Chapter 50: Roman Hayes

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I can't breathe. 

Maybe it's me that's dying. 

The paramedics ripped her from my grip and started tending to her but they won't tell me anything. She's bleeding a lot and I'm covered in it but nothing is processing.

Bear is talking to me, coaxing me to do something but I can't hear him. I can only feel his hand on my shoulder from my seated position on the ground. I keep staring at my hands, I can't feel them nor the blood coated on them. 

She's dying.

She's leaving me even though she promised not to.

Runner and Bear, with the help of Gears, lift me off of the ground and I'm put into the ambulance with Peyton. I reach for her hand, hoping the warmth of it will calm my heart rate down but her hand is cold like ice and my chest tightens with regret.

I should've protected her, we should've protected her.

------

After the surgery, Lucia and Matías appeared and said that Peyton will be taken into their care. They're her emergency contacts since she didn't get around to changing them and they said that they can care for her better there with private doctors and a large kingsize bed with silk sheets.

I've been sat in this golden room in their mansion for days, four or five, I think. Peyton looks almost translucent against the black sheets, tubes and IVs coming out of her with the stupid monitor that refuses to quit beeping. 

It reminds me that she's alive, if barely.

The doctors all said that they're surprised she lived, that the blade nicked the side of her heart and she should've bled out but she survived. They say it's only for now, that she may not make it through the next twenty four hours and they've said that everyday since she was moved.

It's hard seeing her like this.

My proud lioness taken down by something as stupid as a katana blade.

Lucia's doctor comes in to check her bandages and her temperature as she was sick with a fever on the first night that continued through the second day. That was the only time her skin held any warmth, she's back to ice now.

It's weird, I'll admit. Not only living in the Mexican mansion - as allowed by both leaders for Peyton's health - but watching my Old Lady breathe and waiting for her to wake up. 

Bear keeps calling Church every morning, pulling me away from her for hours, his excuse being that we need to talk about the threat Fire Demons will be the minute they hear that HR has fallen. I know that's not the reason and I'm touched that they all want to make sure I'm okay and that I'm eating but I don't want to be away from her.

I don't want her to wake up and not find me there and I definitely don't want her to die without having someone by her side. Hence why every time he calls I feel an innate urge to throw my fucking phone at a wall and today is no exception.

I do as told, gently kissing Peyton's forehead and promising her that I'll be back as soon as possible. "Look after her for me." I say to Lucia as I pass her on the way out, Lucia gives me a look that says she was gonna do that anyway. 

I quite like Lucia, she's sweet and thankfully she fought my corner since Matías really didn't want me here.

I take a deep breath and mount my bike, my entire body protesting at leaving her. This better be fucking important or I'm going to cause an issue. Knowing my luck this'll be where she wakes up without me.

It's a ten minute ride from the mansion so when I pull up everyone else has already taken their place in Church and they all greet me with cheers and shoulder claps, sliding a whiskey to me knowing that I'm pissed off to fuck that I'm even here. 

"How's Saviour?" Runner asks, unfortunately Matías would only let one of us in at once and Runner let me be that person, I know that they're best friends so I try and make sure he knows what's going on.

"No change." I reply monotonously. Talking about it is hard enough, especially without any good news.

"Well all the bank accounts have been shut down and ours are swelling. We finally managed to get the cops off of our back, we've given them all the information and the Mexicans kindly turned over their prisoners so they chose to drop the case against us. I think they may also be a little scared of what Saviour will do when she wakes up. Next issue is the Fire Demons, Slasher is fighting against us because he blames us for letting his daughter get hurt, he says that if she doesn't wake up in a week he will kill all of us." Bear explains, looking at each of us in turn. 

"She claimed us as family and he would still attack us?" Runner growls, banging the table with his fist.

"She's his daughter. It is our fault she got hurt." I mumble, throwing back my whiskey and letting it burn my throat and warm my stomach. Everyone is silent after that comment, Bear is obviously trying to find something else to talk about since his face looks awkward as shit.

"We've settled the deal with the Niners, we can now distribute guns and drugs in their area as long as we give them a cut of the cash. They'll also be buying 15% of our product from now on so as long as we don't fuck them over and they don't fuck us over, they're allies. Hopefully we'll be able to coax Fire Demons onto our side, we could do with some property on that side of town."

"We could open some strip clubs and maybe a bar?" Blade suggests and we all agree, it's good and safe money and may give us a leg up on certain figureheads if we catch them doing something stupid.

Peyton would probably say the same, I'm sure.

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