Page 111 of Bones
“Trey didn’t give you a narc. I did,” Mac continued. “He tried to stop me.”
It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter who did it. I wanted to scream and rage, but my strength was vanishing.
“For the record, this isexactlywhat doing something fucking stupid looks like.” I hadn’t seen Mac this angry since the first moment I met him after our rooftop chase. “What were you thinking? Ten fucking lashes! You could have healed me, and I would have been fine. Why the fuck did you?—”
“Wasn’t your fault,” I interrupted, my eyes welling up.
“I made that deal with Madame. Iknewwhat I was fucking signing up for,” he hissed.
The panic and pain roaring through me made it hard to think clearly. I’d thought nothing could hurt worse than when Juck had pressed a red-hot piece of metal against my chest, letting it sizzle and burn into my skin, but I’d been wrong.
“You wouldn’t heal yourself. So we gave you pain meds,” Mac continued, gesturing in a sharp, jerky motion. “What the fuck else were we supposed to do?”
“Nothing,” I choked out.
He crouched lower so he could meet my gaze. His grey eyes were full of angry sparks. “If you thinkanyof us would just sit here and watch you suffer without doing somethin’ about it, you don’t know us at all. You want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Not Trey.”
I closed my eyes so I didn’t have to see the intensity in his expression. I wanted to tell him we were all fucked, but I couldn’t. Not without making everything into a bigger mess.
I heard the cruel voice echoing in my head.When will you learn?
You know better,Wolf snarled.
Shut up,I begged.Just shut up.
“Bones, are you listenin’ to me?” Mac’s voice rang with impatient authority, but I refused to open my eyes again.
Eventually, Mac gave up and I managed to fall asleep again, although every tiny movement woke me with a pained gasp. A few times I saw Mac checking on me, but most often it was Apple sitting at my side, her tiny hand resting on mine. I could still see the faint remains of the bruise on her face from where Zip hit her. When I met her eyes, I dreaded seeing that hurt and betrayal again, but she just gave me a small smile.
I wanted to tell her I didn’t deserve her forgiveness.
Instead, I just closed my eyes again.
* * *
The days passed in a haze of pain. Mac and Griz moved me to my mattress. Sam had been moved to the bunkhouse with the kids and the clinic felt so empty. I refused to speak to Trey, desperate to push him away for good this time. I didn't speak to anyone unless necessary. Maybe it was too late, but my mind kept spinning through frantic plans. If I could escape as soon as I could move, maybe I could get far enough away that he wouldn't bother with the Vault. I could get his attention and hope he chased me instead. It was a gamble, but one I would take without hesitation to keep the people of the Vault from getting caught in the crossfire.
I’d lied to all of them. I wasn’t the only powered person in the world.
Either that or I was crazy, but the things I’d seen sure seemed like proof he existed, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to take that chance.
Mac’s crew did not react well to my sudden turn in behavior, and I couldn’t blame them. I struggled to bear their anger, confusion, andhurt. Trey’s broken promise felt like a wound in my heart, even as the clinical part of me understood why they’d drugged me. I didn’t understand why it hurt so badly. A broken promise was nothing new.
* * *
“Hey, Boney.”
I opened my eyes to see Raven and someone else striding into the clinic. I tensed, and then bit back a groan of pain. I didn't want to deal with Raven and whoever?—
My thoughts came to a halt as I recognized the girl I’d saved from Brimstone.Sky. Her hair had been buzzed short and even, fixing the crude way it had been cut, and dark bruises lingered on her face. She stood there, her eyes wide and tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared at me. I was still stuck lying on my stomach on my mattress. I could get up and move around a little, but it hurt like hell and I needed help. I’d had a few truly humiliating moments with Griz attempting to use the outhouse, but I preferred them over the humiliating moments using a bedpan.
“Sky, don’t be a little bitch,” Raven snapped, startling me. “You wanted to help, so quit crying.”
I winced at her harsh tone, but to my surprise, Sky wiped her cheeks and raised her chin.
“Thank you, Bones.” Her voice quavered, but she pushed through. “You saved my life, and I can’t ever repay you, but I’d like to help you recover if that’s ok.”
I stared at her, then flicked my eyes to Raven.
