Page 83 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Josiah

Josiah encountered Reed and two Inquisitus agents climbing up the staircase as he carried Alex down.

Reed quickly took in the situation. “Grant?”

“In the water. Someone should go and fish out the body – there’s no chance he survived.”

“Lytton?” Reed glanced at Alex, who was lying, passed out, in his arms.

“In a bad way – he needs medical treatment, and fast.”

“So do you. Let me help.” Reed held out his arms to take Alex, but Josiah brushed him off; Alex was his precious burden, and his alone.

“Just make sure there’s a duck outside ready to go when we get there.”

The Destiny was waiting for them when they emerged into the howling storm. She was being guarded by an Inquisitus agent and was fully intact, if a little worse for wear.

Reed jumped in, then reached up to help Alex through the roof hatch and onto the back seat.

Josiah jumped in beside Alex and wrapped his arms around him, checking his injuries.

He was freezing cold and deathly pale, and blood was seeping out of the wound on the back of his head.

He looked as if he was barely hanging on.

“We’re in one of your ducks, Alex,” Josiah told him softly, holding him close to try and warm him up. “Reed only went and bought a Destiny.”

“They’re good ducks,” Reed protested as he steered the AV away from the Shard Quarter and towards the nearest hospital, the Phoenix, on Ghost Eye.

Josiah wasn’t sure if Alex heard or understood what was being said, but then he saw the faint smile on his lips.

“Good? They’re the bloody best,” he muttered.

Josiah wouldn’t relinquish Alex until a medical team prised him out of his grasp and placed him on a stretcher at the Phoenix. He went to follow, but a firm hand grabbed his arm and pushed him onto a second stretcher.

“I’m perfectly able to walk,” he protested, but Reed just smiled at him sweetly and gestured a doctor to his side.

“He’s been hit over the head, possible concussion, and stabbed in the shoulder. He’s lost some blood, which must be why he’s making even less sense than usual.” He turned back to Josiah. “I’ll go with Lytton. I’ve called Esther and she’s on her way. She can deal with you. I’ve done my bit.”

Josiah glared at him and then sighed, his expression softening. “Thanks, Cam,” he said softly. “And I really am very sorry about your duck.”

“You should be,” Reed admonished, and then he left to find Alex.

If he was honest, Josiah was relieved to be lying on the stretcher, because now that the adrenaline had stopped flowing, his legs felt very weak and he wasn’t sure they’d hold him up.

He was even more relieved when Esther turned up, and instead of reading him the riot act, took hold of his hand and squeezed it fiercely.

“You got him, well done.”

“Sorry I didn’t wait for backup. I just wanted to get to Alex,” Josiah slurred. “I knew the Quarterlanders would never tell me where he was if I turned up mob-handed with a bunch of agents.”

“We can talk about it another time. I’ll expect a full report in due course. For now, I just want you to get better.”

He rubbed his head, suddenly aware of a dull ache that was giving him double vision, but there were other things he needed to tell her.

They were too urgent to wait. “There’s a drug cartel with a massive croc factory operating out of the top of the tallest tower in the Canary Quarter.

They’re run by a man called Duke – not his real name, obviously – but he doesn’t live in the Quarterlands.

Grant was their accountant, but he also embezzled a huge amount from Duke.

If you move in now, you can clean up that entire operation while they’re in disarray. ”

“Thank you. Reed already briefed me, and I’ve authorised agents to go in.”

“Also… I probably lost my Inquisitus-issue AV,” he mumbled, his head aching violently now.

She laughed. “I’ll give you a free pass for that, given you’ve just brought down a drug cartel and a potential killer. Not bad work for one night, even for you.” It was possible she said something else, but he didn’t hear it because his head was suddenly full of white noise, and then he passed out.

He had a concussion, but the shoulder wound wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

The leather strap of his shoulder holster had absorbed most of the impact.

They sewed him up and kept him in overnight for observation, but in the morning, he was free to go.

Sofie turned up with clean clothes, which was a relief, as his were covered in blood.

“I’m driving you home. I’ll go and sit with Alex while you get ready. Come and find me when you’re dressed,” she told him.

She’d even made a good stab at putting together a sartorially matching outfit, although her choice of jeans and a soft purple sweater over a navy-blue polo shirt made it clear he wasn’t expected in the office anytime soon.

He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, and although he had a cut on his head that had been stitched up and the makings of a fine black eye, he looked better than he’d expected.

