The bleeding finally stopped.
Florian's pulse was weak but steady enough for me to know that he would be okay. I wrapped the last layer of gauze around his side and dropped my hands to my lap, feeling them trembling.
He was alive now, and he would recover after a few weeks. Did that mean I could leave?
"I need a minute," I muttered, mostly to myself.
None of the three men in the warehouse with me responded. The two who had taken me and the blonde man. I guessed their silence counted as permission.
The gloves I was wearing were soaked through. My back ached. My eyes burned. I could've fallen asleep right there on the blood-stained floor. I could have if my life wasn't in danger.
Blondie, who I now knew had to be the second-in-command of whoever Florian's older brother was, nodded to the two guys, and they started lifting Florian off the makeshift table. He groaned in protest but didn't fight them.
"Get him home. Get him clean. Keep pressure on the wound," I said softly, not even looking up. It was muscle memory now. I could've been talking to a nurse.
The men disappeared with him into the night, and for a second, I thought maybe, just maybe, that was the end of it.
But I felt it.
A stare.
I looked up.
Blondie looked down at me, his curls falling over his forehead and the side of his face. His eyebrows were furrowed, and a sort of distress filled his eyes.
"What?" I asked him after a minute too long.
He shook his head, looking away. "Nothing. Just, thanks for saving Florian. Jury would've killed me if something had happened to his brother."
I'm assuming that Jury is the ungrateful man that called me an 'intern.'
"Something did happen. He was shot." I stated. "What even happened to... actually, don't tell me. I've seen and heard enough."
Blondie parted his lips to talk, but his words died when he lifted his eyes to look behind me. A shadow suddenly loomed over me, and it didn't take a genius to realize who it was. I turned my head to look back at him.
He stood a few feet away, the same unreadable glare on his face. Except now… now there was a gun in his hand.
Pointed at me.
"Get up."
My body went cold, but I forced myself to stand. My legs wobbled under me. My voice didn't.
"You're welcome, by the way." I said with the same nasty glare he was giving me.
"I hope you don't take any of this personally," he said, like that was supposed to help the situation. "Like you said, you've seen and heard too much. I can't risk letting you go."
My heart sank, tears welling in my eyes. Still, I didn't allow my glare to ease up. "I saved his life. He was dying."
"And I'm grateful," he said. "But gratitude doesn't keep a crew safe. Silence, however..".
I raised my hands slowly, just barely. Pleading. "I won't tell anyone. I swear. I don't even know where I am."
"You know who we are."
My silence was the answer.
Florian. Jury. The Mason Gang. Territory wars. Gunfire. Blood.
I knew enough.
Jury took a step closer. The barrel of the gun hovered inches from my forehead. His grip on the gun didn't tremble. Not a little bit. "It'll be a fast death. Painless."
I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I just… closed my eyes.
Then I heard a voice.
"Wait."
Blondie.
Jury didn't move. "Duke—"
"No, just… wait a second." Duke stepped forward, hands half raised like he was calming a wild animal. "Look, I know this is the usual protocol and all, but hear me out."
Jury's eyes didn't leave mine. "This better be good."
"She's a doctor."
"Exactly why she's dangerous."
"Exactly why we need her."
That made Jury pause. Duke pushed forward.
"You saw what she just did. No equipment. No backup. And she didn't flinch. She's tougher than half the guys we run with. Hell, she threatened Carter with a scalpel five minutes ago."
"I said I'd walk out," I muttered, not sure why I was helping.
Duke grinned. "See? Firecracker. Just what our organization needs."
Jury didn't smile. "This isn't a charity case."
"It's not. It's strategy. We're in the middle of a war. You want to keep running to that back-alley vet every time someone gets clipped? Or keep threatening random doctors when even that option isn't available? She's better than anyone we've got. Trained. Smart. And better yet, she's involved."
"She doesn't want to be involved."
He looked at me. "Do you?"
I swallowed. "I want to go home and forget this even happened. That's it."
"Not gonna happen," Jury said flatly, his finger gently pressing the trigger. My gut clenched. I really didn't have a choice in this matter. It was either I died tonight in this cold, dirty warehouse, or I lived and became a part of whatever criminal organization these guys started.
Become theirs. A tool. A prisoner with a fancy name.
"You're one ungrateful asshole," I snapped, my tone venomous.
Jury tilted his head, his glare easing to a bored expression. "I'm also a busy man. You have five seconds to decide your fate. Five..."
"Fine. No need to count. I'll join your stupid gang." I said, the words bitter in my mouth.
"We prefer the term organization. It's a bit more classy." Duke laughed behind me. Jury's eyes didn't leave mine.
Then, finally, he lowered the gun. Slowly. He turned to Duke.
"She steps out of line once, I end it. No second chances."
"Understood," Duke said before I could even speak. "I'll make sure she's in check."
Jury turned and walked off without another word, the tension in the room trailing after him like smoke.
My knees gave out the second he disappeared around the corner.
Duke caught me before I hit the floor.
"Easy," he muttered, sliding an arm under my shoulders and helping me sit. "Welcome to the team, doc."
I laughed. Or cried. I wasn't sure which.
"Team?" I rasped. "This is insane."
"Yeah," he agreed, fishing a water bottle out of nowhere and pressing it into my hand. "But you'll get used to it."
I looked at him, eyes heavy, breath shaky.
"How could I ever get used to something like this?"
He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"That's what we all ask ourselves in the beginning, but it settles after a while."
I closed my eyes, pressing my hand over my forehead. "My life is over."
Duke whispered so low that I almost missed it. "Maybe it's just starting."