Page 132 of Hidden

A sudden, brutal flare of pain rips through my chest, it’s white-hot, absolute, and worse than the original shot. It tears an involuntary sound out of me, which is a half shout, half broken scream, and loud enough that Mason flinches. The room vanishes, everything goes white, then black.

When the world comes back, my forehead is pressed against the desk, my breath coming in shallow, ragged pulls. Mason’s hand is locked around the back of my neck, grounding me, his voice low and urgent.

“Miles. Miles, stay with me. Look at me.”

I force my eyes open. The edges of the room are still swimming and the pain has settled into a deep, pulsing agony that makes every heartbeat feel like another bullet.

"I'm fine," I say to the desk surface. I’m not fine, but I need to find her.

"You passed out."

"I didn't pass out."

"Miles." Mason’s voice is trembling. "You passed out."

Five minutes. I lost fucking five minutes.

"How far?" Mason asks. He's looking at the address on the screen.

"Twenty minutes. Maybe less."

"You’re staying here! You’re not going!” Mason snaps at me.

"I'm not." The admission that my body has made a unilateral decision about what is and isn't possible tonight, that standing up, getting into a car, and going to a warehouse is not a thing something this version of me can execute. This sits in my chest with a weight that has nothing to do with the bullet. "You and Declan go."

"Without you."

"Hayden," I say. "Take Hayden too, I'll send you the feed," I say. "On your phone. Both cameras. If anything changes in that building, you'll see it in real time but have earpieces in so I can talk to you or Cain. I’ll watch and tell you if anything is coming up.” I hate that I’m too weak to go, but if I do, I’ll be dead before I see her.

"Okay."

“Lincoln is going too,” Cain tells them.

"Declan drives." I hold his gaze. "And Mason…"

"I know," he says.

"Come back with her."

He looks at me for a moment, then he nods once. He goes and I turn back to the screen. Sadie is still standing and she’s still upright.

The doctor says something behind me.

"I heard you," I say, it’s a lie I didn’t hear him.

"Mr. Crawford, the blood loss alone…"

"I heard you." I don't look away from the screen. "Stay in the room, if I go down again, I'll need you here."

He looks at Cain, then sits down next to me, and I look up at Cain. “If I go down, you’re on the computer…”

“I don’t know the…”

“I’m not losing her. So, listen to everything I’m about to say.” I don’t normally talk to Cain like this but I’m in fucking pain, I can’t get my girl, and I have a feeling I’m losing too much blood to be able to stay awake.

He nods and I explain everything, and he nods letting me know he hears me.

I watch Sadie. She turns her head toward something I can't see from this angle, Renee, probably.