BLOODHOUNDS #3: THE MALICE

Chapter 20 - PAIN

Leila Morrow

"Will you give my job back?" I asked after telling him the whole story. He was good at keeping his poker face most of the time, which made me want to know his thoughts.

"I seriously have a problem with you." He let out a long sigh.

"Me?" I pointed at myself, "What? Why?"

"You'll get your job back next week, wildcat." I squealed and found myself getting up from the sofa to hug him. My actions took him back, but he hugged me back.

"But for the time being, you're stuck with me." He groaned in pain, and I remembered that Luke just hit him with his car. I got off his body, and he held onto his left shoulder.

"Let's go to the hospital," I suggested, and he shook his head. I grabbed my phone and called 911. Before I could put my phone to my ear, Ares grabbed it and ended the call.

"Just call Tim. He knows what to do." I ran out and called Tim, telling him about Ares' situation. Tim ran into the house to see Ares, who was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed.

"Ares," I called, and he slightly nodded.

"Mr.Young."

"Help me up. Let's go to the headquarters." Ares opened his eyes, and Tim grabbed his arm and helped him to stand up. I helped to carry him to the car. He's so heavy, and if Tim has to take him alone, Ares won't be able to make it to the car.

I sat with him behind, and Tim drove from the house.

"We should go to the hospital? Why are we going to your office?" I did not understand why this man preferred attending the office when he needed medical attention.

"We have a medical center there, Ms.Morrow." After 30-minute drive, the car stopped in front of a tall big gate. There are so many CCTVs and guards guarding the property. When the gates were opened, my jaw dropped.

It's a massive plot of land with two buildings in the middle. There's a racing track, an archery field, a big lot on the back, a helicopter pad, and a runway for small planes. The first main building was tall, and no one could look through the building. The second building was a little smaller than the first one, and people with black combat suits were going in and out of there.

"Welcome to The Bloodhounds headquarters, Ms.Morrow," Tim said, and at the lobby, there's a team of doctors and nurses waiting for Ares. When the car stopped, they opened the door and put Ares on a hospital bed.

One of the doctors put a black bracelet around his wrist, and his vitals were immediately shown on the screen for them to check. I kept following them to the lift, but Tim stopped me by putting his arm in front of me.

"He needs some rest, Ms.Morrow. The doctors will take care of him."

"Will he be okay?"

"He will." Tim smiled, "This way, miss." He led me to a waiting room where I could see the whole lobby and watch all the employees because it's made of glass.

"Please wait for a moment, and I'll be quick." Tim excused himself and immediately made a phone call. I looked around, observing people. There are so many people wearing different uniforms.

I found some people wearing scrubs, some wearing lab coats, some wearing black combat suits, some wearing suits, and some wearing safety vests with helmets. Then my eyes caught Tatiana on the second floor, and she was talking to someone. I couldn't see the person she spoke to, but she laughed and giggled.

I also saw people holding guns and snipers.

Tim went back to me, and he led me to the cafeteria where you could order food or take the food that was available already. They even have vending machines and snack bars.

"Mr.Young wanted you to eat and then wait for him in his office." He grabbed me a tray, and I ordered spaghetti and steak from the menu. I was waiting for the order on the side when I saw Tatiana with a beautiful blonde-haired woman. They were so drowned in their conversation that Tatiana didn't notice me standing a few meters behind her.

Suddenly, a man approached them, causing them to turn their heads to their back, "Ms.Morris, Mr.Nielsen is looking for you. He will take you home in 5 minutes." She took out her phone and called someone.

That's when Tatiana's eyes landed on me. She smiled and walked over, grabbing her friend too.

"Hi, Leila." She greeted me, and her friend was talking on the phone, but she gave me a small smile before continuing.

"Your Highness."

"Please don't, just call me Tatiana. I already surrendered my title."

"Okay."

"I heard about Ares. Hopefully he can recover soon. My husband wasn't happy with the man who hit him. He said he was mean, and the rest of the team were contemplating whether they wanted to kill him." As much as I hate my brother, I don't want him to get killed.

"Please don't." Those two words came out without me noticing. Tatiana and the woman beside her raised their eyebrows, hearing it.

"You know him?" Tatiana asked with so much curiosity.

"He's my brother." Tatiana's eyes widened, and the blonde one's jaw dropped. She ended the call, and my order came out. I excused myself, grabbed my food, and walked to an empty table.

"You're Luke Morrow's sister?" Tatiana and her friend joined me, "This is Luna, Clyde's girlfriend." She introduced me to her while she looked at me with questioning eyes.

"Yes."

"Did he hit Ares because you're dating him?" Luna asked.

"We're not dating, and it's just Luke doesn't like it when I hang out with a person who runs in the same world as him." I let out a long sigh.

"Butterfly." We all turned our heads to see a man walking towards us. His eyes were glued to Luna, so I assumed he was Clyde.

"I still want to hang out with Tatiana. Can you continue your work and let me stay here?" She pouted as he kissed her on her cheek.

"No."

"Why not?" She whined.

"Don't be mean, Clyde. Let her stay here." Tatiana said, causing Clyde to glare at her.

"You two can meet outside, but not here." Clyde's eyes landed on me, but he didn't even bother to greet me. He grabbed Luna's hand.

"But if we meet outside, you and Kayden will third-wheel us." Luna whined again, "We won't be able to talk freely."

"Butterfly, me and Kayden are good at pretending to be deaf. We'll be a good shadow."

"No."

"Shadow? You both commented on every sentence!" Tatiana did not have it, and I don't feel comfortable around them. I could tell Clyde didn't like me since my brother hit him.

"Let's go." Clyde pulled her away. She waved goodbye to me and Tatiana. I waved at her awkwardly, and Tatiana turned to me.

"Do you want to see Ares?"