Behind the Tears (Behind the Lives) (13 page)

She leaned against his shoulder. “Why won’t they tell us anything? It’s been almost an hour now; I can’t take it anymore.”

“How ’bout I ask the nurse at the counter, while you try gettin’ a hold of Sledge again.”

“Sure,” she sniffled, pulling away from him.

Dante headed for the nurses’ station. Halfway across the waiting room, his phone went off. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket, glanced at the name, then clicked it on. “Beth—”

“I’m so sorry, Dante, I didn’t mean to tell Ash. Are you okay?”

“No, Ash collapsed.”

“What?! Is he alright?”

“I’m not sure, the doctors won’t tell me.”

“Where are you?”

“At Middleton hospital with Juliet.”

“Why did he collapse?”

“Sumpthin’ ’bout Len Jones hitting his head.”

“Oh God.” She started crying.

Dante looked down at his feet. “Ash is strong, he’ll be fine.”

“I’m coming now.” She hung up.

Dante opened up his contacts list, then hit Tiana’s number. When she answered, he rattled off what he’d told Beth, getting the same startled response and an affirmation that she was coming. He hung up, then went to the nurses’ station. He rapped on the countertop, attracting the attention of the young nurse talking on the phone.

She covered the receiver, “No, I have not heard anything about your brother,” she said in a clipped manner. She was dressed in the nurses’ lilac uniform with her brown hair pulled back into a tight bun and one hell of a big nose, reminding him of his cousin Nadija. At first she’d been happy to answer his questions, but after a while she’d become abrupt, probably since both himself and Juliet had been pestering her every five minutes.

“Can’t you check again?” he said. “It’s been almost an hour since my bro arrived, they must know sumpthin’ by now.”

“
Sir
, I can’t keep checking constantly, and I’ve already told you, I’ll let you know when information comes through. Now, please take a seat.”

A sound caught Dante’s attention. His focus shifted to the corridor on his right. Halfway down it, the doctor he’d spoken to on arrival was following a male nurse, the latter pushing a gurney.

“No probs, I’ll leave you be,” Dante said to the nurse.

“Good. Thank you,” she said, sounding both exasperated and relieved at the same time. She resumed her conversation on the phone.

Dante gave her a sideway glance, then started walking down the corridor fast, following where the doctor had gone. He didn’t know whether he was allowed down there, as there had been a policeman standing at the entrance a few minutes ago, but stuff it, if the nurse wouldn’t help him, he’d find out himself.

The doctor disappeared round the corner. Dante ran to catch up, his boots echoing down the corridor. He turned right, covered the length of the passage, then pushed through a set of double-doors, coming to a sudden halt on the other side. Seated next to a doorway, a hulk of a policeman with a large beer gut looked up from the book he’d been reading. Seeing Dante, he jumped to his feet, dumping the book in a second.

“How’d you get past my partner?” the cop said, his hand going to his baton.

“There wuz no one there.”

The cop swore. “Bloody useless rookie, I’ve told him enough times not to walk away. Still, you’re not allowed down here, so go back.”

“I’m just tryna find out ’bout my brother. The doc looking after him went this way.”

“Go ask at the nurses’ station.”

A loud voice hollered from the room the officer was guarding. “Copper!”

The cop made a grunting sound. “Why do I always get the shit jobs?”

The person yelled louder, “Tell me about my stepson!
Please
... I needa know, it’s driving me insane!”

“I told ja, I’d tell ya when I know something, so stop asking!” The cop frowned at Dante. “What are you waiting for? Go!”

Dante remained still, that voice sounded like... His eyes widened. Shit! The prisoners from the riot were at Middleton. He went to look inside the room.

The cop stepped in front of him. “I won’t ask you again. Leave. Now!”

“Who’s in there?” Dante asked.

“You deaf? Move it or I’ll make you.”

“It sounds like someone I know—”

“Who’s there?” the person called out.

Dante sucked in a breath, not believing his ears. It sounded like his stepfather. The cop grabbed Dante’s arm as he went to enter the room. Dante shook him off and stormed inside, then came to a sudden halt, the person in the bed not who he had expected. A muscular man in his late thirties lay on the mattress with a blanket up to his chest, his pale blue eyes just as surprised as Dante. Both wrists were cuffed to the bed’s railing and a bandage was wrapped around his head, his sandy-coloured hair poking out the top. “You’re a Rata,” the prisoner said.

Dante thought the man looked familiar, but he couldn’t pinpoint why or where he’d seen him. Before he could ask who the prisoner was, his arms were yanked behind his back. Dante pulled free from the cop and spun around. A fine mist hit him in the face. He wiped at it, then hollered in pain as a burning sensation set in, attacking his eyes and wounds. The cop pushed him into the neighbouring bed and yanked his arms behind his back again. A coughing spasm hit Dante as handcuffs were clamped on.

“I can’t brea...” he spluttered.

“What the hell didja do that for?” the prisoner yelled. “He’s my nephew!”

Nephew?
Dante was turned around.

“Have you taken drugs?” the cop asked.

There was no way he would admit that to a blue boy, plus he could barely breathe, let alone speak—or see.

“Does your nephew take drugs?” the cop asked the prisoner.

“How the fuck would I know? Stop talking, and help him.”

A buzzer went off, then seconds later footsteps ran into the room. “What happened?” a female voice asked.

“Pepper-spray,” the cop said. “He appears to be struggling to breathe. I’ve seen this happen with a stoner.”

Dante felt hands all over him, directing him to lie down on an empty mattress. Something damp wiped at his face, the person being gentle, then an oxygen mask was placed over his mouth.

“Is he alright?” the prisoner asked.

Dante didn’t understand the concern in the man’s voice. He didn’t know him, and he had no idea why the guy thought he was his nephew.

