Montana Falls (Red Diamonds #5)

Chapter Twenty One

T he woods were unnervingly quiet, except for the faint murmur of panic echoing between us all, where we stood just outside the rundown wooden cabin. My heart was racing for a handful of minutes, but it was slightly relieved when I watched Price emerge from the darkness, carrying Delilah in his arms. She looked pale; her face streaked with dirt and tears, but she was alive, and that was all that mattered.

“Lilah!” I raced toward her as Price gently placed her down on the grass, then nodded to me before heading back inside to continue helping. “Oh, sweetheart, are you okay?!”

She kept crying as she wrapped her freezing arms around me, and I hugged her back just as hard. She was trembling something rather vicious.

“No, but yes,” she sobbed as Logan followed me and dropped to his knees beside her and Kody came out of the cabin too, promising that Widow was also found alive, much to my relief.

“Am I okay to touch you, Delilah?” Logan kept his voice low and soft as his hand hovered near her. “I want to check out your injuries and things.”

“Yeah.” She spluttered, and I stroked her messy purple hair, offering sweet whispers that were attempting to comfort her as she kept speaking, “I think I’m fine – my stomach hurts, but it’s a dull pain from the stitches. I just really need a drink.”

“Here.” Kody said from behind me, handing over a bottle of water and a banana he’d grabbed from the car. “Don’t guzzle it and take small bites or you can make yourself sick.”

I pulled back and got to my feet, to give Delilah enough room to take the things, and to let Logan have easier access to her wounds. My phone buzzed in my pocket, the sudden noise cutting through the silence around me. I pulled it out and saw Retta’s name flashing on the screen.

Fuck. In our rush to leave, we hadn’t managed to tell her we were going to need to reschedule.

“Retta, I’m so sorry.” I answered, my voice low, glancing around to keep an eye on things as I hurried to speak. “We were coming to see you but then we got a call that Darius found Widow and-”

She interrupted me, tone harsher. “You’ve found Widow?”

“We’ve just pulled Delilah up from this basement thing, and now Price and Lincoln is grabbing Widow next.” At least, I presumed they were. “We all rushed here, and I completely forgot to call; can you meet us at the hospital or something? I think to bring them there is easier than home right now. I don’t think I have any medical supplies and Henley no longer has her mama’s things to use.”

Retta was silent for a second, no doubt just as relieved as I was that we had found both our people relatively okay.

They weren’t dead, and we hadn’t lost yet another member of our group.

“Of course, pet. I can meet you at the hospital. But if you can tell me what’s wrong with the kids, I can see what I can do to help before you get them to another doctor.” She said, her words almost rushing out. “You have Delilah now, right? Get her to take a seat in the car or somethin’ and tell me what she looks like.”

I did as she asked and as Kody, Logan and I stepped closer to the treeline, settling Delilah inside the car, I opened my mouth eagerly, ready to describe everything I could see, just to make sure the poor girl wasn’t going to die out of my negligence.

“Is Misha nearby? He’s good with first aid.” Retta asked.

I swallowed the nerves in my throat and shook my head, trying to get rid of my worry.

“No, Misha is talking to Darius right now, but I have Kody and Logan, and we’re by the car. Delilah looks pale, but she is normally so white, like a ghost, so I don’t think there is anything wrong there.” I offered Delilah the best grin I could muster, pretending everything was fine.

Humor worked for Price in bad situations, so I figured I could give it a try because he always made me feel better and I just wanted to help the poor girl to stop crying.

“Does she have any-” Retta started to ask questions, but she was cut off and I didn’t hear the last of her sentence.

An explosion ripped through the air like a thunderclap, a deafening roar that drowned out everything around me. The ground shook violently beneath my feet, and before I could even comprehend what was happening, Kody was on me, tackling me to the ground.

I hit the dirt hard, his weight crushing me into the cold earth as the blast echoed through the trees and I dropped my borrowed phone into the dirt. My ears rang, the sound of the blast reverberating inside my skull like a bell that wouldn’t stop. There was nothing but noise, heat, and the acrid scent of burning wood. My lungs seized, struggling to catch a breath as the dust and debris rained down around us and a handful of screams and panicked roars hit my ears.

