Stay For Me - Megan Smith Page 0,70

fuck are you doing?” One of the guys with the mask over his face says.

I hear what sounds like metal scraping against the ground. “Taking care of a problem, it’s what I came here to do.”

“Killing them wasn’t part of the plan.” The other guy yells at his friend.

My stomach lurches. All is quiet except a passing car from the main road.

“Things changed.” He says calmly. “If I can’t have her, no one can.”

“I’m outta here.” The guy says and in the corner of my eye I catch his retreating form along with the other guy. I turn my head in their direction trying to gain a little of my bearings as to exactly where I am in the alley.

The man is heading towards the main strip. It’s closer to help that way although my car is the other direction.

I turn my head.

Fuck, I lost vision of the enemy.

It’s the biggest mistake of my life.

“I told you you’d be crying later.”

I hear a loud crack before I feel the blow. Eli’s smiling face flashes before me again and I smile too.

My ears ring.

My vision blurs.

My heart stops.

My lungs burn.

My world ends.

Cooper Cahill

I have to report in for spring training on the eighteenth. I’m anxious, once again, leaving everything behind but at the same time baseball is all I know. I’ve got the best of both worlds but why doesn’t it feel like that?

I glance at my phone. It’s just after four in the morning. I might as well just get up. I’ve got work I can be doing at Fierce. I don’t want to leave any loose ends behind. Plus, I know if I stay here and keep tossing and turning I’ll just wake Jaylinn up. She’s got way too much on her plate now as it is and she’s not sleeping much lately.

She’s the main reason why I don’t want to leave. Jaylinn needs me here now more than ever but she won’t admit it.

About an hour later after I’ve had a shower and got some coffee I pull into my parking spot. Weird, Eli and Layla’s cars are still here. I thought they would be long gone by now. Damn, I hope I don’t walk in on them having sex, that’s not something I want to see.

I grab my coffee and climb out of my car. I set the alarm and walk down the alley towards the back door. As I’m walking down the alley I notice that the flood lights don’t turn on. I have to make a note to get them changed in the morning. Maybe Dante can get on the ladder and change them out for me.

I get a few feet from the door and I see something but I can’t make out what it is since I can hardly see. I take a few more steps closer, the object coming into view.

My stomach bottoms out.

It’s a body, fuck, there are two. I quickly grab my phone from my pocket and turn my flash light on.

“Holy shit,” I drop my coffee and take off running the rest of the way.

“Layla,” I kneel in front of her and that’s when I notice the blood, lots and lots of blood. “Layla.” I yell.

I scramble over to Eli. “Fuck, Eli, man.” He’s got a gash to the back of the head, a huge ass lump on his forehead and his nose is bleeding. I lean back to see if he’s breathing. His back rises and falls slowly. “Hold on, just hold on.”

I go back over to Layla. I’m so damn scared to move her but I need to see if she’s breathing and the way she’s laying I can’t tell. Very carefully I roll her onto her back. My stomach lurches threatening to spill whatever is in it. Layla’s face is so battered and bloody I can barely tell it’s her. I watch to see if she’s breathing but I can’t tell. I turn my head and put my ear near her mouth. Her breathing is labored and I can hear gargling sounds.

“Help!” I scream. “Help!”

Reaching for my phone again I quickly dial nine-one-one.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“Help, please; my friends were beaten up in the alley behind Fierce on Ocean Terrace.” My heart is pounding.

“Sir, are they breathing?”

“Yes, barely, but yes.” I say with a shaking voice. “And there is blood, lots of blood.”

“Okay, can you see where the blood is coming from?”

I use the light from the phone to see if I can spot the where all