CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 43: WOUNDED

My head was stitched up and I was given fluids through an IV, but the doctor said I would be fine. I should just watch out for infections in the future.

To my surprise, Rockie and Uncle Blade came to visit me.

"We brought you some food, but the staff said you can only eat the food they gave you here," Rockie told me.

"That's okay. Did you guys eat?"

"Yeah. You gotta take care of yourself in order to take care of others," he said.

"I'm glad you guys weren't too worried about me."

"I was fine, but your uncle was a mess."

"He's exaggerating," Uncle Blade said.

"You wouldn't stop telling me to hurry up and get to the hospital," Rockie reminded him.

"Can you blame me?" he asked.

"Well, anyway," Rockie said to me. "You need to get better by Wednesday because we're leaving whether you're with us or not."

"The doctor said I'll be fine," I said.

"Oh, good," Rockie and Uncle Blade said in unison.

"Do you know when they'll release you from the hospital?" my uncle asked.

"By the end of the day if all is well," I said.

"Wow. That's soon."

"I told you I was fine."

"Your head was cracked open, you were bleeding out and couldn't walk. I wouldn't consider that fine."

"Well, you can't argue with a doctor," I shrugged.

That night, I paid for a ride to the hotel since we didn't have a rental car.

"Hey, look what the cat drug in!" Rockie said when I entered the room. He was on the phone. "Birdie says hi."

"Hi, Birdie," I said.

"He says hi back," Rockie said to the phone. "Okay." He pressed a button on his phone. "You're on speaker now."

"Crypto, you still there?" Birdie's voice came through the speaker.

"Yeah," I said with a smile. It was good to hear her voice again.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to you! How are you feeling?"

"I feel just fine," I told her. "You don't have to worry about me."

"You're so lucky to have had your uncle there to rescue you," she said. "Who knows what would've happened if he hadn't stepped in. He must really care about you."

"Yeah... Where is my uncle anyway?" I asked Rockie.

"Out on the balcony," he said, gesturing to the back door.

I saw Uncle Blade through the sliding glassdoor smoking a cigarette. In his paw, he held the lighter I gifted to him. That was before I found out he was responsible for my parents' death.

But maybe Birdie had a point. Maybe my uncle wasn't as bad as I thought he was. He did save my life after all.

I went to the balcony to talk to him. "Rough day?" I asked him.

"For me or for you?" he asked.

"Both I suppose," I said.

"I'm just relieved you're okay."

"Yeah... Thank you, by the way... For saving my life."

"That's what family does."

"It doesn't make up for my parents' deaths," I said, "but it does make me hate you less."

"Good to know where I stand," he said. "I'm curious though, why did you go through with the plan even though you didn't agree with it?"

"I didn't know I had a choice."

"There's always a choice. That's what you told me anyway."

I knew what my uncle was trying to do. He wanted me to see how we were alike. He wanted me to understand why he made the choice to blow up my parents, but we weren't alike. Not even close. He was a coward who didn't have a strong sense of right and wrong. I went through with the plan because I had a bigger purpose in mind, but I couldn't tell Uncle Blade that. I had to gain his trust along with the rest of the mafia.

"I guess we're not so different after all," I said, even though it pained me to even speak it.