Page 20 of Devil's Marker

“Well, I’d say ‘regularly’ is probably too regular a word. But it happens.”

“It happens,” he repeated drily, prodding for more information.

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

Carla laughed. “I’m not a shrink, darlin’.”

“What are you?”

“Today it’s Saturday at the biker boy club and it’s Boss’s birthday. So today I’m Zipper’s old lady, but four days a week you can find me over at the VA hospital. I’m an RN.”

“No shit?”

“None at all. Now lay back there.” As she placed a little pillow with a clean paper cover at the head end of the table, she pushed on his chest gently. When he reclined, she pulled the lever that lifted the foot section of the table. When he relaxed she said, “I’m gonna ice that nose so you don’t bruise too bad. I gave you some sleepy pills and they’re gonna be makin’ you drowsy any minute. Just go with it. Take a little nap right here.” She retrieved a blanket from one of the metal cabinets lining the walls and pulled it from the sealed plastic bag it had been in. Covering Win, she said, “This’ll keep you warm. Don’t you worry. Nobody’ll bother you in here. I’m gonna keep the pack fresh while you sleep for a few hours. When you wake up, you may not be good as new, but you’ll be better than you’d be without the ice.”

Win stared at the insulation panels in the lowered ceiling and listened to the sound of Carla’s voice.

“Her nickname is Roman Candle. That’s where the R.C. comes from. You just learned firsthand why her daddy started calling her that. I guess it was him. Coulda been somebody else. I don’t know. Reminded her dad of one of the really hot-tempered fireworks.

“I actually know her pretty well. She grew up with my girl, Robin. If it’d been up to me I woulda called her T.D. after that Tasmanian Devil thing that was in Looney Tunes. But ‘course nobody asked me.

“One time at my house, when the girls were about ten, she and Robin filled pillow cases with flour and had a pillow fight. That was fifteen years ago and I’m still findin’ little bits of old flour hiding in cracks and crevices when I deep clean. ‘Course it was R.C.’s idea.

“She’s a handful. Pretty though. You probably didn’t notice that, what with your nose tryin’ to marry your cheek and all.”

As the pain subsided, his lids grew heavy and his muscles relaxed underneath the warmth of the blanket. As his eyes closed he was thinking that he had, in fact, noticed that and kind of wished he hadn’t. She was a dreamy Nordic blonde distraction and the last thing he needed when laser sharp focus was required.

The next time he opened his eyes he didn’t feel the weight of an ice pack on his face. Turning his head slightly he saw Carla sitting in a chair, swinging one crossed leg slightly while swiping pages on an iPad.

She noticed he was awake when he tried to sit up, and rushed over to the table.

“Here. Here. Here.” She caught hold of him and helped him sit up with a grip that was deceptively strong. “Go easy. I gave you some pretty serious sleepy time meds.”

“How long have I been asleep?” His voice sounded hoarse, like he’d been asleep for days.

She cracked open a bottle of water and handed it to him. “Six hours.”

“Six hours?” He sounded incredulous. He was supposed to be working for the SSMC and, by extension, the Texas Rangers. Not sleeping for hours on end.

He slid forward on the table until his feet found the ground. Carla was there to steady him. “Let’s just make sure you’re nice and steady before you go chargin’ off.”

She let go of him, but stayed close while he took a few steps, drinking water.

“How do you feel?”

He gave that question serious consideration. “Having trouble breathing through my nose? I sound like…”

“Darth Vader.”

“Yeah. Him.”

When he reached up to touch his face, she grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

Pointing to the rectangular mirror over the sink, she said, “Take a look.”

He hesitated, but shuffled over to the mirror. He looked like something out of a horror movie. His nose was swollen so that he could be justifiably reclassified as disfigured. Worse. It was black with dark red streaks running through the bruise. His eyes were almost swollen shut. Also bruised underneath like he’d been in a boxing ring and taken way too much punishment.

---