“What’s wrong?” Dylan was afraid he already knew.
Other players came over, surrounding them.
“He’s getting sick!” Maya’s wide eyes pleaded with the faces around her.
“Are you going to do something?!” Sonny yelled at Jordan.
Jordan was calm. “I already did.”
“Motherfucker.” Sonny didn’t care who heard him.
Afraid for his brother, Dylan sought Nile and caught her head shake. He didn’t know what she meant but figured Sonny’s outburst was not the thing to do. “Sonny, focus. We have to get him to the B&B.”
“Jordan, please...” Maya begged.
His calm went to cold. “I gave him a boost. I can’t make him take it. What else are you demanding from me?”
She stopped. His pose, his word choice. Everything about him was intimidating.
“You can help him now, you piece of shit—”
Dylan grabbed Sonny. “And so can you! Help me carry him...Maya, do you have a car?”
She ran off. Dylan hoped that meant yes.
“He’s not dying.” Someone—Prince—took the time to explain. “He’s beginning to feel it. The first time without...help...is hard. We’ve all been through it.”
“That’s our reality,” his brother, Pryor, said and returned to the field.
Nile’s seat was empty.
Dylan tucked away the sense of betrayal. She went to get cupcakes. He held onto that idea instead.
BY THE TIME THEY ARRIVED at the Bed & Breakfast, Jake was delirious, Maya was numb, Sonny was angry, and Dylan was in shock. It didn’t feel as if anyone else gave a damn. A few players helped them get him into the car, but that was it. Jake’s vomit meant nothing to anyone else.
“How long will it take for that stuff to work?” Sonny tried to think of something...anything.
“Almost instantly if it’s fresh,” Maya told them.
“I’ll get it.” Sonny was out of the car before Maya put it in park.
Dylan walked Jake to the steps and sat him there to rest.
Jake flopped back, convulsing.
“Sonny!” Maya ran up the steps. “Hurry up!”
“Girl, what is all the noise for?” Macy stuck her head out the door.
“It’s Jake. It’s hitting him hard.” She pointed to Sonny coming down the steps. “He’s getting the—”
A gunshot drowned out the rest of her sentence.
Maya screamed.
Macy dropped the glass she held.
Dylan fell across Jake, blood seeped through his muddied sweatshirt.
Sonny charged out the door. The image of his friends imprinted itself in his mind even as his body went into autopilot. He rushed down the steps and jumped on his bike, intent on following the culprits.
He caught up and kept after them as they drove down a stretch of broken back roads leading nowhere he could identify.
A sharp right turn down a dirt road gave one of the villains a clear shot. He missed. But it was enough to slow Sonny down and make him think. He didn’t need to follow them; he already knew who they were. He needed to do something about them...about all of them. He gave up the chase and waited until they were out of sight before he retrieved the serum he shoved in his pocket. With one look back toward Jake who was dying and Dylan who might already be dead, he drank it down. The taste gave him pause. Pieces of conversation, images, and the incredible simplicity convinced him. He’d have to do some research, and he couldn’t identify the entire mixture, but he felt certain the main ingredient was blood. He wondered why more people hadn’t already realized it. Disgusted, he tossed the vial and rode out of Rain.
MACY APPLIED CPR. MAYA called an ambulance, the sheriff, and the Bishops. Everyone arrived in under three minutes. The EMTs went through the life-saving steps and drove Dylan to the Medic-Center. It was closer than the hospital and fully equipped. Drs. Dallas and Manchester—the town’s physicians—were waiting.
The sheriff’s deputies, Jordan, Ernest, and most of their friends went on a search. Ronald called for the closing of the Bakery and the Restaurant. A clear statement. No one would receive assistance from the Bishops until further notice.
Recognizing the need for compassion, the Bishops took Jacob home. He needed to be healthy for his brother. In gratitude, he gave the names of the men he and Sonny met at the hotel. While Dylan was in surgery, the family went through their options. Except for Nile. She stayed with Dylan and donated blood.
DYLAN OPENED HIS EYES. He was in a hospital bed, but not a hospital. The room was too nice to be a hospital. He heard talking. Nile sat beside him chatting with Maya who was in a chair beside another bed. Jake. His brother was asleep, or unconscious, or something; Dylan didn’t know. He could see an IV...or was that his? “Nile.”
Her smile was heaven. Damn, she was beautiful.
“Hey, sleepy-head. You get a good nap?” She came to him.
“Hey, Dylan,” Maya came over. “Glad you’re awake.” To Nile, she said, “I’ll go get us some coffee and give you a minute.”
“You’re an angel,” Nile called after her. Returning her focus to Dylan, she brushed his hair out of his face. “How are you feeling?”
“I don’t know.” His voice was raspy from lack of use. “How should I feel?”
“Like someone with a bullet-hole in his chest. It just missed your lung, Mr. Lucky.”
“I was shot?”
“Yes, sir.” She touched his bandage. “Thank God, Macy knows her stuff. You’ve been out for two days, but the bullet was small so the damage was minor.”
“Is he okay?”
Nile glanced at Jake. “He’s fine...or he will be. We’re getting him stabilized.” Her smile promised good news.
“I’m guessing there is more in his IVs than pain-killers.”
“Yours too. You lost a lot of blood, but you’re in the right place. Given the various circumstances, we agreed a little more time might be in order for both of you.” She rubbed his hand.
“Thank you.” He caught and held her fingers, wishing he could hold her.
They both felt it.
Unable to address the yearning, Dylan thought of other things. “What else has been going on?”
“It’s been a busy two days.”
“What happened?”
“Besides getting gunned down like a turf war? We need you and Jake to identify the shooter. The sooner the better, because a lot of people are going to be sick very soon. Which will make this scene—you two resting peacefully—a lot harder to control.”
“I didn’t see the shooter. I wasn’t at the meeting, so I wouldn’t recognize anybody, anyway. You need to talk to Sonny.”
She checked the fluid in his IV.
Dylan panicked. “Nile...where’s Sonny?”
“Good question.” She faced him. “He grabbed the fixer and left Rain...while you were still bleeding.”
Dylan shook his head. “No, he didn’t.” Sonny was an asshole, but he wasn’t cruel, he wasn’t a coward, and he would never leave Jake unprotected.
Maya came in carrying two large mugs of steaming coffee. “Someone will bring you some food up shortly, Dylan.”