For a few agonizing moments, I couldn’t think—couldn’t breathe. Everything was disorienting, like I was floating underwater, trapped in the shock of it all. My chest heaved as I tried to pull in air, but my mouth tasted of dirt and smoke.

Then the ringing in my ears started to fade, and I became aware of Kody’s arm still draped over me, his body shielding mine from the worst of the blast. Slowly, painfully, I lifted my head and blinked the dust from my eyes, desperate to work out what the fuck had happened.

The cabin was on fire. Flames licked at the shattered remains of the structure, thick black smoke billowing into the sky like a dark, poisonous cloud. The sound of crackling wood filled the air now, and the heat radiated outward, making my skin prickle.

“Kody,” I croaked, my voice hoarse from the smoke and dust. I pushed at him, trying to get up, and he rolled off me, groaning slightly as he did. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, grimacing as he dusted off his pants and shook away the dust from his face and hair. “I’m okay, cica. Are you?”

“I’m fine.” I wasn’t. I hurt like a bitch all over and the back of my head throbbed with where I’d smacked it on the ground, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

We both scrambled to our feet, and the full horror of the situation hit me when I saw that there was almost nothing left of the structure, and something rather important was missing from the group of my people, who were in various stages of distress on the ground.

Logan was fine enough, and so was Delilah. Misha, Kellan and Aiden were stumbling to their feet, all of them seeming reasonably well, if not filthy. But I couldn’t see anyone else, and I wasn’t sure who’d got out when the cabin had set aflame.

“Guys!” I shouted, my voice breaking as I started running back toward the burning wreckage. Kody was right behind me, and together we raced through the clearing, dodging bits of debris and smoldering wood. “Price?! Lincoln?!”

As we neared the cabin, I spotted movement through the smoke. Relief flooded through me when I saw Price, an unconscious Widow slung over shoulders as he limped away from the wreckage. Lincoln was right behind them, coughing but otherwise looking unharmed.

“Thank god,” I breathed, my heart pounding in my chest as we reached them and I ran straight at Lincoln. “Are you okay?!”

Lincoln crushed me against his body, his hug like a balm to my panic. “We’re good, princess. We were out of the building before it went up.”

“Speak for yourself.” Price coughed as Kody helped him with Widow. “I’m gonna need you to kiss me better later, gorgeous. I have loads of paper cuts and bruises that are gonna need close attention.”

“Take Widow to the car, and we can discuss kisses later – once we have been to a hospital and things are calm.” I snorted.

Relief at such a normal comment from Price surged through me, overwhelming the shock and fear that had been gnawing at my chest. But before I could revel in that feeling, a scream of my name from Ruby sent my stomach dropping and my entire world crashing down. Then it only doubled when she yelled for Aiden too, and I turned sharply, scanning the area until my eyes landed on her.

More importantly on Beau , lying on the ground near one of the cars, clearly having thrown himself in front of Ruby in the blast. His arm was cradled against his side, his face twisted in pain. Blood covered half of body, flowing freely from the large piece of jagged wood that stuck out of his ribs.

My heart seized in my chest, and without another thought, I rushed over to him, dropping to my knees beside him, my hands hovering over his bloody form and burned arm. The skin was angry and red, blistering in some places, where it had completely torn through his shirt.

“No, no, no, no.” Panic engulfed me as I watched his blood flow. “ Tío , please don’t be hurt. You can’t be hurt.”

“Diamond.” He breathed, voice calm even if it was laced with pain. “I’m okay. I’m not dying; it looks worse than it is.”

“You’re not dying?”

“No.” He promised, before I barked orders at everyone to get to the cars and go to the hospital nearby as I continued to flutter uselessly by my uncle.

I didn’t even realize I was crying until Aiden handed me a handkerchief from his pocket with a silent smile that softened the worry in his eyes just a touch.

“He’s fine, kid. Don’t stress – he just needs a couple of stitches and he’ll be back to barking orders and being a menace in an hour.”

Beau tried to smile at me too, but I could see the pain in his eyes and something far worse that told me he wasn’t okay.

