Page 48 (1/2)

"Does Rogan care?"

The last tih I thought it didn’t matter, it would "I don’t know He said he doesn’t--"

My phone rang just as alot in front of us A Vault vehicle flashed in my head Grandma had worked on one before It looked like an armored security truck fro capacity of twenty-five Shit We’d never make it to our car The hospital and Sherwood’s security was our best bet

"Run!" I barked, and sprinted toward the hospital Leon shot past round in front of me The blast knocked me back I stumbled

A ht feet tall, slabbed with ht red of the biological armor of House Madero, and he had Dave Madero’s face But that couldn’t be right, because Rogan had broken Dave like a toothpick

Someone had teleported him flashed in my head

The man’s hands claroaned

"House Madero says hello, bitch!" He shookdoll "Where is your boyfriend? He hurt my brother!"

Not Dave Frank or Roger Madero

"Where is he?" He shookyou alive She didn’t say in one piece"

That was too much All the stress, worry, and fear combusted into fury inside me and burst into an inferno He had my shoulders but he didn’t have ers on his face Pain flared insideshot out of ers and sank into the armored skin

Madero screamed

Welcome to the shockers, bitch Someone snarled like a pissed-off animal and I realized it wason to hi blood His ar

The pain was almost too much to take

Madero ran out of air His screalowing light swung into ic and die

I jerked my hands away Madero collapsed at

I reeled back People were running fro, out of focus I’d spent too un in his hands "Now?"

"Now!" My hand found le

Leon fired There was no pause He didn’t wait to sight He didn’t breathe He jerked the gun up and fired all eight shots in what felt like a single second

Eight people dropped Four remained For a moment they paused, shocked, then spun around and dashed back to their truck

I thrust un up, lined up a shot, and took it The truck’s front left tire shuddered Another shot, another tire The four fleeing attackers veered away fro lot

I exhaled

None of the eight bodieslike he was about to have a heart attack He’d shrunk some and his skin turned an almost normal color

"Five," I said

Leon looked at ic users This is what you do, Leon This is yourlot "Oh my God Oh my God They’re dead They’re dead dead"

"Yes"

He spun to me "I killed them"

"Yes"

Leon’s expression crumbled He bent over and vomited onto the pave up, I told hio inside and tell the hospital staff we needed help It took six people to load Dave 20 onto a gurney and wheel him into the ER

A hospital administrator, a plump Hispanic woman in her mid-forties, ran up to me, her face pale, her mouth a thin, tense line "Should I call the cops?"

What would Rogan say? "It’s House business"

She straightened Soitation went out of her face I’d said theher of all responsibility

"I’ll notify the authorities," I said "Please see to the wounded"