Alex hadn’t fared as well. He had a hairline fracture of the skull, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken arm.

In time, with care, he’d make a full recovery.

But it wasn’t his physical condition that worried Josiah.

He’d already been displaying signs of poor mental health in the weeks leading up to his abduction, and now those issues were even more evident.

There was no light in his eyes. He looked spent – completely done in.

“Hey, you.” Josiah sat down next to him and took his hand.

Alex turned his head to look at him, and the movement was so slow that it was as if he was wrenching his consciousness from another plane of reality altogether. “Hey.” It was barely a whisper.

Josiah squeezed his hand gently. “So, I talked to your doctor. You’ll be in the hospital for a few days and then you can come back home with me.”

“Okay.” Alex didn’t look as if he cared where he went, or who he was with.

Josiah glanced at Sofie on the opposite side of the bed, to find her eyes dark with worry.

“Sorry,” Alex whispered.

“For what?”

“For Neil.”

“You’re not responsible for his actions.”

“Aren’t I?” Alex gazed at a spot over his shoulder.

“No,” Josiah said firmly. “Alex, what happened at the house?”

Alex ignored him for a long time. Josiah glanced at Sofie helplessly.

“Maybe it’s too soon,” she said gently.

“Alex.” Josiah squeezed his hand again. “I know Esther will want a full report, but it can wait until you feel better.”

Alex looked as if he hadn’t been listening, and then he began to speak, in a low, rasping monotone.

“When Neil broke in… I was with Sem in his room, helping him back to bed for a nap. Neil had a gun. I think he was surprised that Sem was there. He thought I was alone in the house. He waved the gun around, and I didn’t want him to hurt Sem, so I went with him.

But Sem followed us and tried to stop Neil on the stairs.

Neil hit him with his gun, and he went down.

I was so angry he’d hurt Sem that I jumped on him.

We fought over the gun, which is when he hit me on the head with it and I fell down the stairs.

That’s when my arm snapped.” He looked up at Josiah wearily.

“But you can’t tell Esther all this, because she doesn’t know about Sem. ”

“No, I’ll tell her something else,” Josiah said. “Don’t worry about it. It’s my problem, not yours.”

“Is Sem okay?” Alex looked as if he was bracing himself for more bad news.

“He’s fine,” Sofie said quickly. She glanced around but they were completely alone. “Big Jen called me last night. She got him safely out of the country. She wouldn’t say where he is, but he’s making a good recovery and being taken care of. I’m hoping to talk to him soon.”

“That’s great news – isn’t it, Alex?” Josiah glanced back to find him slumped on his pillows, his eyes dark and empty.

“He’s been through a lot,” Sofie murmured.

“I know, and not just in the past few days. This isn’t just the work of his encounter with Grant. It goes back long before that.”

“I know.” Sofie stroked Alex’s hair gently. He closed his eyes and was immediately out. “He’s spent, Josiah. He kept going for years because of Solange, and now he’s got nothing left.”

“Poor bastard.” Josiah gazed at Alex anxiously. “He keeps taking so many knocks, one after another, and he’s been living on adrenaline. I’m not surprised he’s crashed. I’m just amazed he kept going so long under such intolerable pressure.”

“He’ll recover,” she said firmly. “He’s strong.”

“I’m not so sure… after all he’s been through.” Josiah gazed down at Alex despondently, feeling helpless.

“He’ll recover because he has you,” she told him.

“I’m not sure I’m enough. I’m nobody’s idea of a shrink.” He shrugged, and his wounded shoulder sent a spike of pain through his body, making him grimace.

“You care about him. You’re probably the first person who’s truly cared about him in years.”

“I know, but I’ve been walking on eggshells around him. He’s moody, volatile, and veers between looking for a fight and wanting affection – sometimes both at the same time. I’m not sure how to handle him. I want to help, but I’m so out of my depth.”

“Don’t give up on him.”

“As if I would. That’s not who I am. When I fall in love…

” Josiah shook his head. “I’m all in. Thing is, though…

” He paused, feeling small and lost. “I don’t think he’s in love with me.

He likes me, sure, but he’s viewed me as a fantasy figure for years.

I was the one who’d come along and solve all his problems, keep him safe, arrest his enemy, and help him keep his vow to his dead friend.

I think he’s slowly waking up to the fact that I’m a real person, too, and maybe not the person he thought I was. ”