Five Years Gone

Prologue

There was blood. So much, too much, blood. It seeped through her fingers, staining them crimson. Frantic, she searched the dark eyes that peered up at her for a sign of life.

It was fading fast.

"Letty, stay with me," Mia hissed, her tone bordering on a plea as she pressed her hand harder to the deep cut in Letty's side.

A breath shuddered through Letty, her body weak and damaged from the accident. She blinked once, the action seeming the take the last reserves of her energy. She coughed, pain ricocheting through her chest and she tasted blood again. She wondered if the copper taste in her mouth would ever rinse out.

In the seat in front, Dom twisted to look back at her. He was uncharacteristically pale, and that shook her even more. "Baby…" He started to reach for her, but seemed to think better of it and stopped. His dark eyes flicked to Mia and he swallowed when she shook her head in reply.

Mia turned and looked back at Letty, her heart slamming painfully against her ribs when she watched Letty's eyes drift shit. "Letty? Letty!" She clamped her fingers tighter around the cut, not wanting to shake her friend. But really, what more damage could be done to Letty's body?

Mia gasped and looked up at her brother. "She's unconscious. Dom, we have to get her to a hospital."

A muscle in his jaw jumped, but he nodded once, tersely. He turned back around. "Leon, get to the nearest hospital."

It was an unnecessary order; Leon had been heading that direction the entire time. He had seen enough bad accidents to know Letty wouldn't make it over the border before seeing a doctor, no matter how optimistic Dom's plans were.

Leon's hand flexed around the wheel, his entire frame taut with stress. He saw the blue sign on the shoulder of the highway, indicating the hospital was two miles away. The following two minutes were the slowest of his life, knowing full well that Letty's life was literally hanging in the balance.

With a quick jerk of the steering wheel, he swung the car into the designated emergency entrance and pulled the car to a neat stop inches from the curb. Dom had the door open before they stopped.

He flipped the front seat forward and, with Mia's help, pulled Letty from the car, cradling her in his arms. Jesus, had she always felt this small? He turned and started for the entrance, hearing Mia and Leon quick on his heels.

The electronic doors whooshed open, cool air welcoming them in from the heat of the midday sun. His nose wrinkled at the antiseptic smell and he made his way for the triage nurse's desk, shouldering two people out of the way with his sheer size.

"We need a doctor," he demanded to the petite redhead sitting at the desk. He watched her green eyes widen as she scrambled to her feet, already pulling the stethoscope from her neck as she went.

"Dr. Saint!" she yelled over one shoulder, rounding the desk. She maneuvered around Dom, pressing the bell shaped end to Letty's chest. "Dr. Saint!"

An older man—Dr. Saint, Dom assumed—came around the corner fast, nearly taking out an orderly. His eyes swept the situation critically before he came to a stop before them. With a touch to the nurse's shoulder, he moved her out of the way. "Get a gurney," he instructed.

Standing at least five inches beneath Dom, he peered up with gray eyes through horn-rimmed glasses. "What happened?"

"Car accident," Dom replied stiffly, watching as the white bed was wheeled to them. He hesitated, not ready to let her go quite yet. He slowly, gently, placed her on top of the gurney and stepped back.

"What's her name?"

"Letty—Leticia Ortiz," Leon supplied. He ran a hand over his jaw, nervous and worried.

Dr. Saint nodded and turned to his patient. "Letty? Can you hear me?"

No response.

Two more nurses seemed to materialize, and he watched, helpless, as they swarmed Letty's bed. A blood pressure cuff was clamped around one arm as another pried her eyes open and shone a penlight in them.

Dr. Saint turned back to the waiting threesome. "Are you family?"

"Yes," Mia answered firmly, barely blinking at the question. "Is she—"

"Any allergies? Medical conditions I need to know about?"

"None," Dom answered quickly, his eyes watching as they started taking her away.

"Is she on anything?"

Dom nearly growled, his expression suddenly lethal. "No," he retorted. "Is she going to make it?"

Mia stepped forward, curling a hand across Dom's bicep. She felt Leon's presence beside her as they closed rank around her brother, waiting.

Dr. Saint's face was the picture of calm. He sighed quietly. "I'm afraid it's too early to tell," he replied placidly. He gestured to the room behind them. "Have a seat in the waiting room. Someone will be out to get you." He turned on his heel and headed for the trauma room.

Dom watched until the doctor was out of sight.

"Vince might be here, too," Leon mused quietly. "I could ask—"

Dom turned so suddenly it had Mia and Leon both jumping back two steps.

"We need to leave." Dom's face was set, his eyes hard and his jaw clenched. "Cops'll be here soon. We need to get back to the house, find Jesse, and get the hell out of town."

"But Letty—" Mia started, scrambling to follow him as he exited the hospital.

"I'll come back for Letty, but I can't do shit if we're all locked up," Dom snapped, going to the car. He held out a hand to Leon. "Keys."

Leon tossed them to Dom without comment, getting into the back seat as Mia got in the passenger side. She closed the door and faced him. "Someone needs to be here for her!"

Dom slammed the heel of his hand against the top of the steering wheel. "Dammit, Mia, you think I don't know that?" He turned and glared at her, his eyes flashing like polished onyx.

He started the car and shifted it into gear, popping the clutch as he peeled out of the parking lot. He took a hard right at the corner, heading back for his house.

"I'll come back for her," he said again, more to himself than Mia or Leon.