by C. M. Allen
Pushing her away from me so I can see her face I tell her. "And you're never going to have to."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Of course__," before I can finish my sentence the sound of glass shattering rips through my ears as I instinctively pull Presley into me and drop to the floor covering her body with mine. After a few seconds go by that seems to feel longer, the crashing sounds of glass and bullets finally stop. Looking up and around the lobby I can see a few people have been hit by the gunshots that were fired through the windows.
Moments later shouting ensues as Larson and some of the other Agents rush into the room. "Hudson!"
"Over here!" I call out as I look down to see a motionless Presley lying underneath me, "Presley," I whisper in her ear trying to wake her up; thinking I must have fallen on her too hard and knocked her out. Reaching around her back to prop her up I feel a warm wetness on my hand that's coating her back side, and it causes dread to swell up inside of my heart. Pulling my hand away from her to look at it, I find that it's covered in her blood, "help! Larson, she's been shot! Presley's been shot!"
Rushing over to my side as I take her pulse; I can feel it, but it's weak. "Is she alive?"
"Yes but we need to get her to the hospital now." I tell him scooping her up in my arms. "You have a car right?"
"Yes, let's go." After shouting some instructions to another Agent, we both head out the doors to his vehicle. Placing Presley in the back seat, I crawl in beside her as Larson shuts the door behind me and runs around to the driver's side getting in and racing away. As we maneuver in and out of traffic all I can do is keep checking her pulse, and pray. "The hospital is five miles away, how's she doing?" Larson asks.
"Her pulse is very weak, just hurry, please hurry, I can't lose her man." I say leaning down to kiss her head and smell her. "Just hold on baby, don't you leave me now you hear me Presley, you fight, fight for me."
Finally reaching the hospital we pull up to ER and place her on an awaiting gurney; thanks to Larson's call alerting them that we were in route. As they wheel her away I keep a hold of her hand walking beside her. "I'm right here Presley, I need you to come back to me baby, please come back to me."
Arriving at a large set of doors the nurse stops me. "Sir, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to wait here."
Not wanting to leave her side I reluctantly let her go as they push her through the doors. "I love you baby!" Are the last words I tell her before the doors shut her in and my legs give out beneath me, bringing me crashing down onto my knees, "she can't die, not her.” I say gripping my hair and hunching over not knowing what to do about the feeling of someone ripping my heart right out of my chest.
Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I look up to find Larson standing over me. "Come on, let me help you up so we can take a seat in the waiting room till we hear something from her Doctor."
Getting up and walking to the seat I hear my phone go off.
"Drake.” I answer in a snap tone, not in the mood for life at this point.
"Hudson, it's Brice, what hospital are you at?"
"We're at the Methodist in the Hollywood park area."
"The guys and I are on our way, she's going to make it brother, believe in that."
"I'm trying Brice, I really am." "We'll see you soon."
After hanging up with Brice a few minutes later, a Doctor enters the room startling me to a standing position. "Mr. Drake? I'm Doctor Stevens."
Reaching out to shake his hand I answer. "Yes, how is she?"
Sitting us both back down he explains. "She's being prepped for surgery right now, the bullet that went in through her back tore through her left lung and lodged under her rib cage, I won't really know the extent of the damage that has been done until I operate, but I just wanted to come out here before and let you know where we stand at this point. I'm going to do everything in my power to save her life Mr. Drake, and I will personally come and talk to you and let you know how the surgery went when it's over, okay?"
Nodding my head I tell him. "Yes, thank you for letting me know." As he gets up to leave the room I tell him. "I can't lose her Doc."
Looking back at me he says. "I'll do my best." At his final words he disappears down the hallway.
CHAPTER FIFTY PRESLEY
when I hear the sounds of glass shattering all around us, I almost immediately feel the pain that burns a hole in my back before Hudson pulls me down to the floor shielding my body with his. Then all I hear are screams and voices all around me calling out for help, before I hear the loudest voice of all shout, "she's been shot! Presley's been shot!" And I know it's Hudson's voice I'm hearing. Shot? Oh God, I was shot? But how can I hear him if I'm dead? Not able to open my eyes or move I can feel Hudson's touch against my skin as he cradles me, begging me not to leave him. And hearing the worry in his voice when it cracks, I want nothing more than to open my eyes and reach out to tell him that I'm not going to leave him. Feeling the warmth of his hand holding on to mine, it suddenly grows cold as I hear him yell that he loves me, my body feeling so heavy doesn't allow me to move or tell him just how much I love him too.
Flashes of moments and events in my life dance through my mind in an out of order shuffle, and then I see her standing before me, smiling at me, my mother.
As I just stare at her she begins to move gracefully and seamlessly closer to me before she speaks. "Hello Presley." Not knowing what's going on and if I'm alive or dead I just sit there not saying anything, afraid to ask the question of my own mortality. "My dear baby girl I've missed you so much."
Stunned into silence by her appearance, I finally ask her the question that's haunted me my whole life. "Why? Why did you leave me?"
A look of sadness takes over her face. "I got lost, I know it's not the explanation you're looking for, but it's the only one I have."
