Chapter Twenty-Two

 

 

 

Shane

 

We have one door left to unlock when I get the call. About eight rebels, including the lovely Fernando, are standing in the hallway waiting for Alicia to unlock the last door so we can take them to safety. Aside from our Jeep, we have a twelve-passenger van that Ryan will transport the newly-freed rebels back to our base in. I asked him if we could just leave Fernando here, but unfortunately my father is a much kinder person than I am. Even though he’s not trustworthy, Fernando goes with us.

“Alicia, Laura’s been shot,” I say as she walks toward the last door. “We need to get back to the Jeep right away.”

“We have one door left to unlock, Shane. We’ll go in a minute,” she says, continuing to walk toward the end of the hallway.

“Didn’t you hear me? Your sister’s been shot—”

“We have to finish the mission, Shane. Just calm—”

“I don’t know if she’s even okay! What if she’s bleeding to death?”

“She would want us to finish our mission, I’m sure.”

“Nobody wants to die, Alicia. She wouldn’t sacrifice herself for something that can wait,” I say.

“The person in this cell probably doesn’t want to die either. That’s what fate likely awaits them. Eventually my father will kill all of the rebel prisoners. This is the last one. Just calm down,” Alicia says, pushing her key into the lock and opening the door.

“Oh my…” she whispers, putting her hand over her mouth when she looks through the frame. Her golden eyes widen, and tears brim at their surface.

“What?” I snap. “You need to hurry up.”

Alicia isn’t listening to a word I’m saying.

“Izzy? Isaac, is that you?” she says, her voice shaking.

“Alicia,” a voice says from inside the cell. A man about Alicia’s age steps through the door. Narrow, eerie red eyes gaze at Alicia from his pale face, and his long blue-black hair is tied at his neck in a ponytail.

“How are you alive?” she cries, throwing her slender arms around his waist. He returns her embrace, his own eyes filling with tears. Now I finally recognize him. We received word that he was dead, but it appears that the informant was mistaken. He looks pretty alive to me.

“I never imagined I’d get out of here alive, Alicia. I was scheduled to be executed last week, but for some reason, everything got put on hold. I… I told the rebels working here to tell you I was dead. I didn’t want you to endanger yourself or Mira trying to find me,” Izzy admits.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Izzy. I’m so glad you’re okay,” Alicia cries, still clinging to him. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Well, excuse me if this rude, but I don’t particularly care right now. It’s just wonderful that her husband’s not dead, but I have bigger things to worry about than a heartfelt moment between someone that I don’t like and someone I don’t know very well.

“I know that you guys are really happy to see each other and whatnot, but the girl I care about is possibly dying back in the Jeep, so can we go now that we’ve had this lovely little reunion?” I say, crossing my arms in frustration.

Alicia glares at me from Izzy’s arms. Yeah, you two just keep on kissing. Your sister could be dying, but who cares? It’s far more important to catch up on a few weeks’ worth of lip-locking.

Gosh, I really can’t stand her.

“Okay, you can stay here and endanger us all as long as you’d like, but I’m going to the Jeep. Ryan, you can just take the lovebirds with you in the van. Can I have the keys?” I ask, rolling my eyes.

Maybe I’m being insensitive, but Alicia isn’t my priority right now. Laura is.

“Have Taeler drive. Hurry back to the base and get Laura to a medic immediately,” Ryan says, placing the keys in my hand. “Be safe.”

I don’t waste another minute talking. As quickly as I can, I run down the stairs and to the Jeep, throwing open the door as soon as I reach it. Laura is lying on the back seat, eyes closed, motionless.

No.

“Laura, oh my gosh. Taeler—”

“Calm down. She’s not dead. She’s resting. It’s pretty bad, though. She’s lost a lot of blood, but from what I can tell, the bullet just barely went into the front of her thigh. We just need to get her back to base,” Taeler says.

I sigh with relief. Thank goodness. Thank goodness she’s alive.

I toss Taeler the keys and she hops into the driver’s seat, starting the engine. I climb in the back with Laura, lifting her head and putting it on my knee to give myself room. It also doesn’t hurt that I now have an excuse to hold her.

She blinks open her eyes when I move her closer to me, and when I see that she’s awake, I sigh with relief, “Hey.”

“Hi,” she whispers drowsily, her voice trembling from the pain, “What are you doing here? Is the mission complete? Everyone safe?”

“I left Alicia and Ryan in the building. All the prisoners are free, but they were taking a long time, so I came down here to see about you.”

“You abandoned your mission?” she says accusingly, raising an eyebrow at me.

“No, Ryan told me I could come see about you. He says we need to get you back to base right away.”

“Excuses, excuses,” she says, shaking her head at me.

“You are ridiculous,” I say, rolling my eyes as Taeler drives us back to the base.

“Am not,” she sighs, her breath catching.

“Yes, you are,” Taeler pipes in. “She tried to get up and keep freeing prisoners after she was hit.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” I say. “Laura, are you in a lot of pain?”

“I was shot, you idiot,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then. We’ll be back soon,” I say, lacing my fingers through hers. She holds on to my hand and doesn’t let go until we reach the base.

Laura sits up when we arrive, wincing in pain, frustrated tears falling down her reddened cheeks.

“Shane, you carry her. She’s unusually heavy for such a small person,” Taeler says, opening the door for me.

“It’s because I have a lot of muscle,” Laura says, half unconscious.

“We know. We know. You’re strong. Put your arms around my neck, okay?” I say. Laura listens, holding on to me and laying her head on my shoulder as I lift her into my arms. The three of us hurry into the building, Taeler leading the way.

“Medics are on the twenty-ninth floor,” Taeler says, as she takes us to the floor that holds our base’s hospital wing.

“I know. I’ve been there several times,” I say. Broken limbs, bruises and cuts galore, I was basically a regular in the rebel hospital.

“I’m not surprised. You are ridiculously clumsy.” Laura sighs weakly. I’d say it surprises me that she’s able to make insulting comments in her current state, but it really doesn’t. She has a never-ending supply of sarcastic remarks stored in her long-term memory.

The elevator dings when we reach the twenty-ninth floor, and I hurriedly step into the hallway. Medics walk back and forth down the hallways, and nurses make their rounds to the patients’ rooms.

Taeler approaches a female medic with red hair and green eyes, explaining Laura’s situation to her. She motions for the three of us to follow her into a nearby room, and we do. I lay Laura down on the empty hospital bed, kissing her forehead.

“Thanks, Shane.” She smiles in return.

“I’ll take care of her now,” the medic says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I promise. You two are welcome to wait in the hallway while I figure out a plan of action.”

I nod, give Laura’s hand one last squeeze, and follow Taeler out of the room.

“She’ll be fine, Shane. Don’t worry,” Taeler says, sitting down on the floor outside Laura’s hospital room. I take a seat beside her and lean back against the wall.

“I know she will. She has to be.”