Malo - Page 48

“How the fuck would he have gotten his hands on something Las Rosas made?” Beast demands, staring down at Malo, his brow creased with concern. “He would never have taken it?—”

“Not if he’d known,” I agree with a sigh.

Stitches sits back, catches his breath, and flexes his hands for a break from the compressions.

“Is he breathing?” I ask.

Stitches nods. “It’s shallow, but yes,” he replies. “I want to get him on a ventilator and oxygenate his blood as soon as we can.”

“You have an office nearby? A lab I can use?” I ask, sealing the bag and pushing it into my pocket.

Stitches nods.

“We need to get him down there as soon as we can,” I reply. “And I want to go, too.”

“You’ll be better off getting some rest than—” Beast begins, but I lift a hand to stop him. Any day I would think twice before talking to Beast let alone cutting him off, the man is so intimidating, but with Malo’s life possibly on the line I don’t hesitate to speak my mind.

“I want to figure out what’s in that stuff he took,” I fire back. “Analyze the compound, figure out what we’re dealing with here. It’s the best chance we have of getting him to wake up.”

Stitches shoots a look at his boss, and I can tell the silent communication between them is happening fast. They know as well as I do that every second matters. I try not to look at Malo on the ground in front of me. He looks so weak, so frail, so damaged, and I don’t know, even if I do get to the bottom of what’s in this stuff, that I’m going to be able to do anything to rescue him.

But I know, sure as hell, that I have to try. I have to give it everything I’ve got. No matter how scared I am. It’s time for him to rely on me the way I have relied on him in the past.

“Sure,” Beast replies. “Sin, call up some of the men, get him transported down there. Keep this locked down; only people who need to know, you hear me?”

“On it,” Sin replies, heading for the door and racing down the stairs. I drop to my knees next to Malo and take his hand, pulling it into my lap and squeezing hard.

“You’re going to be okay,” I whisper to him, even though I’m not sure he can hear me right now. I just need to get those words out, maybe so I can hear them as much as anyone else.

I lean down, and plant a kiss on his sallow forehead, brushing back his sweat-sodden hair. I’m going to get him through this.

I have to. There isn’t any other choice.

CHAPTER 35

SIN

Istep out into the road, and wave down the group of bikers heading in our direction. The contingent from New Orleans has finally arrived, and I need to get them settled in for the night before I can finally crash into bed and get the rest I so badly need.

Pocus, the leader of the New Orleans Kings, kicks his bike to a halt outside the club house, stepping off and pulling off his helmet. He looks me up and down for a moment, and then extends his hand. “Sin?”

“That’s me,” I reply, as the rest of the men climb off their bikes.

“Can we keep the formal introductions till tomorrow?” he asks, his voice curt. “We’re tired. We’ve been driving for hours.”

“Of course,” I reply, and I nod in greeting to the rest of the men, and then jerk my head toward the compound. “Come on, let’s get you inside so you can rest up.”

I lead the group of bikers through the door to the lounge area, which is still flitting with life, even though it’s nearly midnight. With everything that’s been going on lately, it’s not as though any of us are much good at switching off and just getting some rest.

“We’ve cleared space in a few rooms upstairs,” I explained, gesturing in the direction where they’re going to be crashing. “There’s not a whole lot of space, so it’s four to a room for the time being, but everyone has a bed and a bathroom.”

Pocus nods. I can see the dark circles under his eyes, and I know he must be exhausted from the long journey.

“Come on, boys,” he calls to his men. “Let’s get some rest. We can strategize in the morning.”

I lead them upstairs, and, once they’re settled in, I am about to head down to my room to catch a break. It’s been one fucking hell of a day, and I know that it’s going to take a while for me to wind down from all the adrenaline and actually pass out.

My stomach growls before I reach my room, and I sigh and divert my course to the kitchen. It’s been such a stressful day, my guts have been too twisted up to eat anything, but I need to keep my energy up if I’m going to make it through all of this without losing my mind.