Free Avenger by Su Halfwerk Page B

drip bag. “You’ve always had a glucose drip attached to you.”
    “Those are meant to feed me, right?” At his silence, Pru stomped her foot. “I’m telling you I don’t have diabetes.”
    He raised both hands in surrender. “I believe you. This only adds to the mystery of your stay here.”
    They fell silent, Pru lost for words and Luke studying her chart.
    “I’m tired of being here.” And scared . “I want to go home.”
    He glanced sideways. “You will. I already called your mother.”
    “Thanks for that, but…why didn’t you do it before?”
    Luke shifted his weight. “Do you remember Sully?”
    Pru shook her head.
    “He was a small time drug peddler back in the day. I handled one side of the neighborhood and he covered the other, but we were the opposite. I did what I did to get by while he took it as a challenge. He dreamt of becoming big one day and eventually his dream came true. He’s now a well-known boss of drug smugglers and sellers.”
    “Why are you telling me this?”
    “Eloise’s son, Mack, used to work for Sully.”
    She licked her lips. “What does this have to do with your reluctance to call my family?”
    “Sully is the reason why I fell off the grid. He believes in close-knit gang, we should all have each other’s backs as well as protect our families. One of his top chums, Mack, was found guilty of raping a high profile victim and since I failed to corroborate his alibi, Mack was sentenced to death by the lethal injection. Now I’m Sully’s number one enemy.”
    Pru closed her eyes. “To avenge Mack’s death.”
    He ran his hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry, Pru. For a long time, I only did what’s good for me. That’s why I hesitated in calling your family. It would have been too early for Sully to find me.”
    She opened her eyes. “Do you think Mrs. Lancaster is involved?”
    “I doubt it. She’s a legit front that gets Sully to places he can’t reach as a criminal.”
    She didn’t blame him for protecting himself. In a way, she was glad he’d broken ties with Sully and that underworld, but she was still shocked that someone wanted her dead. “Where do I fit in all this?”
    Luke reached out as though to comfort her, but instead tilted his head as though he was listening to something or someone. The embarrassment disappeared and in its place a cautious look appeared. “Someone is coming.”
    He withdrew to his favorite corner and cloaked himself in invisibility.
    “Perfect timing for your Casper act,” Pru mumbled.
    An orderly entered the room then turned back to check the corridor, a very unsettling gesture considering he worked here. He then closed the door—another oddity—and came to a stop by the bed. His deep-set brown eyes studied her, his gaze finally settling on her chest as she inhaled and exhaled. Lips pressed together in determination, the orderly shook his head once. He then uncovered her feet and withdrew an injection from his pocket. After uncapping it, he separated two of her tows and lowered the injection.
    “Take your hands off her,” Luke snapped and stepped out of the corner, all visible, white, and shifty. It was like watching a radio’s vibrating wavelength as it pitched and twisted. Difficult to pinpoint an eye or a nose in all that creepy whiteness.
    The orderly turned his head so fast, it must’ve hurt. “Huh!”
    Pru thought, exactly .
    “Why are you trying to kill Pru?”
    At the utterance of her name, the orderly grabbed the top layer of bed sheets and threw it at Luke then shot out of the room, injection still in hand. Dodging the flying cover and untangling himself cost Luke few seconds but he paused long enough by the door to say, “Celestine, remain with Pru. If anyone else comes, call me back.”
    With that, he rushed out of the room on the orderly’s tracks.

Chapter Thirteen
    Luke should’ve been able to catch up with the orderly, except, a running hospital staff member was normal, a running stranger