Dark Paradise

chapter twenty-four

(i don't think i used this gif yet )

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - F O U R

THE DREAD WAS KILLING JAVIER. Every second that passed by felt like an agonizingly slow minute. To the DEA agent, Murphy speeding down the streets to the hospital didn't seem fast enough for him. When Carillo told them about an injured Celia in the hospital, the words he used were vague...too vague. His words alone told Javier a different story. His mind went through all the possibilities of how Celia got injured and how bad it was. A heavy feeling of guilt began to blanket onto Javier's shoulders. Maybe if they had found her sooner....

Javier was too invested in his thoughts that he didn't realize they were arriving at the hospital. If it wasn't for the sharp left turn Steve took into the E.R parking lot, he wouldn't have figured it out on his own. The minute the tires of Steve's car squealed to halt outside the E.R doors of the hospital, Javier jumped out of the vehicle with Steve right behind him. As they ran into the E.R, hospital staff yelled after them that they couldn't park their car in front of the E.R entrance. They ignored the staff before approaching the nurse behind the desk in the E.R. She jolted back a little upon seeing the two men approach her so hurriedly.

"Cuarto...número...Celia Davis..." Steve panted out, using his bad Spanish to ask the nurse for Celia's room number.

The woman stood confused and glanced at Javier before directing her attention back to Steve. She was about to ask him to clarify as to what he was asking about, not having understood him well enough. When the nurse opened her mouth, the metal doors into the area of the E.R where they treated patients opened. Coming out of that area was a teary eyed Connie and Nicholas who were walking out with Carillo. Connie seemed to notice her husband's presence in the E.R as she pulled her gaze away from her feet and met her husband's eyes.

"Oh God...." Steve sighed out, taking in Connie and Nicholas's disheveled appearances before striding over to his wife to embrace her.

Javier stood frozen in place as he distantly watched Nicholas explain to Steve what the doctors had said as Steve held a weeping Connie. Carrillo approached the DEA agent and it was then Javier noticed the blood that coated the button up shirt of his uniform.

"What happened?" Javier impatiently asked the man in front of him.

"The raid wasn't as successful as we hoped," Carillo began to explain in a quiet voice as he and Javier strode towards the E.R doors to exit the hospital. "Diana Turbay is dead. She unfortunately happened to be hiding in a dresser that got shot during some crossfire. She sustained multiple gunshot wounds and didn't make it. Celia was already shot when we reached her. Javier, she lost a lot of blood. We rushed her here and they immediately took her into surgery. The surgeon promised he'd do what he could, but I asked if it looked promising and he didn't answer. I advised Connie to call their parents."