Empty Bargains ~Jason McCann~

~11.29~

    My jaw dropped and my legs felt like rubber.  Sam?  In the hospital?  Who would want to hurt him?  The only enemies we had in Poway were Jason and his group, but we weren’t anywhere near him right now.

    My hands began to shake and I pressed them to my face, trying to hold in the part of me that wanted to collapse.  The ICU?  No one I’d ever known had ended up in a critical condition without the situation ending in death.  What had happened?  Had he been shot?  Stabbed?  There were so many questions flying through my head, making me feel dizzy.

    “W-What happened?” I stammered, my voice wavering.  Arms too heavy to hold up anymore, I let them drop to my sides and waited for Leo to answer me.

    “I don’t have time to explain right now,” Leo said hurriedly.  “The only way you’re going to get all the answers you want is to be there with him.”

    “How the hell am I supposed to do that?” I squeaked.  There was no way I could leave this house, no way I could get down there as fast as I needed to.

    He dug in his pocket and stepped up to me.  “Take these.”  In his outstretched hand was a set of keys.  “My car will get you there faster than a bus will.”

    I stared at them for a few seconds, still reeling from the news of my brother, before Leo huffed and pushed them into my fingers.  “But what about…  I don’t–“

    “You know how to drive, right?” he asked hurriedly.

    “Yeah, I mean…  Yeah, but–“

    “Then pack a duffel and go.  You probably don’t have that much time before Jason gets back, and if Xander sees you leaving he’ll call Jason without hesitating — if he doesn’t shoot you first.”

    He reached to his backside and pulled something from his waistband and from his other pocket.  I gaped as he held out my gun and phone in his hand.  “How did you–“

    “It doesn’t matter,” Leo rushed, against pushing my possessions into my hands.  “Go pack clothes, or I’ll do it for you.   I already put my number in your phone in case you need me.”

    I stared at him blankly for a long second, heart pounding, before finally kicking into gear.  My feet carried me as fast as they could up the stairs and into Jason’s room, throwing what was in my hands on the bed before shoving the first things I saw into my duffel.  As fast as I was going, I felt like I was moving in slow motion as I zipped my bag and picked up my gun, phone, and Leo’s keys again.  He was still waiting for me in the main room, typing frantically on his phone.

    “Aren’t you coming?” I breathed as I stepped up to the door leading to the garage.  “Jason will freak out when he finds out I’m gone, and since you’re the only one here he’ll automatically come after you.”

    Leo smiled wryly.  “As much as I want to, I still owe Jason.  I’ve just got to go meet this guy so they’ll at least be on good terms with Uriah, but I promise I’ll be right behind you.”