"You destroyed me, you destroyed our family." I tell her as her image begins to fade and voices of people talking all around me invade my mind yelling, "we've got her back."
As the voices grow quiet again, a memory of my dad talking to me pushes its way forward. "Now you be sure to mind Carmelita while I'm away, okay baby girl?"
"Yes Daddy.” I hear my child self say as I watch him get into a car and drive away.
"Come on little one, let's go inside and eat some cookies."
Looking around I can see I'm back inside Pablo's house and it sends a spike of fear through me, but I go knowing, somehow that I'm safe here right now. When we enter the house I hear what sounds like a muffled cry come from a cellar door that a large scary man walks out of before he shuts the it behind him, locking it. "There's someone crying down there." I tell Carmelita pointing at the room as she pulls me towards the kitchen.
"Don't you worry about that little one, you didn't hear anything, now let's get those cookies." She says with a terrified look on her face as we continue to the kitchen.
After I've eaten she takes me upstairs for a nap. Closing the door behind her when she leaves the room, I lay there for a few moments before my eyes finally begin to slide shut just as another scream breaks out startling me awake again. Hearing the handle on my door move only moments later, I become scared and hide my head under my pillow pretending to be asleep until I hear it click shut again.
Getting up I move over to the window to look if I can see anything when suddenly I see Pablo and my father walk by. Not able to hear them I just watch them as they seem to be arguing with one another over something, then I see three women being dragged from the house and shoved into the back of a van that has three letters on the side of it, 'ELK'. as the memory fades away the voices I can hear now all around me get louder making it hard to understand what they are saying as they are spoken so fast and by so many
at once.
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE HUDSON
After the Doctor leaves I sit back down, but only for a second before I'm up pacing the room like a caged wild animal that's been injured. "She can't die, not now, so many plans, I made s
o many plans for the future." I chant to myself. Noticing Larson staring at me I stop, needing to busy my mind with something else. "Did you have time to find anything out about the information that Presley gave you?"
"Actually yes I did get a hit on it, but I'm waiting to hear back from my contact in Mexico. He told me that he's going to look into where he believes the location of the mule ranch Presley was speaking of is, but says unless we get everyone in the raid it won't end Pablo's trafficking operation."
"What do you mean? If we go in there and shut Pablo's operation down then we're cutting the monster off at the head."
"Not necessarily, we need all the parties involved, we need Pablo, his men as well as the ones who help him transport these women. Even if we shut down his current operation, unless we find out who’s moving these women for him we won't stop it, it will just pop up somewhere else, and then the women that are stuck in transport still die."
Knowing what he's telling me is true I ask. "How long does he think it will take to track down who transports the women?"
"It depends, we don't know when the next shipment is, so unless we find out who it is or when the next shipment is coming in we're dead in the water until we do, if we go in now guns a blazing, as much as it kills me to leave those women there, we won't end this."
"Fuck, there has to be some way to find this shit out."
"I'm working on it, my contact has men in route to stake out the location of the building we believe he's using to operate out of, so now we wait."
Feeling frustrated that we know where these victims are but can't do anything about it, just compiles on top of Presley's life that hangs in the balance, my mind begins to wrap inside of itself as I plan out just what I'm going to do to anyone and everyone that had anything to do with her being here today; if God forbid she doesn't make it. And it's bloody, very bloody. My dark thoughts are interrupted as I see Brice, Porter and Carter roll through the door. "How are you holding up?" Porter asks pulling me in for a quick hug.
"I'm still standing at this point, so I guess I'm okay."
"Have you heard anything from the Doctor yet?" Brice asks as he grips my shoulder.
"The bullet that entered her back tore through her lung and lodged into her ribs, he said that he wouldn't know the extent of the damage until he operated."
"She's a tough woman Hudson she's going to pull through this." Carter says patting me on my back. "Have we heard anything about catching the fucking bastards that did this to her yet?” He asks looking to Larson.
"We are tapping into every camera in the vicinity of the hotel to see if we can get a look at their identity, but I think we all already know who's behind this."
The hours seem to drag by as we wait to hear if she's going to pull through, or if my life is going end right here with hers today. We found out that Larson's men were able to pull up the images of the individuals responsible for the shooting at the hotel, but as to no surprise they were wearing masks and in a car with no plates on it. Finally three hours later the Doctor enters the room clearing his voice to get our attention. Eating up the distance in the room with a few quick strides I try to read his face. "How is she? Is she alive?"
"Here let's have a seat." He says pulling me away from everyone else, and worrying me that he's about to deliver news so devastating that I need to be sitting in order to hear it. After a few beats of silence he says. "When I opened her up to get a look at the damage the bullet had caused it was pretty extensive, but I was able to get the bleeding under control and repair the damage to her lung. She's a fighter Mr. Drake, we lost her on the table a couple of times, but she fought her way back." Hearing that Presley actually died two times before coming back to me makes me so thankful for this man who sits in front of me that brought her back to me. But then he tells me the part that he's sat me down for. "I'm sorry though I was not able to save the baby."
Only able to blink at his words and not comprehend them, I finally ask, "baby?"
