|| Cross ||

My eyes dimmed as a sharp bolt of pain spread around my stomach region. I lifted my gaze towards the door. Elizabeth had already slipped past and was headed for the hallway.

“Bitch” I muttered again in anger and tried to get up, but it seemed my upper body had stiffened. I wrapped my hand around the hilt of the knife and braced myself. With a sharp groan, I pulled the knife out of my stomach, and blood splurged out. I dragged myself and leaned towards the wall. My right hand slowly reached for my pocket, and I pulled out my scarf. I placed it on the wound and applied pressure to it.

The door swung open, and Kane stepped in. His eyes widened in alarm as he saw me all bloodied.

“Elizabeth escaped. Find her,” I muttered.

“Boss, you're bleeding. I'll get the nurse. Elizabeth won't escape this island,” Kane said and pulled out his Glock pistol.

“Kane, bring her back unharmed. No scratch should come upon her,” I warned in clear terms.

Kane nodded and slipped out of the room. A groan escaped my lips again, and everywhere began to blacken. I shook my head and applied more pressure on the wound. Right now, the priority was finding Elizabeth not tending to my wounds, and that was shocking to me. She had just tried to kill me earlier, and I knew it was because of fear and a need for vengeance. But stepping out of my protection was very dangerous for her, as I was the only person who could protect her from Decagon and her father's enemies.

Almost a minute later, my personal nurse stepped in. She was a tall Latina who treated my men when they were injured on operations.

“Oh, Cross,” She gasped and ran towards me, “You've lost so much blood”. She spared the bloodied man a glance before kneeling by my side. She slowly lifted my hand from the injury and stared at it, before resting her thoughtful gaze on my pale face, “It's really bad”.

“Try not to make me pass out,” I warned her. I needed to be awake and sure that Elizabeth was brought in.

“You may pass out anytime soon. You've lost so much blood already,” The nurse replied.

I groaned and dragged myself up. Before the nurse could protest, I was already up. My mouth became dry, and a sharp dizzy spell hit me. I leaned back on the wall, my right hand still pressing the cut.

“Come treat me. And like I said, don't make me pass out”.

Two of my men walked into the room and helped me stand straight. I rested my hand around their shoulder, and they guided me to the small clinic, which was down the hall.

“Has Elizabeth been found?” I managed to ask.

“Not yet, Kane and the other men are still on it,” They replied.

As they kept pulling me, the ground was already getting closer to me, and I knew if I gave in, I would be unconscious. I shook my head again and groaned. It would be a huge insult for the syndicate to hear that a woman stabbed me and I passed out.

We arrived at the room and I was slowly laid on the bed. The nurse tore my shirt and began working on my injury. The room was silent except for my groans of pain.

“Why do you insist that she should be brought to you unharmed? You want to get the privilege of killing her yourself?” The nurse asked as she grabbed a fresh set of bandages from the small cabinet.

“Shut your mouth, Nurse. She is my wife, and no one is permitted to hurt her.” I spared her a cold glance, making her flinch.

Thirty minutes later, she was done dressing my wound. I slowly reached for my pocket, ignoring the pains and pulled out my pack of Cubans. With a sharp groan, I lifted my upper body and rested it on the bed frame.

From the nurse's face, she knew better than to protest. Though I rarely had injuries during operations, on the occasion of which I had one, I never felt vulnerable. I stuck the cigar in my mouth, and she passed a lighter to me. I nodded, grabbed the lighter and lit my Cuban.

As I made a thick drag, a strange sense of peace enveloped my soul, and the excruciating pains seemed to be distant. I just remain stuck, my eyes closed but still conscious of my environment. The once calm and sterilised room now smelled of thick smoke, and I loved it.

The door was pushed open, and I knew the nurse had left. Four minutes later, the door was unlocked, and I sensed a figure hovering around the door. I knew that was Kane.

“Cross, we found her. She is unharmed,” Kane said.

I nodded slowly, “Ensure she is locked up in her room. I'll come see her later”.

“And what about our man? He seems like he isn't going to reveal anything,” Kane asked.

“Kill him and throw his body into the river,” I replied and took a deep drag of Cuban.

I remained still for almost an hour until I felt a lesser pain. I got up, and another round of sharp pain coursed through my body. But I just groaned while my face was blank. I dragged my feet towards the door, unlocked it and stepped into the corridor. I could see over nine men roaming the corridor with guns, and I could tell Kane had doubled the security. There were shuffling movements down the south part of the hall. I walked towards the area and saw two men dragging a limp body.

I stuck my Cuban in my mouth and took another drag. As I headed down the corridor again, one of the men brought my phone to me. I stared at the screen, the contact ‘Lord’ blinked. That was how I saved the contacts of the higher Lord on the seat of Decagon. I swiped the green icon and placed it to my ear.

“Lord, it's done,” Cross said.

“All family wiped out?” The other person asked.

Cross took a deep breath, “Modifications were made. I took out the man and his son. I left his wife and daughter alive. There are no threats to the syndicate”.

“That wasn't our instruction, Cross. You were to wipe the whole family, not keep anyone alive. I heard you took his first daughter as your wife. I didn't believe it at first. Tell me, it's not true”.

“Mr. Hendricks was a smart and calculating man. Before he started asking questions, he may have made arrangements in case he died. If I had wiped out the entire family, we would have been lost on the strike actions he may have placed in the case of his death,” Cross voiced.

There was a stammer at the other end, “Find out what you need to, and kill her as soon as possible”.