Page 67 of Damned and Broken Gods
“Unlike you, I work fast to get a job done. Or maybe that’s your play?” Her eyes narrowed as she sauntered toward him, dragging her mop across the deck and leaving a trail of soapysuds in their wake. “Make us do all the hard work while you slack?”
I set down my brush. “Hey, back off, Bina!”
“Why are you such a bitch?” Vick said to Bina. “I’ve never done anything to you.”
Bina laughed, a rough, abrasive sound. “You let your drohi drown. You cowardly little shit.”
I pushed to my feet. “Leave him alone!”
Vick’s eyes flashed. “I didn’t! I tried to hold on to her. I tried to drag her onto the boat. I fucking tried!”
“You should have tried harder.”
I felt it the instant Vick snapped, saw it in the tension that rippled through his limbs. He lunged at her, and I rushed forward.
“Stop!” The ground was wet, slippery with suds. I slipped and fell forward, all my weight going onto my knee.
Crack.
A fiery vise clamped around it, pain a starburst of heat radiating up and down my leg.
I screamed, short and sharp before agony stole my breath.
“Leela!” Vick rushed toward me, but Araz appeared as if from thin air, shoving him aside to kneel before me.
“Let me see,” he said. “You’re bleeding.”
I looked up at him through tears. “Fucking hurts.”
He reached out to help me up. Fire shot up my thigh, and a shrill sound pierced the air.
Was that me?
Shit. Oh fuck.
The edges of my vision darkened.
“I think you’ve fractured it. I’m going to pick you up, and it will hurt. Are you ready?”
I nodded, breathing through my nose. “Do it.”
He lifted me carefully into his arms, and I bit back a scream as the fire circling my knee flared.
“Will she be all right?” Bina asked as Araz strode past her.
“Leela, I’m sorry,” Vick called out.
I leaned my head against Araz’s chest and squeezed my eyes closed to block out the pain.
How many injuries was this now?
Fuck, I couldn’t think straight.
Araz took me to his cabin, carefully sat me on the bed, then proceeded to cut my trouser leg to get to my knee. The material was stuck to me with blood. He peeled it back to reveal a deep cut that was still bleeding. My joint was swollen, the skin all shades of blue.
“Yes, a fracture,” Araz said. “Let’s stop the bleeding.”
I leaned back on my palms and let him work. Every contact brought a fresh lance of pain. I gritted my teeth and endured while he cleaned and wrapped my knee.
