A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 98• The Bastard

There was no time to mourn. Bill shot himself because he knew he couldn't win. It was game over for him. He wouldn't have been able to run forever. And a deal's a deal. But they couldn't leave his body here, dead on the ground, and wait until someone found him. Louis looked around. The trees seemed to be getting closer but that was just his anxiety levels rising. He couldn't quite grasp the feeling yet, though. Bill couldn't be dead. He's not dead. He knows he is, but it didn't feel like he was. "You have to go with your sister. I will be right behind you." He told the boy. Behind Jayden, his brothers were pacing around impatiently. The ambulance was already driving away. "I need to make sure no one finds him. Go after her, and make sure she gets there okay." He said. Jayden's brows furrowed together as he pointed at the ambulance disappearing behind one of the trees. "Are you joking? We can't walk into a hospital. The cops are already on their way. If they see us in public, we're goners. They'll ship us straight back to the prison and lock us up."
"She needs you. Go. Please. I promise it'll all be okay. I just really need you to go now, kid. Go." He wouldn't repeat himself again. The brothers started to run back to the cabin to get to the last car that was there. Louis stayed behind with Bill. He crouched beside his best friend. There was no faking it this time. He saw that bullet. The blood was pouring out of his wound. He was dead. "You son of a bitch." He mumbled under his breath. The bastard escaped again. His last big escape. Smart.

"We're doing everything we can, sir. We're hooking her up right now, it's going to take a little while." The nurse was really trying her best to calm Casper down. He wanted to go with her into the operating room. "You don't understand. She's scared. I need to be with her. Please, I am begging you." But the woman wouldn't let him pass. Jade needed to be stabilized and the doctors would only get distracted if someone else was in the room with them. "She's lost a lot of blood. I'm sorry we can't let you inside. Let the doctors do their jobs and stay out here. That's the best you can do for her right now. Okay?" The nurse walked away leaving Casper and Ian standing out in the hallway. Casper walked to one of the chairs and sat down, feeling defeated. He placed his hands on his head and started thinking. He should've stuck with her, he should have backed her up. None of this would have happened if he'd done something. He shouldn't have helped Bill at all, not even when Louis and Ian asked him to. He should have just stayed in his home with Jade and let the others handle this. Then none of this would have happened and Jade wouldn't be fighting for her life in that room behind the doors. What he wouldn't give to be on that couch again at night, holding her while she takes a nap. Not having to fear if she'll wake up or not. Ian started to pace around in front of him. He saw what happened to Bill and he felt a little sick. "Can't believe he did that. He just shot himself in the head." He couldn't believe Bill would kill himself like that. It did always seem like the easiest way to avoid being caught. Only for those who were determined and a little desperate. People who have nothing left to lose. "Bastard gets away with everything. And he leaves his kids behind. That's an asshole in the first degree." Casper didn't say much. He was thinking about Jade. How scared she must be in that room all by herself and surrounded by strangers who had masks covering their faces.

Ian moved to sit beside him in the other chair. He wondered what Louis would do with the body. He couldn't leave it there in the woods and hope for it to decay. Someone else would find it. He wouldn't bury him there, would he? Let the worms have him. Then again, Bill Salvini used to be a great man. Deared, sure, but great. They held a funeral a couple of months before, but now he was dead. For real this time. He deserved a real funeral, no matter how crazy he was. The man wasn't always horrible and he gave them all a job. "Jade doesn't know," Casper mumbled. Ian turned his head to the young man. "She'll know soon enough." He started to look around the hallway they were in to see if Louis or any of the boys were there or not. Jayde was right in front of Bill when it happened. That boy must be traumatized by seeing that. It was still his father. "If she makes it out," Casper added. Neither of them expected Bill to harm her. His sons, maybe, but not Jade. Ian let out a quiet sigh. "She'll make it." He wasn't sure if he was telling himself that or if he was making a promise to Casper. Either way, he couldn't guarantee that. For all they knew, Jade's heart had already given out or she'd lost too much blood already. They have had their moments, but Ian didn't want to think about the girl like that. He didn't want to lose hope. She should be fine. She's a tough one. "I feel like I could have prevented all of this if I hadn't lied," Casper spoke up. "Don't think like that. If it's anyone's fault, it's Bill's. Not yours. And if we're pointing fingers, then you can point some at me too. Louis and I were the ones that eventually put you up for most of this." He did not disagree with him on that. Ian leaned back in his chair. "We all played along with his game. At least It's over. I think. I mean Bill's gone. For real this time. Can't fake a bullet going through your head." And even if he had faked it, Louis stayed behind to make sure he was actually dead.

Down the hall, the doors opened and three boys rushed inside. Ian stood up as the triplets ran over to them. Casper remained seated with his hands on his head and his eyes glued to the doors.
"Where is she? She okay?" Jayden asked. Ian pressed his hands against the boy's chest when he tried to get past him. "They're with her right now. Doing everything they can. We just gotta wait here, okay? Sit down." Jayden looked at Jerry and looked at the other chairs. Jack, however, stayed very still. "I want to see my sister." He was tired like Jerry, really tired, but he was more worried about Jade. His hands were still red from the blood. All three of them had blood on their hands. "We have to wait a little, kid. On the way here, we called your friends over. Anyone else see you?" He turned to Jerry and Jayden in their seats behind him. Jerry shook his head. "No. Front desk was empty, lady was on her coffee break or something. We ran through the first two floors to see where you were." That was good. If no one saw them they might sit here a little more peacefully. All they had to do now was wait. What else could they do? "Did she look okay before they took her in?" Jerry questioned. "Pale. More than usual. They're really doing everything they can. We were not allowed in."
Jayden's gaze fell on Casper – who looked beyond himself with worry. He almost seemed a little sick. "Are you okay?" Jayden asked him. Casper only nodded his head quickly but refused to remove his eyes from the doors in front of them. "He's worried about your sister. He tried to go in with her but the nurse kicked him out." Ian explained to them. Casper's leg started to bounce up and down anxiously and he bit down on his bottom lip. He felt like he'd already sat here for hours. Ian looked at Jayden with a glimpse of worry in his eyes. "Are you okay?" Jayden looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Not much was said after that. They sat there together, five men, in the hallway, waiting for one girl to come back out alive. An hour had already passed by if not more. Bill wasn't wrong about his kids. They were tough. This proved that yet again. The boys were sad about their father but refused to focus on anything else aside from their sister. When another nurse passed them, the triplets tried their best to hide their faces, whether it was in their hoods or the collar of their jumpers or coats.
The phone in Ian's pocket rang quietly. All four of them, even Casper, looked at Ian when he answered the phone call. "Hey, yeah, yeah. We're on the third floor. Operation room six."
Only a minute later, Louis came through the doors with Andrew, Liz, and Henry following him. Jerry launched himself out of his seat when he spotted his girlfriend. She went to hug him, but he lifted her off the ground and hugged her instead. Louis briefly glanced at them before he turned his attention to the other two boys. Jack and Jayden both stepped forward to hug their uncle tightly. This was the first moment it really struck them that Louis was the only one they had left. They were orphans.