He was holding Ruby’s hand. He was squeezing it and letting her cry and panic and whatever else she did.

He was trying to comfort her….

Yeah. He was dying. There was no other explanation.

“Linc, we need the hospital now.” I ordered as I wiped my eyes and got to my feet, clinging onto Logan for support. “Please; Aiden, can you carry Beau? I would try but…” I waved toward him.

He glared up at me, his eyes narrowed in jest. “You calling me fat, Diamond?”

“Never.” I couldn’t stop my snort.

With Aiden taking the brunt of the lifting, we managed to carefully bring Beau to the car and lower him into the back seat. He leaned back, his breathing shallow but steady, eyes half-closed as he fought against the agony. Ruby and Aiden slid into the backseat with him, and I hurried around to the front as Logan jumped into the back of one of the other cars with us.

Lincoln didn’t waste time when he took his seat behind the wheel. The engine roared to life, and we sped off, tires screeching on the gravel as we tore down the road. My heart pounded in time with the rhythm of the engine, adrenaline still coursing through me from the explosion. Once more, with my bunny’s driving, the hospital loomed before us in a matter of minutes.

We pulled up to the emergency entrance, and the world seemed to tilt around me as I jumped out of the car. Kody and Logan were already there, carefully helping Beau out of the back seat. His face twisted in pain, but he managed to stay on his feet. He was shaky and grumbling, but he wasn’t gone yet, and I would cling to that.

He would be fine. Everything was fine.

I ran to his side, steadying him as we hurried through the sliding doors. The sterile smell of the hospital hit me immediately—disinfectant, plastic, and the faint undertone of something metallic.

I didn’t even register almost yelling at the nearby doctors for help. Nor did I notice the terror in my tone, or the anger with which I command people to do my bidding.

If I had noticed, I would have laughed.

I sounded like Beau when he was mad. I had the same glare at him. The same violent undertone to my words.

I was just like him, and that was something I would always want to be.

Within seconds, nurses rushed forward, guiding us toward a stretcher. Beau was laid down carefully, and they wheeled him off toward a nearby room. I felt my stomach twist with worry as I watched them go, but I couldn’t follow. I had to let them work and trust they’d do everything they could.

I’d burn the fucking building down if they did anything less, regardless of how shitty a person that made me.

The rest of us gathered in the waiting area. My nerves were shot, my body exhausted, but I couldn’t sit down. I paced, my mind racing with everything that had happened, everything we still had to deal with. Not that I could think too hard. My brain buzzed, ears rang, and it was difficult to even think a rational thought when all I wanted to do was scream. Then scream again for good measure.

Logan came up beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder and startling me out of my rage pacing.

“He’ll be okay, Saph. Beau’s tough. You know that.”

I nodded, though my chest still felt tight. “I know, but I can’t… I can’t lose him. Okay? I cannot lose him too.” I didn’t need to say anymore, Logan understood. So instead, I coughed to clear my throat and spoke to all of my men. “The plan is happening tomorrow night. I refuse to wait a moment more; not when things are… we could…”

Logan didn’t say anything, just squeezed my shoulder in support. I appreciated the quiet comfort. I didn’t have the energy for more words right now.

“We’ll get the word out and have everything happen tomorrow night. Don’t worry, pretty girl.” He promised. “You just need to take a seat, and we can all relax – everything will be okay.”

As I glanced around, I caught Lincoln’s gaze again. That strange look was still on his face, like he was deep in thought, his jaw clenched tight. Something was bothering him—something more than just the explosion or Beau’s injuries. But now wasn’t the time to ask. All I could do was silently hope and pray that I didn’t have to bury the only blood relative I had left.

At least that had been the plan. But before I could sit down, Lincoln came over, pulling me to the side with a pained expression.

“You know that chat I asked to have earlier?” I nodded at his question. “We need to have it now.”

“Now?” My head cocked. “It is so important?”

“Yeah, princess. It’s important.” The seriousness of his tone made me instantly wary, and I trusted he was not trying to deal with something silly or insignificant right now.

“Come on then,” I grabbed his hand, pulling him along, as I wondered what on earth he could say that would be so bad, “let’s go find a spot to talk.”