Agent 34 (Book 1)

36. Lock the door. Please

Honestly, explaining what's been going on and where I've been is really just going to take way too long. To sum it up briefly, my sister's wedding took up a big chunk of my time, after that I honestly just needed some time for myself which isn't a great explanation but that's all I can say on the matter, I was also having numerous computer problems as well as problems with the writing program I usually use, and then problems with some of the other platforms that I have my books on which I needed to sort out. My brother also adopted two of the sweetest cats ever, however, my chihuahua hated them with a burning passion for the first few months and would actively try to attack them. Now he just tries to play with them and they want absolutely nothing to do with him which is pretty funny cause he just takes their toys when they ignore him. I also got way too into crocheting. It is now my fun new hobby but I really need to learn to take breaks.

Anyway, long story short, I'm back. I fully intend to actually update a minimum of once a week, with updates for sure every Thursday of the week (my time zone, of course) from now on. I do still intend to finish the bonus chapters for Agent 1 that have been long overdue, but finishing those chapters will not affect the Thursday updates for this book.

So, so, so sorry for the absence and long wait. Thank you to all who have continued to wait and support me, it really means a lot. And without further ado, the chapter.

-K

Everly's POV

I could hear beeping. It was a relatively quiet sound and yet it seemed to echo loudly in my ears.

I could hear voices. Soft. Quiet. Whispering. I couldn't make out anything they were saying, much less who they belonged to.

I could smell disinfectant and something sweet, but I couldn't identify what that was.

I tasted blood in my mouth.

But the one sense that came back quicker than the others, was pain. My chest hurt. My throat burned. Every breath I took felt like I was breathing fire. My body felt weak and heavy. I couldn't remember if I'd ever been in this much pain from a wound before. I was gritting my teeth to the point my jaw was throbbing. My whole body felt so hot I was sure that the bed I was lying in was drenched in sweat.

The pain was unbearable. So much so that I felt my muscles tensing and I began to thrash around in an effort to get it to stop. Something restrained me.

I felt something press down on my shoulders, holding me in place. Something else grabbed hold of my arms and legs, pinning me completely.

I let out a groan and when I finally opened my eyes my vision was blurry and the only thing I could see were bright lights. A shadow suddenly came within the field of my blurry vision. A person. Who it was, I couldn't tell. I felt a hand on my forehead and then a prick in my arm.

After that, everything went black once more . . .

When I finally opened my eyes again, I wasn't sure how much time had passed. I was in a hospital room, lying in a bed. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.

I glanced to my right, at the figure slumped over in the chair pulled up beside me. His head was down, his arms crossed over his chest, and his entire appearance more disheveled than I had ever seen him in my life.

I tried to reach out a hand to wake him but found that I had little to no strength and I couldn't reach him anyway. I opened my mouth and tried to speak, but ended up coughing which made my chest burn all over again instead.

His head snapped up as soon as he heard my first cough and his worried eyes immediately found mine. He reached over and grabbed a cup of water from the table beside me and helped to hold my head while I took a few small sips. He stared down at me with a look I was all too familiar with.