“Get a gurney and take him to another room,” the cop said.

“Is he dangerous?” the female asked.

“Not in this condition.”

“Well, I’m not going alone with him,” she replied. “He looks like a gang-member.”

“I can’t come, I have to guard the prisoner,” the cop said.

Still in pain and disorientated, Dante struggled to sit up.

The cop pushed him back down and undid one of the cuffs. Metal clanged against metal. Dante lifted his hand, finding it attached to the bed’s railing. He let it fall, all fight gone out of him as his other wrist was cuffed to the other side.

“He can stay here until I can get another officer to escort him out,” the cop said.

“He’ll need help to get home,” the nurse said.

The cop dug into Dante’s pockets, probably looking for his phone or wallet. He stopped at the sound of a static voice. “Hold on.” The cop started talking to someone else. “Jesus, Mary, Mother of God, you can’t be serious? No, no, just gimme their details.”

“What’s wrong?” the nurse asked.

“Two prisoners have escaped.”

11

Sledge

Sledge walked out of the elevator and headed into the hospital waiting area. He spotted his sister in the far corner talking to Beth. He was still pissed off to the max with her, and was aching to know why she’d hurt Corey, but now was definitely not the right time to get on her case. After Ash was out of danger, and once they were home, he would corner her and make her spill everything.

Both Beth and Juliet stopped talking as he neared. Juliet got up from her seat and crossed to the opposite side of the room. She picked up a magazine from the table, using it to shield her face as she sat down. Sledge glared at her for a moment, then turned his attention to Beth.

“Is Ash gonna be alright?” Though fuck knows why he cared so much for the bastard.

Beth looked like she’d been crying. “The doc said he’s woken up. They just wanna check him over before they let us in. Apparently, he had a concussion and should’ve gotten it checked out earlier, sumpthin’ to do with Len Jones.”

Sledge ran a hand over his head, admittedly relieved, but also furious at the mention of the Joneses. “That bloody family. I should go over there and take care of—”

“No, Sledge, keep away from them, they’re dangerous. Ash needs to report the attack, so the police can deal with the lowlife, not you.”

Sledge bared his teeth. “No fuckin’ way I’m gonna let this slide. The police did shit the last time.” His voice lowered to a whisper, “They’re more interested in locking up my bros than helping them.”

“But you’ll get yourself and Dante hurt...”

Not interested in Beth’s opinions, Sledge scanned the waiting room, wondering where Dante was. Next to Juliet, a middle-aged woman was talking on a phone while on the other side a teenage boy played on a games console. Across from them, an elderly man was mumbling to himself, a young mother was trying to stop her toddler from screaming and an extremely skinny, pale teenage girl was reading a magazine.

Recognising Stella, his drunken mistake and Corey’s bugbear, Sledge grabbed Beth’s arm and tugged her around the corner. “Where’s Dante?” he asked, letting Beth go.

“I dunno. He wuzn’t here when I arrived and he’s not answering his phone. Juliet said he went to talk to the nurse at the counter ’bout fifteen minutes ago, but he hasn’t returned.”

Sledge pulled out his phone and hit Dante’s number, the call going straight to Dante’s message system. He turned it off and re-pocketed the phone, then stiffened as two policemen ran towards him. He relaxed as they headed past, disappearing into the adjoining corridor. A second later the nurse from the counter came out from behind her desk.

“Can I please have your attention!” she called out.

Everyone in the waiting room stopped talking and focused on her.

The woman continued, “I’m sorry, but you will all have to evacuate this area. If your situation isn’t urgent, I would like to ask you to come back another day, otherwise please proceed down to floor one and tell the nurses which area you have come from. They have been informed about the situation.”

People got up to leave, half of them grumbling. Sledge bobbed down behind Beth, willing Stella to walk past without noticing him. He didn’t dislike her—far from it, but he’d promised Corey he wouldn’t go near her again, plus Stella wasn’t an easy person to shake off, and he had more important things to deal with right now. The girl continued down the corridor, looking like she was going to puke at any moment. Once she was gone, Sledge straightened.

“What wuz that about, Sledge?” Beth asked.

“A drunken mistake,”
and a bloody great root.
God, Corey was an accomplished cock-blocker. Sledge didn’t have enough fingers to count how many times his mate had ruined his chances of a root. Sometimes he wondered whether Corey did it on purpose, because whenever he had a chick coming onto him Corey would make some stupid joke about STDs or something else just as bad.

Putting Corey to the back of his mind, Sledge headed for the nurse. He stopped in front of the thirty-something woman. She had brown hair tied in a tight bun and a large nose. “Why’re the pigs...” Sledge corrected himself. “Why are the cops here?”

“Sir, you need to leave now.”

“No, my brother’s here, so I’m not budging until you tell me what’s happened.”

“Patients are not at risk, we have the situation under control, but to make things easier and safer for all concerned, we need to have all non-admitted people leave this area immediately.”

“What situation?”

“Sir, I cannot tell you that.”

Two more police officers ran past.

Beth hit his arm. “The news said there were prisoners admitted here, sumpthin’ to do with a prison riot.”

Sledge’s brows pulled together. “You have prisoners here?” he asked the nurse.

Worry clouded the woman’s face. “Yes, which is why you need to leave now.”

“Did one of them escape?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Didja see any of them?” he asked, concerned about the mention of a riot. He hoped Tama was alright. When she didn’t answer, he continued, “C’mon, you might as well tell me cos I know they’re here now, and I won’t stop bugging you until you do.”

The nurse glanced around before looking back at them. She appeared both excited and scared at the same time, making her appear younger than what Sledge had originally thought. “I only saw two of them. They looked like brothers. The older one had two teardrop tattoos like that American rapper as well as a huge scar down his face. They moved him, because the prisoners wouldn’t stop yelling at each other.”