"Yes I'm sorry, it looks like she was only about a week if that along, the trauma her body suffered caused her to miscarry. I'm guessing neither of you knew she was pregnant?"
Shaking my head I tell him, "no, no I didn't."
"Well given that it was such a short amount of time that she was, the only good news I have for you is that it won't be so traumatic on her body. But as far as her surgery goes at least, it looks like we were able to repair all the damage and she should make a full recovery, but the next twenty four hours will be critical to make sure there are no infections."
"Oh thank God! She's going to be okay." I say to everyone getting up to shake his hand as my friends come over to where we stand to thank him too. As we all hug and rejoice that she's alive and will be okay, all that runs through my mind is telling her about the baby we lost, our baby.
"Anyway she's being moved back to ICU for the next twenty four hours until we know she’s out of the woods for sure. So you'll be able to see her soon. I'll send a nurse out to get you as soon as we get her settled." Doctor Stevens says.
Shaking his hand, I thank him again before he leaves.
"That's great news.” Porter says slapping me on the back.
"More than you can ever know.” I tell him with a struggle inside my heart for the child I lost.
Larson comes forward and shakes my hand. "I'm glad we didn't lose her."
"Thanks for all your help getting her here so fast."
"Your welcome, I have to go back to the hotel and tie up a few loose ends, but I'll call you if I learn anything new."
"Thank you." I tell him again.
After about another forty minutes the nurse finally comes to take me back to see Presley.
CHAPTER FIFTY TWO PRESLEY
Hearing an annoying beeping sound that keeps playing over and over in my head I try to open my eyes to find where it's coming from, but they're just too heavy. As I lay there I suddenly hear a man and a woman's voice as they talk near me just before I feel his warmth engulfing my hand and his lips on my head bringing life back into this empty world I've been stuck in without him. Hudson, my light at the end of this dark tunnel I've been running circles in. "I'm here Presley, open your eyes for me baby." Hearing his sweet words I try over and over again to no avail to open my eyes so I can see him, when light begins to peak through as they finally open to take in the beautiful man with such worry etched in his features; making him look so tired as he sits in front of me. "There she is, God I missed you."
A smile takes over my expression at his words that I've longed to hear again. Trying to tell him that I love him, all I'm able to get out is the word 'I' before I start coughing, causing him to reach for some ice chips to give me. "Here suck on these, it will help."
As he slides the ice chips into my mouth; the wetness brings my dry mouth back to life. "I...love you too," I say with scratchy words. Trying to think of a way to tell him about seeing my mother I realize that this is Hudson and he's not going to judge me. "I...saw her Hudson, I saw my mother. I think I died...I would have had to, to see her wouldn’t I?"
A look of sadness crosses his face before he says. "You did baby, we lost you twice, but you fought your way back to me, you didn't leave me, thank God you didn't leave me."
Putting his head down on to the bed next to me I reach up and begin to stroke my fingers through his hair trying to comfort him. "I will always fight my way back to you Hudson you're home to me now."
Looking up at me I can see the tear that silently drips down his cheek for me causing my own eyes to well with tears at the pain he went through. Leaning up he kisses me on my lips and I feel life start to trickle through my body again. "There's some__."
Interrupted by the door opening, we both turn to see a nurse enter. "Hi, how are you feeling Miss Crawford?"
Swallowing to coat my throat with some moisture I need for my voice to work, I finally get out. "Alive."
Sharing glances with Hudson, she says, "yes you gave us all quite a scare, but you are one heck o
f a fighter." As she busies herself with taking my vitals she asks, "Do you mind me asking what it is you do with the elk's?"
Giving her a confused look I ask. "I'm sorry?"
"Well, when we wheeled you in here you kept mumbling something about saving the elk's, so I was wondering if you were an animal activist like myself, I don't believe any animal should be hunted down and killed for game."
Shaking my head I tell her. "No I'm sorry I have no id__." Stopping mid-sentence a flash of a memory crosses my mind, and I freeze trying to see it.
"Presley, baby, what is it?" Hudson asks squeezing my hand bringing me back to my present.
"I'm not sure." I say with something that I know isn't right tickling the back of my mind as it tries to swim its way forward.
"Well it's probably nothing. People say out of character things after or during surgery all the time, I just thought we had the love of animals in common is why I even mentioned it." She says finishing up checking all my vitals before leaving. "Everything looks good the Doctor will be in to see you shortly." She says closing the door as she leaves.
Sitting there in a fog of memories unable to piece them together, I hear Hudson calling my name. "Huh?"
"Are you okay? You seemed like you drifted away there for a minute."
"It's something about what the nurse said, I know this is going to sound crazy but I remember seeing the word elk, but I don't know why."
"Look, you just survived a gun shot, maybe it's just your mind playing tricks on you. Even the nurse said that people say odd things after surgery, maybe it's the med's they have you on."
"Maybe," I say knowing my brain is screaming at me to remember something important. "How long till they let me go home?"
Chuckling he says, "You just had surgery on a gun shot wound that punctured your lung, so I think you'll be here a few days. Don't be in such a hurry to get out of here your body needs time to heal."
