Eventually, she tires and pulls out a gun. You have got to be kidding me. I think as she deliberately shoots me in the chest, the wrong side, but it still hurts. I howl in pain. The tears flowing. They burn as they roll down my cheeks. I can’t stop them; the pain is too great to bear.
“Why?”
“You’re a message little girl. Don’t forget to tell O’Brien that I’m coming for him next,” a male voice comes out of the darkness.
“Who should I say is giving him the message?” I ask, terrified. His voice alone is chilling. I try to open my eyes, but they won’t open.
“Fidel Popov, at your service.”
“Don’t forget that one, Lori,” Elisia says, kicking me again. Over and over she does it.
“Enough, niece. Let us be done with this girl. Have Yuri take her back to you where you found her.”
“Aww, I was just getting started.”
“End it,” he says. I hear him walking away, but I can’t see anything, my eyes are swollen shut.
“You’re a lucky little bitch, you know that, Lori. A real lucky bitch,” she says hitting me again. I don’t know what part of her body she used but I start getting dizzy and then I start to go under.
When I wake up, though my eyes aren’t open, I hear Sean screaming at someone.
“Everett, hurry the fuck up. Stop staring at her and fix her,” Sean demands
“Who is this?” Everett asks.
“It-it doesn’t matter,” Sean stutters.
“Is this Danica?” Everett asks, his voice shaking. Who is Danica? I wonder. I try to speak but my voice isn’t working.
“No, she’s in Maine,” Sean says.
“What happened?” Everett asks, softly.
“It’s a long story, but she’s been shot. You have to save her.”
“Alright. Step back and let me work. I need warm water and send someone to get the towels out of my trunk.”
“Let me help,” a female voice says. Who is that? It’s so weird being able to vividly hear what’s going on around you but not be able to speak or see. Slow, sure hands begin to wipe my body down. I’m freezing. Am I naked? I don’t know what’s going on and it’s driving me crazy.
“It’s a through and through,” Everett says.
“Thank God,” Sean says. I go in and out of consciousness as he stitches me up.
“Let her rest and she’ll be just fine. I’ll check in with you a few days.”
“Okay. Thank you, cousin. It was nice to meet you River.”
“You too. Lorielle? Can you hear me?” I groan and I think I heard it out loud… so progress. “Good girl. Call me when you feel up to it. Any girl who can survive what you just did needs to be my friend,” River, whoever she is, says in my ear. I groan again, letting her know I understood her. She squeezes my hand.
“Baby?” Sean asks after I hear metal scraping the concrete. A door maybe?
“Water?” I manage to say, my lips feeling like swollen blimps.
“Sure,” he says holding a bottle to my lips. I try to drink but it ends up dribbling on me. “Let’s get you home, Lorielle.”
“Okay,” I say. Then he lifts me in the air, and I cling to him. “I love you,” I rasp.
“I love you too, baby.” He lays me down on the backseat of his car and then we are off. I drift off to sleep again, but we’re home before I know it. He moves to pick me up, but I stop him.
“I can walk, just lead the way,” I say clinging to his arm.
“I’m going to draw you a bath.” Inside his townhouse, it smells like smoke and pizza. My stomach rumbles.
“Can I get some of that pizza first?” I ask.
“Sure thing, Ma’am,” a male says.
“Lorielle is fine,” I say taking some of the pizza. I am able to get my mouth open, so I eat the pizza, standing at the kitchen counter. I feel a lot of eyes on me. “I’m not naked am I?” I ask, continuing to eat.
“Hell no. I’d have to gouge these fucker’s eyes out if you were.”
“Oh good. I know I can’t see, but who is here?”
“I’m Gavin O’Brien.”
“Cillian O’Brien.”
“Finn O’Brien.”
“Peter O’Brien.”
“Gage O’Brien.” This really is a family business; I think to myself.
“Some of my wayward cousins. And then just us,” Sean says, his arm wrapping around me. I wince in pain. “Shit, baby. I-I-I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Everything hurts, you couldn’t have known,” I say.
“I should have.”
“Nah. Now, how about that bath? Will you help me?” I ask, getting some oohs from his men.
“Get out,” he says forcefully, garnering some more laughs.
“I’ll leave some guys on the street monitoring, but we’ll see you tomorrow,” Cillian says, chuckling.
Once we are finally alone, I breathe easy.
“I have a message for you. The only reason I’m alive is that I have to give you this message.”