Bleeding Edge: Elliot Security (Elliot Security Series Book 2) by Evie Mitchell (short story to read .txt) 📗

* * *

Emmie

Dreams interspersed with memories came like whispers of smoke, small scenes brushing across my mind before disappearing back into the black.

“Rise daughter of God.” A hand pressed to my head, heavy and warm. “You shall be set apart from your sisters. You are blessed.” The memory faded.

An eyeless doll chased me down a hallway, calling my name. I opened a door, stepping inside, plunging into darkness.

I sat in a chair, a computer screen in front of me. The text cursor blinked awaiting my input. I tried to lift my hands, but they were weighted down. I struggled against the heaviness pulling at my arms, my shoulders aching as I strained. A familiar voice spoke from behind me, taunting, the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention. His breath brushed the shell of my ear, fear shivering down my spine.

“You killed him.”

“No.”

Black pulled me under.

* * *

Luc

True to form, Elliot Securities had turned out in full force. Colleagues and friends spilled out of the hospital waiting room, all anxious for news.

When Pax and I took over Elliot Securities, we wanted to create an environment where the people who worked for us were loyal because they felt valued and appreciated. Ross, Pax’s father, had started that legacy. This show of force for Emmie proved we were maintaining it.

I alternated between pacing, sitting, or leaning against the wall beside Jarrett.

“This is fucking hard,” Jarrett murmured, eyes on the clock.

I rubbed a hand over my face. “Waiting always is.”

“You did this with Paxton, yeah?”

I offered one quick nod of affirmation, ignoring the memories the question stirred up.

A doctor entered the room, distracting me from my morbid thoughts.

“Mr Falco?”

I stepped forward with a nod. “She okay?”

“If you could follow me?” The doctor gestured outside the room.

Fuck that.

I crossed my arms, planting my feet, head shaking. “We’re all here for Emmie. Is she okay?” The doctor hesitated. I rumbled out a growl. “Hurry the fuck up, man. Is she okay?”

“Yes.”

Thank Christ.

“But she’s still in a serious condition. She’s lost a lot of blood. There was extensive internal bleeding, but we’ve managed to stop that. I’m afraid both bullets tore roughly through her. It took us quite a while to repair the muscles and remove all the debris. The wound to her side fractured part of her ilium and resulted in a damage to her femoral shaft.”

“English?”

“Her hip bone has been injured quite severely. Our priority was wound treatment, minimising blood loss and stabilisation of the fracture. As a result, we’ve externally pinned the hip at this stage, but will need to move to an internal solution once Ms Franklin is stabilised. We’ve examined Ms Franklin, and she doesn’t appear to have suffered any bowel injuries, which”− the surgeon shook his head− “frankly is a miracle. She’ll be in ICU for another few hours, perhaps another day, before we move her to a ward for further recovery.” He looked around the room.

“I do warn you, it’s not pretty. Her wounds are extensive and will take a long time to heal. There is also the risk of lead toxicity from the bullet itself, as well as infections.”

“Can I see her?”

The surgeon nodded. “She’s sleeping now, but you can come in and sit with her. You’ll have to wear some scrubs. I can get a nurse to show you to her.” He paused and glanced at the other people in the room.

“You can peek through the ICU windows if you want. I’d prefer to keep visitors to an absolute minimum at the moment. Ms Franklin needs her rest.”

I followed him out, brain racing. “You said more surgery?”

“We’ve put external pins in place to brace the fracture while we worked on the bleeding. We’ll reassess in the next two days. Recovery will be four to twelve weeks. She’ll be able to walk but will need to keep weight off her hips while the ilium repairs. The ilium will be fine, it’s the femur that we’ll need to keep an eye on”

He opened a set of double doors, leading me down another hallway.

“That’s your thigh bone?”

“Yes. The bullet went up, tearing muscles. It hit the bone fracturing the shaft. It’s why the surgery took so long. There was haemorrhaging into the abdomen.”

I blew out a breath. He stopped in front a door, turning to look at me. “It’s only a hairline fracture and the damage should take about the same time to heal, but we’ll need to keep an eye on her to ensure the wound remains stabilised.”

He pulled the door open. “My nurses are inside. They’ll show you what you need to do.”

I held out a hand. “Thanks, doctor.”

He shook it, nodding. “I’ll refer her to a specialist tomorrow. They’ll take over.”

“Appreciate it.”

I walked through the door, changing into the scrubs the nurses handed me. They led me through a room, settling me in a chair beside Emmie’s bed. The nurse patted me on the shoulder. “She’ll be asleep for quite a while. We keep them sedated. Don’t worry. It’s just to keep her as pain-free and comfortable as possible.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Gotcha.”

She checked Emmie’s vitals, then drifted away.

I watched Emmie’s chest rise and fall with each breath, falling into rhythm with her. Her cheeks were pale, her body limp on the bed. I ran through what I knew of this woman and came to a decision.

“Just FYI,” I whispered, leaning close to her, my pinkie grazing the top of her hand. “You’re in big trouble, missy.” I watched her chest rise again.

“Don’t worry. I got your back. But when you wake up?” I shook my head. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

Chapter Four

Luc

Hospitals always felt like death. Cold, sterile, and entirely devoid of comforting smells like grass, sunshine, or decent food. I’d been in too many hospitals in the last ten years to not immediately think of death when I walked through those doors.

The emergency