Page 17 of Lawless
"Okay..."
I made a small, surface-level incision and paused, waiting for a reaction from Kitty. When it was clear she didn't feel any pain, I continued, making the best of the poor lighting and less-than-sterile conditions in the room. The cyst was nearly twice the size of her ovary and I let out a huge sigh of relief as I cut that fucker off.
"You're going to be okay, Kitty. Hold still for me." I gave her another dose of nitrous before preparing my surgical thread. "This won't bother you anymore."
"Thank you," she breathed dreamily, high as a kite. "I should have listened to you...this morning..."
"Don't worry about it." I was a master at surgical sutures now and stitched her up quickly, only glancing once out the window.
The bikers came down for dinner around dusk and now it was pitch black outside. I worked on Kitty as quickly as I could, but still lost complete track of time. Poor Gretchen had to be struggling downstairs.
Just as I cleaned the incision and taped a bandage over it, a piercing scream floated down the hallway.
Fuck, Gretchen!It only occurred to me right then how dangerous it was to leave her alone with men who had already abused her.
I grabbed the hand of Kitty's daughter. "I'll be right back but in case I don't, make sure this stays covered and dry for two days, okay?"
"Um, okay." Fear returned to her once-calm face. "But promise you won't leave us?"
"I can't. I'm sorry."
In the next moment, I flew down the hall back toward the lobby. I realized in hindsight I should have grabbed a scalpel, but all I could think about was reaching Gretchen in time.
An unarmed woman against six members of the most dangerous motorcycle club members in the Southwest? My odds weren't good but I'd give them hell like they'd never seen before.
At least I was able to help Kitty.
The scene laid out before me when I reached the lobby was the last thing I expected to see.
A pool of blood spread slowly across the tiled floor, coming from the lifeless body of Liza. Her eyes and mouth were wide open in horror, fingers still curled and stained red. Where her throat had once been was now a gaping, shredded hole.
My eyes followed the red paw prints that led away from her body to the terrified women huddled together against the wall. Gretchen and the two service girls trembled and cried as Hades, lips pulled back and stained red teeth on display, snarled inches from their faces like he wanted to kill them next.
"Call your fucking dog off!" I ordered, my mouth going faster than my brain. "Don't hurt them!"
"Take it easy, baby girl." The request came from Gunner, a short-barreled shotgun in one hand. "He's not gonna hurt them. Hades is making sure they stay out of harm's way."
"Bullshit! Look what he did!" I cried, thrusting a hand out toward Liza.
I never got a chance to know her, but even if she was a useless junkie like Gretchen said, she didn't deserve to have her throat ripped out by a dog.
"Hades' work was a kindness. She deserved much worse." Reaper's words floated down another hallway as he approached, dragging something, no,someone, behind him. "As do you, Tom."
"No!" My voice squeaked out with shock. Tom was bleeding from the head but alive, wheezing with labored breaths. His legs dragged uselessly behind him at odd angles.
With cool indifference, Reaper grabbed a chunk of Tom's white hair, pulling his head back to bare his throat. In his other hand, he brandished a dagger and pressed it to Tom's neck.
"Stop!" I cried, my voice returning to me. "Why the fuck are you doing this? Just, please stop!"
Reaper looked up, his bright green eyes full of curiosity. "You want me to spare his life?"
"Yes," I breathed, my whole body vibrating with adrenaline. "Please, don't kill any more people."
A cruel smirk pulled at his lips. It didn't matter how attractive he was. In that moment, he was the living embodiment of evil.
He leaned down close to Tom's ear, but I still heard every word.
"Say hello to the devil for me."
