Page 7 of Bones
I didn’t know what to think of these people. Mac knew I’d belonged to Juck, they’d been looking for his “secret weapon,” and I’d be willing to wager that didn’t mean anythinggood.So far they hadn’t hurt me too much besides knocking me out. Trey seemed to care about my well-being, but I knew all too well one person caring didn’t mean shit.
Exhaustion crept over me, and I tried hard to fight it, but I dozed off several times before jerking awake, startling both men next to me every time.
“Bones, it’s alright if you sleep.” Trey murmured, which only made me try harder to stay awake.
Stay alert,Wolf snapped.
Despite my best efforts, it wasn’t long before the exhaustion won and pulled me under.
2
Ijerked awake with a gasp. Next to me, a body jolted and on the other side, somebody swore. My heart pounded in my throat, and it took me a few seconds to remember where the hell I was. The sun had sunk below the trees, bathing the sky in orange streaks. The rover had stopped, but I still couldn’t see anything but trees. The wide-open space of the desert often made me feel exposed, but here, swallowed by trees, I felt trapped.
“Jumpy little thing,” Griz muttered and I flushed.
Mac and Jax hopped out as the second rover pulled up beside us.
Griz grabbed my arm and pulled me out, gripping tighter as I swayed a little. Gods, I hoped this dizziness passed soon. The second rover’s crew unloaded beside us, two women and one other man. The driver—a woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail—stared me down with a look of pure hatred in her bloodshot eyes. I took an involuntary step backward, treading on Griz’s foot.
“Bring her over here,” Trey called, pulling a battered first aid kit from the back of the rover.
Griz pulled me over to where Trey set the kit on the hood of the rover, standing in the headlight. The woman turned away and began unloading supplies. Unease swirled in my stomach. Griz dropped my arm, standing next to me with his massive arms crossed while I tried to remember if I’d ever seen that woman before.
“Come sit down and unbutton your shirt so I can take a look at that wound on your shoulder,” Trey said, gesturing toward a large rock.
All thoughts of the woman went straight out of my head.
“It’s just a scratch,” I snapped, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice. I gripped the collar of my shirt, pulling it tighter across my chest like it might somehow protect me and trying to hide my wince of pain from doing so.
“Look, Bones, I’m not trying to make a move on you,” Trey said patiently, “but that’s not just a scratch. Your shirt is wet, which means it’s still fuckin’ bleeding. That wound needs to be cleaned and maybe stitched. You know that.”
I glared at him, heat rising in my face. “I can do it myself.”
“You can’t even see it. C’mon. You want Griz to sit on you?” A smile quirked at the corner of Trey’s mouth. “Because we can do this the hard way.”
He rolled up his sleeves and in the bright light of the headlights, I caught a glimpse of the bite I’d given him. My teeth marks were stamped onto his skin as a new pink scar.
Griz took a step forward and my entire body tensed. I didn’t understand why they were making such a big deal out of a stupid wound. They were trying to intimidate me, and they were succeeding. When he took a second step, I panicked. I took off like a terrified rabbit, but apparently Griz anticipated that. He lunged and caught my arm, jerking me to a stop. The rest of the group went quiet, and I could feel everyone’s eyes on us. My heart pounded and my stomach churned with a swell of fear. I kept my eyes on the ground. I wasn’t sure what they meant by the hard way, but maybe if I made it difficult enough they’d give up. Surely it wouldn’t be worth the trouble, right?
Trey must’ve signaled to everyone somehow because they all went back to their tasks, ignoring the three of us.
I flinched when Trey reached toward me, and he withdrew his hand. I hated that I did it, that I couldn’t control the way my body reacted. My face burned.
“We’re not gonna hurt you,” Griz murmured next to me, still holding my arm.
“I can do it myself. Just let me do it,” I tried again, hating the desperation leaking into my voice.
“Hey.” Trey’s voice gentled in a way that made my throat tighten. “Bones, look at me.”
“I swear it’s nothin’. Just give me a bandage, and I can take care of it.”
“Bones, c’mon, look at me.”
I lifted my eyes, but I couldn’t quite look Trey in the face, so I stared at his hands instead. He stood a step away, keeping his gestures slow and non-threatening. He had workers’ hands, calloused and rough, but he kept his nails neatly trimmed. The sun had browned his skin and highlighted the small white scars peppered across his hands. He raised one hand, and I tracked the movement as he tucked his wavy brown hair back behind his ear to keep it out of his face. I met his gaze finally and hated the gentleness that somehow still existed there. His brown eyes, framed with long eyelashes, met mine.
“I know you’ve got little cause to trust us.” Trey pitched his voice low enough just for me to hear. “But I owe you my life, and I swear on that debt I’m not gonna hurt you. That wound is bleeding a lot, and I just want to stitch it up. Will you let me do that?”
“What’ll you do if I don’t?” I tried to sound defiant, but I just sounded scared.
