Chapter 6 - THE MAFIA KING OPENED HIS EYES
Gunfire ripped through the hallway.
Willa dropped beside Everett’s bed.
Another burst followed.
Three shots.
A scream.
Then silence.
Sterling backed toward the steel door.
His face had turned white.
“That’s impossible.”
Whitfield tore his wrist from Everett’s grip.
“Sedate him!”
Willa shoved Whitfield away.
“Don’t touch him!”
Whitfield reached for the syringe.
Willa grabbed the stainless-steel tray and smashed it across his hand.
The syringe flew across the room.
Whitfield screamed.
“You crazy bitch!”
Sterling drew a pistol from beneath his jacket.
Willa froze.
Everett saw it.
His eyes were open now, but his body remained weak after eight months of forced sedation.
His fingers dug into the sheets.
Sterling pointed the gun directly at Willa.
“You should have signed.”
Everett tried to speak.
Nothing came out except a raw breath.
Sterling looked at him.
For eight months, Everett had heard his cousin’s voice while trapped inside his own body.
Now Sterling finally had to look into his eyes.
The change in Sterling was immediate.
His confidence vanished.
Everett did not need to speak.
The hatred in his stare said enough.
Sterling swallowed.
“You weren’t supposed to wake up.”
Everett blinked once.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Sterling raised the gun toward him.
Willa stepped between them.
“No.”
Sterling almost laughed.
“Move.”
“No.”
“He’s the reason you’re in this mess.”
“He’s the reason I finally know who put me there.”
Sterling’s finger tightened around the trigger.
The steel door exploded inward.
A man in black hit Sterling from the side.
The gun fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Willa screamed and covered Everett.
Sterling crashed against the wall.
Tomas Reyes entered behind two armed men.
His shirt was torn.
Blood covered one sleeve.
But he was smiling.
“Hello, Sterling.”
Sterling stared at him.
“Tomas.”
“You look disappointed.”
Sterling scrambled for the pistol.
Tomas kicked it away.
One of Tomas’s men grabbed Sterling and slammed him face-first onto the table.
Whitfield attempted to run.
Willa blocked the doorway.
He stopped.
“You.”
She stared at him.
Three years of anger burned behind her eyes.
Whitfield stepped backward.
“You don’t understand what you’re involved in.”
“I understand enough.”
“You think Everett is going to save you?”
Willa glanced at the bed.
“No.”
“I think I’m saving him.”
Tomas came to Everett’s side.
For the first time, the hardened man’s expression broke.
“Boss?”
Everett looked at him.
Tomas laughed once.
Then wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“You stubborn bastard.”
Everett’s mouth moved.
Tomas leaned closer.
A whisper escaped.
“Late.”
Tomas actually laughed.
“Eight months in a coma and you’re still complaining.”
Everett’s eyes shifted toward Sterling.
His expression changed.
Tomas followed his gaze.
“I know.”
Sterling struggled against the man holding him.
“This is my house!”
Everett’s voice was almost inaudible.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
Everett swallowed painfully.
“My house.”
Sterling froze.
Tomas smiled.
“That’s more like it.”
Then Everett’s eyes rolled backward.
His body went limp.
The monitor alarmed.
Willa moved instantly.
“Everett!”
She checked his airway.
His pulse was fast and irregular.
Whitfield spoke from behind her.
“He’s crashing.”
Willa ignored him.
She checked Everett’s pupils.
“Get oxygen.”
Tomas hesitated.
“Now!”
One of his men moved.
Whitfield laughed bitterly.
“You need me.”
Willa looked at him.
“No.”
“You have no idea how much medication he has in his system.”
“I know enough.”
“He could seize.”
“I know.”
“Cardiac arrest.”
“I know.”
“Respiratory failure.”
Willa turned toward him.
“I said I know.”
Whitfield smiled.
“And your nursing license?”
Willa stepped closer.
“Right now, I don’t give a damn about my license.”
She turned back to Everett.
“Get me the emergency kit.”
Tomas brought it.
Willa worked quickly.
Everett’s oxygen saturation dropped.
Eighty-eight.
Eighty-four.
Eighty-one.
“Come on, Everett.”
She adjusted his position.
“Stay with me.”
Seventy-nine.
Tomas looked at the monitor.
“Willa.”
“I see it.”
She began assisted ventilation.
Everett’s chest rose.
Again.
Again.
Whitfield watched.
He was no longer smiling.
Willa knew exactly what she was doing.
After several terrifying seconds, the oxygen reading began climbing.
Eighty-two.
Eighty-seven.
Ninety-one.
Willa exhaled.
Tomas stared at her.
“Remind me never to piss you off.”
She didn’t answer.
Everett was alive.
For now.
Sterling suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
“You think this changes anything?”
Tomas walked toward him.
“It changes quite a bit.”
Sterling looked at Everett.
“He can’t run the organization like that.”
“He can barely speak.”
“He can’t even stand.”
Tomas’s smile vanished.
Sterling continued.
“And half the city believes he’s brain-dead.”
“By sunrise, every enemy he has will know he’s awake.”
Willa’s stomach tightened.
Tomas turned toward the guards.
“Phones.”
They began collecting devices.
Sterling laughed again.
“Too late.”
Tomas approached.
“What did you do?”
Sterling looked pleased.
“I prepared for this.”
Everett stirred behind them.
Willa leaned closer.
His eyes opened slightly.
Sterling said one final sentence.
“If Everett wakes up, the order goes out automatically.”
Tomas stared at him.
“What order?”
Sterling smiled.
“To kill everyone still loyal to him.”
Tomas’s phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
May you like
Willa knew immediately.
It had already started.
