Declan + Coraline by J.J. McAvoy Page A

have said something…
    Dialing, I called her back.
    “Where are you? I called you like million times!” she yelled and then broke out into a fit of sobs.
    “Imani…”
    “Cora.” She sobbed.
    “Imani? Are you okay? What is it?”
    “Otis got in a fight at the club and he’s beat up really badly and ended up in the hospital. They had to put him in a coma.”
    “Oh my God, I am so sorry! What do you need me to do?”
    “Can you come here? I can’t see him alone, they’re waking him up now. What if he doesn’t remember me or something?!”
    “Imani, breathe, okay? This isn’t a Lifetime movie, he will remember you. Which hospital are you in? I’ll be right there.”
    “Mercy. Do you remember how to get here?”
    “Yeah. I’ll be right there, okay?”
    I didn’t know Otis very well, but what kind of monster would hurt someone to the point where they needed to be placed into a medically induced coma, for God’s sake?

DECLAN
    The hospital wasn’t that far from me and I wanted to go alone. But Sedric demanded that I have back up. Usually he left things like this to our people to handle. The fact that he had called on us meant that he saw the Seven Bloods as a real threat, and that he wanted them out of his city as soon as possible. I had changed into all black, and was now riding my motorcycle. I gripped on tightly as I sped down the street, cutting off more than two cars off before entering the hospital parking lot. I found a parking spot and pulled off my helmet. Eric and Patrick were already there. They handed me a gun and I glanced at it before I shook my head.
    “The sensors are off,” he stated.
    “No. You two carry. I doubt a gun will scare him. He knows I can’t just shoot him here. I’ll have to be more…creative.” I adjusted my gloves and stepped off my bike.
    Patrick nodded as we turned to walk inside. “I heard most of the crew left him last night. He only has a few friends around him right now. If there’s any trouble, we have people here.”
    I paused once we got to his floor. “Well then, why don’t we make some new friends?”
    One of the nurses at the station tried to stop me from going in. Eric spoke to her and without any further questions, we went up the elevator. I hated hospitals. It brought back too memories for me, but I was sure that that was why Sedric had sent me here—to make sure I could work in a place I hated and still keep a clear head.
    When we opened door, we found that the place was eerily quiet; the nurses all drifted around like ghosts.
    “That one,” Eric whispered as he pointed to the room, and I walked on and pushed through the opening of the door.
    Otis lay on the bed with his hand in a cast, his face a swollen mess, and a small woman who sat beside him crying. However, neither of them caught my attention. It was Coraline who stood just off to the side, still in that goddamn dress from this afternoon, who surprised me. Her mouth dropped open when she saw me and I was sure that if this were any other place and any other time, I would have shared her astonishment.
    However, I ignored her and focused on the man in the bed.
    “Hello, Otis,” I said as I walked over to the foot of his bed.
    “You two know each other?” The small woman beside him wiped her eyes.
    “We go away back. Don’t we, Otis? You ladies mind if I talk to my friend in private? I really want to know who did this to him.” I forced myself to stay focused on the man in front of me.
    “Babe, go,” he whispered to the girl beside him.
    She looked between us oddly.
    “Babe,” he said more sternly.
    “Imani, come on, let’s get you something to eat,” Coraline said as she came up beside me, and I wished I could reach out and touch her.
    I ignored the urge to look at her as she and her friend left.
    “What do you want, Callahan?” Otis asked me. “Breaking my bones wasn’t enough for you people?”
    “Are you bitching at me right now? Should I feel bad for the fucking moron who