Page 8 of Her Avenging Angel

But now, as she sat in the Angels’ clubhouse, looking back and forth between their president and the medic, she had to wonder how much of what Ace said was true. And if his tales of the Angels were lies, how much of the rest of what came out of his mouth had been, too?

“I understand we’re waiting for pillows?” Freud said behind her.

“We are,” Raven confirmed. “Dax should be back with them any minute.”

“All right, young lady. While we wait, can you answer a few questions for me?” Freud said.

Taylynn started to twist around to look at him but as she started the movement pain shot through her torso leaving her breathless as she mentally kicked herself for doing something so stupid. This wasn’t the first time she’d been hurt, though she didn’t think it had ever been quite this bad before. A hand came up and lightly touched her back. Not sure who it was, she wanted to move away but couldn’t, at least not until she caught her breath.

“Careful, sweetheart,” Freud said, making her mentally cringe.

“She doesn’t like sweetheart. Her name is Taylynn,” Raven said from in front of her.

“All right then, Taylynn. That was question number one. I’ve got several others but let’s make sure you’re comfortable first. Would you rather be in a chair until we can get the pillows in here?” Freud’s voice was gentle, even as the hand against her back was firm and supportive without hurting her.

She closed her eyes and focused on breathing through the pain for a moment before answering. Even if she could answer right now, there was no way she could stand or move until this passed. After a minute or two—she really couldn’t tell how long it had been—she was able to breathe again without wanting to curl up and cry.

“Here’s what I could find.” Dax appeared in the doorway, arms filled with pillows. She had to smile at the haphazard collection he’d gathered. He had taken Raven at his word when he’d told him to gather them all. There were pillows that looked like they came from someone’s bed, some that obviously came with a sofa or something similar, and what looked like the back cushions off some large piece of furniture.

“Bring them here,” Raven said, then turned to her. “Let’s get you comfortable.” He stacked pillows against the headboard, then offered her a hand to get into a better position.

As much as she wished she didn’t need the help, she took it anyway, because she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to do it herself, and even if she did, she wasn’t willing to hurt herself like she had a moment ago, so she took his hand.

“All right,” the medic said once she’d gotten situated. “Let’s start with the medical stuff first and then move to the things that are no less important, but a little bit less urgent, okay?”

“Okay. I guess.” Taylynn folded her hands in her lap and stared at the torn skin on the edge of one thumb.

“Taylynn,” the medic said, one hand reached into her line of sight, reaching toward her as if he was going to touch her arm, but stopped before actually making contact, “You have choices here. You don’t have to just go along. I can only suspect how things were when you were with the Iron Demons. But that’s not how things work around here. You can say no. You can tell us you don’t want to do something if you’re asked. We’re not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to.”

The man, Raven, made a noise that stopped the other man. What had Raven called him? Freud? They were both quiet for a moment then the medic continued, “I’m not saying we won’t use reason and try to convince you to do what we need you to, but we won’t force you.”

She stared at him a moment, unsure if she could believe him. She tried to remember if Ace and the rest of the Demons had ever told her they wouldn’t hurt her or they wouldn’t force her. She couldn’t recall. She didn’t think so, but she couldn’t be sure. If her memory was right, then the best thing she could say was that they hadn’t lied to her but was that really anything to brag about? She didn’t think so, but she still found it difficult to believe these men who told her they wouldn’t hurt her.

Only time would tell if it was the truth. In the meantime she did her best to answer the questions the medic had for her. At first it was all medical stuff, how was she feeling, was she allergic to anything, that kind of thing. She answered them all. When the questions turned more personal, where was she from, what about her family, those she was more reluctant to answer. After about the third one she considered just keeping her mouth shut, but decided to take a chance.

“I’m not ready to talk about that.” Taylynn braced herself and waited for the smack she was sure would follow but it never came.

“Okay. That’s okay. What are you ready to share? Or if that’s all for now, that’s all right. We’re not here to push, not unless we have to.” The older man kept his tone gentle. He looked across her at the president, then back to her. She wondered what kind of signal the two had used and what it meant. “We can let you rest a while. But before we do, is there anyone you want to contact? Anyone you want to let know you’re okay?”

“We recommend not reaching out to anyone associated with the Demons, at least for now, but anyone else?” Raven asked.

“No.” She looked back down at her hands, wishing she wasn’t so pathetic and pitiful. She hated feeling like this but what could she do? She didn’t even have any clothes of her own right now. She had to rely on these strangers for everything. Maybe some sleep would help. She didn’t believe it but maybe things would get better with a little time.

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