Chapter 8
The next morning, I woke up stiff and so sore I had to hobble around the clinic. When Sam brought me broth, he stopped short at the sight of my bruised face.
“Fuck,” he swore as he set the broth on the table and started toward me.
My legs moved before my brain, and I retreated back behind the table. He halted. My face flushed, and I felt stupid. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me, but my brain was stuck in flight mode.
That’s a good thing, Wolf said. That’s how you survive.
“Shortcake,” Sam said.
I could feel his eyes on me, but I kept my head down, getting out the tools I used the most so I could have them ready. I hated how on edge I felt.
“C’mon, Shortcake, can I take a look at that gash in your head? I want to check Trey’s stitchin’ job.” Sam’s voice sounded calm, but it had a sharpness to it.
“The stitches are…adequate.” I glanced sideways at where Trey stood leaning against the wall, watching us. He huffed an amused exhale.
“Has anybody even checked you for injuries besides your head?” Sam asked.
I finally looked at him, my eyes blazing. “Yeah, I did. I’m the healer, and I’m sayin’ I’m fine.”
“If only you were known for tellin’ the truth,” Sam deadpanned, glaring back at me.
“Fuck off, Sam,” I snapped.
“Why are you limping if you’re fine?” he pushed.
I glanced away, stalling, working to keep my emotions under control. “I’m just a little bruised.”
Sam’s face twisted. “Gods, I—”
“Stop,” I gritted out desperately. “What’s done is done. Leave it.”
“Sam,” Trey finally spoke up, gesturing toward the door with his head.
Sam let out an angry sigh and left with Trey following. I could hear them talking heatedly outside, but Trey returned inside alone.
“He’s worried,” he said, relaxing back against the wall and shifting to lift a knee and press one foot against the wall. He looked like a bird standing on one leg like that. “He wants to make sure you’re okay.” He paused. “We all do.”
You didn’t seem to care about that when you fucking dragged me here, is what I wanted to say but didn’t.
“I know this is fucked up,” he added. “I’m sorry we dragged you here.”
He hesitated and I couldn’t resist glancing at him, unnerved that he said almost exactly what had been on my mind. He stared at me, those eyes almost golden in the beam of sunlight he stood in.
“I wish things were different—really different—but they’re not. Not yet.”
Madame’s questions from the dungeon surfaced, and I shoved them back down before they could take shape. He was quiet for a while, and I started to hope that maybe he’d stay that way.
“Lana betrayed all of us, and we’re all dealin’ with it in our own way,” he said, crushing my hopes for silence.
“Mac and me, we’ve tried real hard to make this crew a safe space, but we’re only a few people in hundreds, and there’s only so much we can do.
” He took a deep breath. “What happened to you yesterday was awful, and I don’t blame you for not trusting us.
But…and I’m real sorry if I’m bein’ a pain in the ass, but I’m gonna keep reminding you that you are a part of this crew, and that means something to us. Even if you don’t believe it yet.”
I wished he’d stop talking. I continued to ignore him, wiping down the counter for the third time in a row just to have something to do with my hands.
“I hope you know—”
The door opened and I could have cried from relief to see a pale-faced man stumble in.
Trey quieted and I busied myself with healing the man’s injuries. After he left, Trey tried to continue talking to me between patients, but around the noon hour, he seemed to accept that I wasn’t going to respond and fell silent.
Thank the gods the day was busy with a near endless stream of sick and injured people.
I couldn’t tell if the people of the Vault were warming up to my presence or if they were just morbidly curious.
Most of them watched me with suspicion, but they still came.
More than half of the people commented on my face, but they were surprisingly kind.
They seemed to know what had happened, so I guessed that meant Madame had put up a notice.
The woman with baby Jet came back and introduced herself as Leda. I checked Jet over, but I slowly realized she seemed more concerned about me.
“Everythin’ looks good,” I said, but when I glanced up, she held out a small wrapped parcel.
“I made a strawberry cake and brought you some.” Leda smiled.
“O-oh,” I stammered. “You didn’t have to do that.”
When I took the parcel, she gripped my hand. “I saw the notice.” She lowered her voice. “I…well, I wanted you to know there are good people here and we’re so grateful for you.” Her eyes glittered. “I’m so sorry for what happened.”
I didn’t know what to say, but she didn’t seem to mind. Leda squeezed my hand once more before letting go and scooped up Jet, who had started to fuss.
“Time for his nap.” She smiled at the little boy. “Thanks again, Bones.”
Bewildered, I stood at the exam table, staring at the door after she left.
“Leda’s one of the good ones.” Trey smiled when I looked at him.
