Kelly’s screech made my ears ring. “I hate you!” she screamed. “I fucking hate you!”
She had swung the knife in my direction, but I felt nothing. Perhaps with all of the adrenaline rushing through my body, it was impossible to feel anything.
But I looked down and saw blood.
It slowly seeped through the white shirt and then in an instant, spread like a red flood.
“Cane,” Kandy croaked, clutching her lower belly. She collapsed instantly, knees dropping on the floor, and that’s when it hit me.
Kelly wasn’t trying to kill me.
She was trying to kill Kandy.
Chapter Forty-Two
CANE
Rage had blinded me.
I didn’t think, just acted, and charged Kelly, tackling her to the ground. She screamed as I snatched the knife out of her hands and tossed it aside.
“What the fuck is wrong with you!” I roared. “You stupid bitch!”
As badly as I wanted to strangle her, I shoved myself off of her, going for Kandy who lay feebly on the floor.
I rubbed her face and then grabbed one of my shirts that was on the floor, pressing it on the wound. “Kandy, baby! Stay with me, okay!”
She hardly responded. She moaned, head rolling. Her face had paled even more, her lips parting like she wanted to speak but didn’t have the strength to.
“Shit! Shit shit shit!” I snatched my phone out of my back pocket, running wet, red fingers over the screen as I dialed 911 and hit speakerphone. “Kandy, baby. It’s okay. Stay with me.”
I glared back at Kelly. “Get the fuck out of my house! Now!”
“Quinton, just let her go! We were fine before you did anything with her! She doesn’t belong with you! I do and you know it!”
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU CRAZY FUCKING BITCH!” My call had been answered but the woman on the phone was asking too many damn questions. There wasn’t any time for this. If I didn’t get her to the hospital soon, she was going to bleed out. I tucked my phone in my back pocket rapidly, picking Kandy up in my arms and storming out of the room.
On the way down, it hit me that this had happened to someone I knew. This was probably how Derek felt while trying to save one life, while another person threatened his. It was a tough situation to manage, but I refused to let what happened to the girl D couldn’t save, happen to me.
I grabbed my keys off the hook on the way to the door and went outside, putting Kandy in the passenger seat of my car. I heard Kelly talking, her footsteps quick, but I didn’t give a fuck what she was saying. I would take care of that bitch later, but for now, it was do or die and my Kandy wasn’t about to die on me.
Kelly was beating on my back as I rushed to the driver side of the car, but I couldn’t feel any of it. I shoved her away and got behind the wheel, starting the car up. The tires screeched as I pulled out of the driveway and away from my house, Kelly’s loud voice following me. Through the mirror, I saw her standing in the driveway, smiling as I left. Her smile was too complacent, like she hadn’t just attempted murder. It sent a chill over me, but I kept driving.
I knew I had one call to make. One call that would piss everyone off. I dialed a number I hadn’t used in months, and pressed the phone to my ear. After three rings, he answered.
“You’ve fucked up my life enough, Cane. What the hell are you calling me for?” Derek grumbled.
“Look, I’m not calling to argue with you. Something bad just happened.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Kelly showed up at my house and stabbed Kandy. I’m on the way to the hospital with her but she’s bleeding a lot.”
“WHAT?” he shouted. “STABBED HER? WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?”
“I’ll explain later! Just please. Get to the hospital uptown! She needs you!”
He didn’t respond. He’d hung up and I knew he was on his way.
I looked at Kandy, dropping my phone and pressing down on the wound. She groaned, lips turning a dark shade of blue.
“No, baby. Stay with me. Please. Stay with me. Fuck!” A rage I’d never felt before consumed me. I drove like a madman and didn’t give a damn if I was breaking the law.
When I finally got to the hospital, I pushed out of the car to get to Kandy’s side, took her out as she moaned, and charged into the emergency room, demanding the first nurse I saw to take her.
The nurse panicked, but she moved swiftly, calling for back up. They had me place her on a flat bed and then rushed her down a hallway. I started running with them, asking if she was going to be okay but when they got close to double silver doors, one of the male nurses told me to stay back, that I couldn’t come past that point.