating. He’s alive. At least for now.
His condition doesn’t look like the type that he could just wake up and walk out of here. It’ll take days, weeks, maybe months before he’s walking around, using his dirty mouth to make inappropriate offers.
“We just wanted to check on him,” Jordan says from behind me.
“Get out!”
“Make us,” I snap at him.
“Only two people are supposed to be in here at a time!”
“Congrats, you can count to three. Now relax, dude,” Jordan says. “We’re not gonna hurt him.”
“Like you would admit it to me if you were going to hurt him,” the guy huffs. “Still pissed you got snatched, prospect?”
“No,” Jordan answers. “Thane was nice to me.”
“Liar!”
“Shut up,” I whisper. “Both of you. Can’t you see he’s sleeping?”
When I start to take a step closer to him, the guy says, “Any closer and I will tackle you and beat your ass.”
“You could try, but you’re outnumbered here, bro. It’s two against one,” Jordan replies. “See? I can count too.”
Since I don’t want to get into a fight that could potentially hurt Thane even more, I stay where I’m at with Jordan behind me. I keep waiting for him to open his eyes or say something. But he doesn’t move a single muscle.
None of us says a word, or if the other two men do, I don’t notice. I don’t notice anything until the door opens and Lyla comes in.
“Oh. Hey,” she says, sounding out of breath. “Your brother is waiting outside.”
“Yeah, we’re leaving. Right, RJ?” Jordan asks when he grabs my arm.
“How long until he wakes up?” I ask.
“We’re not sure,” Lyla answers. “The doctor said giving him enough pain meds to keep him sleeping is best until the pain eases up.”
I nod, and then Jordan is pulling me out the door.
“See ya,” he says.
When we’re back in the hallway, my brother stares us down, but he doesn’t look too upset.
“I still don’t get what you two are doing here,” he says. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I reply. “One of our customers mentioned the shooting. We’re concerned citizens.”
“Bullshit.” Pointing to the room behind us, Barrett says, “That’s the man who kidnapped Jordan, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” I answer while the kid, who stares at the ground, not attempting to help.
“So, what? Are you two here to try and finish the job?”
“What job?” I ask in confusion.
“Killing him,” Barrett whispers.
