SWNOVELS Fall of Snow: Chapter 56
“Where is she?” Wynter looks around frantically the moment she steps out of the elevator.
I’ve been pacing up and down the hallway for the last two hours, each step I take hurts, but the pain reminds me of everything I could have lost today. I could have lost my entire reason for existing, and I deserve to feel the pain because I allowed this to happen.
I should have protected her. I should have made sure she got out when Wynter and Emerson did. But I didn’t, and I deserve every ounce of pain on this earth for that. My gunshot wound was only a graze and didn’t hit any major organs or arteries. But Snow is a whole other story entirely.
“She’s in surgery,” I tell her, not stopping my pace. If I stop, I have to deal with the fact my woman is hurt, and I can’t fix it. There’s nothing I can do for her, and I have to put her care in the hands of strangers. Well, not all strangers, I suppose.
Doc is in there with her. Originally I wanted to be the one who kept an eye on the doctors to make sure they didn’t harm her further, but when Everett suggested Doc, it made a lot more sense. He would know if they were doing something wrong, whereas the rest of us would be clueless.
“Is she okay?”
“Wyn, let’s just sit down. The doctors will come out and tell us what’s going on when they can,” Everett says softly, leading her toward a row of chairs I’m yet to sit in. The only time I managed to sit still was when we were in the ambulance, and that was only because Snow was in my arms, her warmth reminding me she was alive and that’s all I could hope for after what had just transpired at the church.
Wynter tugs her hand from Everett’s and follows me up the hallway, quickening her steps until she falls in stride beside me. “Are you okay, Elijah?”
I close my eyes and take a breath, shoving down the self-loathing and anger that threatens to tear through. “No, I am not okay. My wife is in surgery, no one has told me anything, and I don’t trust any of these motherfuckers after today.” I keep my voice even, not wanting to frighten her, because none of this is her fault.
Wynter hesitates for a moment before she reaches out and takes my hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Snow is a fighter. She’s going to pull through just fine, and then we can focus on finding out how the hell today happened.” Her other hand rests on her growing stomach, absentmindedly rubbing it. She’s changed out of her dress into a pair of yoga pants and a sweater, but her bump is becoming more prominent each time I see her.
“Thank you, Wynter,” I say quietly, holding on to her hand for a few more seconds before dropping it.
Storm paces up and down the reception counter like a caged animal at mealtime. He’s just as close to losing his shit as I am, and I’m not sure which of us is closer to snapping. I’d like to say me, but I have a feeling Storm is feeling the weight of the world right now. He’s the only thing standing between us and a full-blown war with an enemy we don’t know, an unseen presence who seems to be two steps ahead of us at every turn.
I’m in no position to be managing the fallout from the wedding, and the responsibility is falling on Storm for both of us. I’ve never regretted not appointing a second in charge as much as I do now.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I let out a growl under my breath as I reach for it. What part of uncontactable do these fucking morons not understand?
“What?” I snap.
“Boss, I’m sorry to bother—”
“What do you want, David?”
He lets out a breath on the other end of the line. “The warehouse has been raided by the cops.”
I stop dead in my tracks, my eyes meeting Storm’s on the other side of the waiting room. “Come again?”
“The Feds rocked up an hour ago and detained everyone in the building before taking all the drugs we had. They’ve cleaned us out.”
I rub my hand down my face. “The cops in this city know better than that.”
“Like I said, it was the Feds. I have the warrant and it came from DC. Whoever ordered this isn’t local.”
“Fuck.”
“I know you said not to bother you, but I thought you might need to know this.”
“Keep me updated.” I end the call without another word and take long, measured steps to where Storm has stopped to watch me. “My warehouse was just raided by the Feds.”
He doesn’t reply immediately as he considers my words, but the fury burning in his eyes is hot enough that a lesser man would take a step back. “While we were too distracted with the church fiasco…” He trails off.
“They’ll likely hit you next.”
He nods. “That does seem like the most logical next step.” His eyes dart to where Wynter is perched on Everett’s lap and sighs. “Fuck, I hate her being involved in this shit while she’s pregnant.”
The corners of my lips quirk up, but I can’t quite manage a smile. “Wynter is probably the calmest of us under pressure.”
Storm scoffs. “The most level headed, absolutely. The calmest, I’m not so sure.” He hesitates for another moment before crossing to where they’re sitting. “We have a problem.”
“You mean aside from my sister currently being on an operating table after her wedding was hijacked by a bunch of gunmen who we have no idea who they work for? Apart from that?” Wynter’s voice is even despite the slight ounce of hysteria under the surface.
Everett rubs her back soothingly, whispering something in her ear that makes her shoulders relax and she leans into him for support. “What’s going on?” he asks.
“Our warehouse has just been raided by the Feds,” I explain. “And I think they’re likely to hit you next.”
“The wedding was a decoy…” Wynter groans. “We need to figure out who the hell is coming after us, and we need to do it soon.”
“Once Snow can go home, we’ll throw everything we have at figuring it out,” Storm says, his eyes watching me closely. “I’ll call my guy at the FBI and see what he can tell me and if we can get at least some of what they seized back.”
“Thanks,” I sigh as the doors behind the reception desk swing open and all four of us turn our attention to Doc strolling out.
Unsurprisingly, he glares at me before turning on a megawatt smile for Wynter. If he wasn’t one of the only people I trusted with Snow’s health, I would put a bullet between his eyes.
“How is she?” I ask, unable to wait for him to grace us with the answer in his own time.
“She’s stable. But there were some complications.”
“What do you mean, complications?” I snap. I don’t have the time nor the patience to play games with him, and the idea that Snow will have to live with any kind of lasting effects from this has a deep ache piercing through my heart.
“The bullet damaged one of her ovaries, and it had to be removed. She also had severe blood loss which made it really touch and go for a while there.”
I suck in a breath and close my eyes to get a handle on my emotions. It’s not the time to lose my cool. Not when my Snowflake is lying in a hospital bed. “Can I see her? When can she be transported home?”
“You can see her, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to leave just yet. With the kind of blood loss she had, there can be unforeseen things that come up during recovery. It’s better she remains here for at least a day or two for observation before being transported.”
“She’s coming home today,” I growl. I don’t trust any of the doctors or nurses here. No matter how much I pay them, I can’t guarantee their loyalty. They could already be working for whoever is coming for us, and I can’t risk that.
Storm clears his throat and looks from me to Doc and back again. “Elijah, I know we don’t see eye to eye on much, but I think we should do what he says. How would you feel if you take her home and something goes wrong?”
“Then Doc can come home with us,” I say.
“Uh, I don’t think so.” He shakes his head. “I’m not the kind of doctor she would need if shit goes sideways. I would feel a lot more comfortable if she stays here.”
A growl works its way from my chest, anger raging through my veins. I can’t leave her here. Doesn’t he understand that Snow is my entire life and I won’t feel better until she’s behind the walls of my home where she’s safe?
Storm steps toward me. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but why don’t you go in and see her? You don’t want her to wake up alone.”
I close my eyes and let out a frustrated breath. He’s right. I want to be there when she opens her eyes to tell her everything is going to be okay and I will kill every motherfucker with any involvement today, because anyone who dares hurt my woman deserves to meet the devil himself.