Page 38 of Ride or Die (The Shores #1)

CHAPTER

THIRTY-EIGHT

MEETING WILLIAMS

LAYLA

The streetlights zoom past as I stare out the window while we rush to see Colt.

It’s pissing me off that Axel won’t tell me anything yet.

The back seat is covered in blood, and the smell of copper makes me want to vomit.

I’m twisting the fabric of my shirt into small sweaty mounds as we drive.

I’m so nervous and scared to find out what happened.

“Why the fuck won’t you tell me anything, Axel?” I glare at him, but he still doesn’t respond.

“Axel!” I shriek.

“Goddamnit, Layla! I don’t know what's happening either, okay? I threw him in the back of the car and brought him here and he told me to come get you. We’re almost there, now can you fuck off?!” he yells, looking over at me with anger.

I can’t forget this is also his best friend, not just my boyfriend. He’s probably really worried about him too.

We pull up to these huge gates that lead to a mansion and my head whips over to Axel.

“What are we doing here?”

He keeps his eye on the driveway as he pulls through the massive front gates.

“This is Williams’ place. The guy we work for. He has an in-house doctor, does surgery and everything, so when shit like this happens, it’s not baited out by the hospital. It keeps us and Williams under the radar from the cops.”

“When shit like this happens? Meaning this is a regular occurrence?” I ask sharply, and Axel sighs.

“Listen, Williams is into a bunch of shit. It’s not just drivers that get hurt,” he says without divulging too much information.

I bite my cheek nervously. I’m finally going to meet this Williams fuck, and of all times, when my adrenaline is through the roof because Colt is hurt and I have no idea how badly. I hate this man for making him stay on for these jobs. This is how this happened.

Axel pulls the car up to the front of the colonial-style mansion, and we both get out. Two guards stand out front and nod at Axel as we walk past and in through the heavy wooden door.

Colt lives in a shithole, but this guy lives here?

Our footsteps echo around us as we enter the huge foyer.

The staircase in front of us splits mid-way up to different wings upstairs.

The home is dimly lit and sectioned off room by room.

From here, we see the dining room to our left and the living room to the right.

It's eerily quiet in this massive house.

A man in a gray suit bounces his way down the stairs. When he reaches the bottom step, he puts his arms out with a huge smile on his face. His carefree demeanor infuriates me.

“Axel! Welcome!” He’s a muscular man, his fitted suit accentuating it. He has graying salt-and-pepper hair, but he is attractive for his age.

“Hey, Williams,” Ax replies, his voice monotone.

“And you must be Layla. Welcome to my home.” His brown eyes twinkle when he looks at me. Asshole thinks I’m just another bimbo.

“Where is he?” I ask curtly. Axel turns his head and glares at me, and the smile drops from Williams’ face.

“She’s feisty, eh?" He looks at Axel, then focuses back on me with narrowed eyes. "But please remember, pretty girl, you’re in my home. Be respectful.” He says the last part through gritted teeth.

“Pardon my curtness, but my man is injured and I have no idea how badly, and he’s here, not in a hospital.

I’ve been through a lot of fucking shit in the last four months.

You coming down here with a smile on your face, exchanging pleasantries after my partner has had an accident, isn’t exactly respectful either, Mr. Williams,” I say firmly.

“I'm done fucking around, I need to see him, I need to know what happened.”

“Your man is better here than any hospital, Miss White. But I must admit, I like how you don’t take my shit.” He grins. “I’ll lead you to him.” He eyes me up and down suspiciously the entire time.

Williams is a powerful man who could take me out if he wanted to, but frankly, right now, I couldn’t give two shits.

He leads us up the stairs and to the right wing. We walk all the way down to the last door on the left. He stops in front of the door but doesn’t open it, instead he turns to face us.

“Colton was shot in the abdomen before he crashed the car. He's lucky. It missed all his major organs and the doctor was able to get the bullet out fully intact. I held onto it for you.” He winks at me and it fuels my insides with rage, but I refrain from losing my shit.

“He lost a lot of blood, so the doctor did a blood transfusion and had to stitch a few superficial wounds elsewhere.

His arm and leg were both broken, so he reset them and put them into casts, and he has a mild concussion.

He's pretty banged up, it's quite the sight, so be prepared. He’s unconscious from the surgery, now we just have to wait for him to wake up.”

“So he just stays here for days until he wakes up? Where do we go? Who cares for him?” I ask.

“We will keep him here until my in-house doctor releases him. The room is large enough for you to stay with him, there’s everything you need in the closets.

I’ll let the staff know you’re here. They will bring anything you need, just call.

I don’t imagine you will go much further than by his side.