The door opened and Clarity stepped inside. I hadn’t seen her since the day I’d woken up in her room at the brothel. She had a fresh ring of bruises around her neck, but she smiled. I waited on edge for her to react to my face, but she didn’t say anything.
“Hi, Bones,” she said like we were old friends, then she smiled at Trey. “Hey.”
“Hey, sis.”
I looked between them in surprise. “You’re a Mason?”
“No,” she replied. “We had different dads, and mine wanted me to take his name, so I’m a Reed.”
“The only thing our dads had in common besides likin’ our mom was that they were both assholes,” Trey said.
I didn’t care. I really didn’t. “Were?” I heard myself ask.
“Mine died in a bar fight,” Clarity explained with zero remorse.
“Mine died, too. Bear attack outside the hold,” Trey added.
“Do you have any other siblings?”
“Mac.” Clarity smiled, and I blinked in surprise.
“Our mom adopted Mac when he was seven, so he’s part of the family, too,” Trey explained.
“We almost had a little sister, but our mom died in childbirth.” This time I could hear the pain in Clarity’s voice. “The baby died, too.”
I kept my eyes on the tools I was sorting.
Childbirth scared the shit out of me, and I hated helping with births.
Thankfully there hadn’t been a whole lot of childbirth in the Reapers.
Most of the bikers who ended up pregnant came to me for herbs that would end the pregnancy.
Not many wanted to try to raise a baby in the middle of a bloodthirsty desert gang.
“I gotta run an errand for Mac,” Trey said. “I’ll be back in a bit. Griz is outside.”
After he left, the silence lingered until I finally glanced up to meet Clarity’s gaze.
“Trey told me what happened,” she said gently. “I can’t believe Lana betrayed you all like that.”
I hated the guilt that stabbed me. If it weren’t for me, Lana and Exo would both still be here.
“How’re you doing?” she asked.
My eyes went to the ring of bruises around her neck. She clearly knew what men were capable of doing.
“I could heal those bruises for you,” I found myself saying.
She looked surprised. “You don’t have to do that.”
I shrugged. “Bruises are pretty easy.” I hesitated for a moment. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Her eyes looked too old for her face. “Just a little sore.”
This exhaustion reached all the way down to my bones. I knew exactly what she meant, and I’d be willing to bet that whoever hurt her hadn’t been exiled or punished in any way. Gods, I wanted to do something.
“Can I heal you?” I asked, holding her gaze.
“Sure.”
She sat on the chair and I laid my hands on her neck. It took little effort to direct that warmth through her skin, taking away the bruises and the lingering pain I sensed in several parts of her body. When I stepped back, she smiled, despite the tears shining in her eyes.
“Thank you, Bones.”
I shrugged.
“Trey hates that I work in the brothel,” she added, sliding off the chair.
“My dad owed a debt and died before he could pay it, so Madame sent me to the brothel to work the remainder off. Trey keeps trying to get me out, but I don’t have any other place to go.
” She toyed with one of the tincture bottles.
“Mac offered to let me join his crew, but I’ve never been physically strong and I get sick a lot.
And the brothel isn’t so bad. We stick together and try to help each other out. ”
“How old were you?” I asked.
She hesitated. “Twelve.”
I had to fight to swallow past the nausea. A fucking kid working in a brothel. That could have been me. Probably would have been me if I didn’t have this power.
“Mac doesn’t hate that you work in the brothel?” I couldn’t resist the jab at Mac.
Clarity blinked, and she frowned slightly. “I don’t think he likes it, but he respects my decision.”
Oh. I didn’t know what to say after that.
“Anyways, I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I’m…” I met her eyes and let a tiny bit of vulnerability show. “It’s nothin’ new.”
We exchanged a look that spoke more than words ever could. She understood, and so did I, and we both hated it.
“I know you don’t know me that well,” she said, “but I can vouch for Trey and Mac. My brothers are good men.”
I looked away again. “If anyone is ever hurt at the brothel, send for me. Doesn’t have to be an emergency.”
“I will. Thank you, Bones.”
After Clarity left, I had a few moments of silence before a woman entered, Griz close behind. The way he monitored her made me tense. She looked harmless—thin and frail—but she watched me hungrily with a strange light in her eyes.
“You have a gift,” the woman said before I could say anything. She tilted her head, a birdlike movement.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
She smiled, and I noticed her pupils were blown wide like she was high on something.
“Angel,” the woman murmured reverently.
I felt the blood leave my face so fast, the room swam. “Don’t call me that.”
“The Voiceless must know.” Her face shone with awe. “The gods have sent an angel.”