Page 71 of Edge

I don’t remember leaving the diner or riding to the hospital, and I don’t remember how long we had to wait before we heard any news. What Idid rememberwas the feeling of Evie’s ribs cracking and breaking as I tried to make her heart beat again and the feeling of her chest depressing each time I pushed down. Trying to resuscitate her played on a loop in my head over and over.

Shaker and his family were the first to arrive at the hospital. Gabby almost had to be restrained when they wouldn’t let her back to see Byte. She probably would have been escorted off the premises if Ink hadn’t intervened. She was crying and demanding to see him when Ink calmly said her name. “I was with him,” he said and patted the seat next to him. “I’ll tell you what I know.”

Before she left the front counter, she turned to Shaker and loudly said, “Call Gigi. If we have to buy this hospital so I can get back there, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

“If they’re not letting us back there, it means they’re working on them. That’s a good thing,” Keegan said to her.

“Is that true?” I asked.

She nodded, then grimaced. “Well, it means they aren’t dead. It doesn’t mean they’re stable.”

“That’s more than anyone else has told us.”

She came over and sat in the chair beside me. “You found them?”

“Yeah. I got there first. Ink came in a few minutes later.”

“What can you tell me?”

“Not much. Ranger and Byte were on the floor in the kitchen. Edge was by the front door, and the shooter was standing over Evie in the middle of the dining area. I’m not sure where Irene was.”

“Do you know how many times they were shot?”

“Sorry, I don’t. I think Evie was shot once, but I don’t know about the others. Walter and Buck said they were coming to the hospital. They’ll be able to give you some details if we haven’t heard anything by then.”

Shaker was tucking his phone into his pocket as he walked over to us. “Someone will be out to speak with us soon.”

“Did you name drop?” Keegan asked.

“Yes, I fucking did. Gabby is losing her shit, and I honestly don’t know how you're keeping it together so well.”

“My grandfather is the toughest man I know. He’s also stubborn and ornery as hell. He’ll live through this on principle,” Keegan said confidently.

“Marks family,” someone called.

“Right here,” Shaker said.

“If you’ll follow me, we have a private waiting room for you.”

“And so it begins,” Keegan said quietly.

Once we were in the new waiting room, the doctor addressed us as a group. “I understand you have several family members that were brought in. We’re still assessing and stabilizing, but I’ll tell you what we know so far. First, I have Michael Fuller. He was brought in with three gunshot wounds.”

Gabby gasped and fell back in her chair. Keegan grabbed her hand and gestured for the doctor to continue.

“He has one gunshot wound to the right upper chest, one to his right lower abdomen, and one to the left upper thigh. He is already in surgery.”

“Did it hit his femoral artery?” Gabby asked.

“No, but I believe it hit his femur. I’ll double check that. The bullet to his chest punctured his lung, but the gunshot to the abdomen is the one requiring surgical intervention. I don’t have specifics on the damage caused at this time. He did not regain consciousness before going to surgery, but his vital signs were improving.”

“What about Papa?” Gabby asked.

“Noah Norris,” Keegan clarified.

“Mr. Norris has one gunshot wound to the right chest. The bullet hit one of his ribs but did not damage his lung. Our biggest concern with Mr. Norris is his head injury. He has a large laceration on the back of his head, a skull fracture, and a small brain bleed that does not require surgery currently, but we’ll be monitoring it closely. He has not regained consciousness, but he should be able to have visitors soon.”

“How did he get a head injury?” Keegan asked.