Correct?” He raises an eyebrow at me. Basically asking if I intend to snoop at all, and I have no care to.

I just want Colt to wake up and get us the fuck out of here.

“Don't worry, I won't snoop. I want to be there when he wakes up. Can someone go to his house and get my laptop and chargers please? Maybe some clothes for him?” Williams nods and turns the door handle, pushing the door open.

“I can arrange that. Expect to be here for a few days, maybe a week as per the doctor.”

The room is dark when I walk in, except for the lights and monitors surrounding the bed. I move slowly, taking deep breaths, trying to take everything in and not freak out.

I approach the bedside, gasping when I look at him. My poor Colton, in bed with his casts, bruises and cuts on his face, bandages and wounds in various spots on his body. An IV is hooked up to his arm, he’s wearing an oxygen mask, and he is on a heart monitor as well.

Tears fill my eyes and I cover my mouth, unable to stop the sob that escapes me. Axel wraps an arm around me as my shoulders slump forward.

“He...he’s fine though. Right?” I ask, my voice cracking. I look at Williams beside me, and he nods while looking at him.

He turns to me and scans my face. “Yeah, yeah, he’s fine.

Don’t worry, Layla, I only pay for the best staff.

We are monitoring him, as you can see. The doctor will be back every couple hours to check on him.

Like I said, he’s pretty doped up and he will sleep through the night.

I'll send someone to get your stuff now. Just call the staff if you need anything else. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it,” he says, then turns and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I pull up a chair beside Colt. I look him over again, taking in his injuries, assessing the care I’m going to have to give him. I brush the hair out of his eyes and cup his cheek.

“Oh, Colt. I’m here babe. Just get better for me, okay?

” My voice breaks and tears spill out of my eyes.

I take his good hand in mine and kiss it.

He was lucky. It could have been much worse, but seeing him like this is still hard.

The gunshot wound on the left side of his abdomen is covered with a bandage, his left leg and right arm in casts.

Axel goes up beside him and squeezes his shoulder. “He’ll be fine. He just needs a day or two on these heavy sedatives. Colt’s a tough motherfucker.” He smirks at his friend. I look up at him, needing to know how we got here.

“Ax...tell me. What happened?” He sighs and rubs his hands down his face.

He pulls up another chair and sits beside me, looking at Colt as he speaks.

“A Ferrari was just imported for some rich fuck in the city. He had it custom made, one of a kind. Everything was going to plan. But Williams and Franky are into some shit, and the car was targeted by their enemies as well. Guess they caught onto what we were doing and interrupted the robbery. Shit hit the fan, high-speed chase down the highway, and I was too far behind in the shitty Corolla. By the time I pulled up to Colt in the crashed car, they were all gone. I just got him the fuck out of there and brought him here. It looks like they shot up the car and he lost control and rolled the fucking thing. I got him out before anyone else showed up. He was awake when I brought him here.”

I sit back in my seat and picture it all unfolding.

He must have been terrified when they were shooting at him.

The thought of a car rolling with Colt inside it makes me feel nauseated.

He could have been killed. The fact he walked away with just these injuries is a miracle.

I begin to sob again, imagining what he must have been going through.

Axel grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m sorry Layla. I should have done more.”

I shake my head. “That’s not on you, Ax. You two are doing your job and are getting tied up in their shit!” I point at the door, yelling.

“Don’t do that, Layla. Neither of us should,” he warns. “He’s fine. He’s going to be okay, and then none of this will have mattered.”

I laugh bitterly and shake my head, annoyed. “You’re right. Be positive about everything, right? He could have died tonight, you both could have Axel, get your head out of your ass and start making plans. This is not the life you want, is it?” I look at him, tears still falling from my eyes.

He nods and goes to stand up.

“I gotta get back to Daya. I’ll be back tomorrow, okay? Call me if you need anything,” he says, ignoring my comment. Just like Colt said, he chose this life. He doesn't give a shit about the risks as long as he's getting paid.

But it's not my life, not my problem.

“Thanks for bringing me here, Ax.” I stand and give him a hug, then he heads to the door. After it closes, I stand there, unsure what to do.

The room is silent except for the light beep of the heart monitor, so I take off my shoes and find the remote for the TV.

I slip into the king-size bed under the sheets and snuggle up close to Colt on his good side, if you can call it that.

His right arm is broken, but there’s no gunshot wound on this side.

I turn on the TV and throw on our favorite show. The Big Bang Theory.

Laying beside him, I can feel his breathing, and it soothes me. I wrap my hand around his pinky finger in an attempt to hold him. “Good night, Colt. I love you.” I whisper and lay here waiting for the sleep that will never come.