Page 34 of Bones
“You really gonna tell me you weren’t thinkin’ about running?” he said without even looking at me.
I clenched my jaw to keep my mouth shut, but I wasn’t sure if I was holding back from cursing at him or begging him for help.
A middle-aged man sat restrained in the chair. Madame had already carved his arm up like she’d been too impatient to wait for me before starting. His screams echoed off the walls as he sobbed and swore he didn’t know anything. Mac dragged me in and shut the door. Madame barely spared a glance at us, which made me feel even worse. She didn’t seem worried that I would refuse to come.
I tucked myself into the corner, rubbing my arm where Mac had grabbed me. Mac leaned against the wall a few steps away, his face blank. The man in the chair screamed again, and I wished I would have run. What would Madame do if I refused to heal him?
Do what you gotta to survive,Wolf snarled.
Madame didn’t ask that many questions. Mostly she repeated ones likewho do you report to?Andwhere did you get that gun?Questions I didn’t quite understand and tried not to think about too much. I didn’t want to be involved in whatever was happening at the Vault. I just wanted to keep my head down and get the fuck out of this place as soon as I could.
When Madame called me up to heal the man’s many wounds, I hesitated, watching her face. Once she realized I hadn’t moved, her cold gaze narrowed on me.
“Bones,” she repeated in a dangerous voice, “you need some motivation?”
Several of her men chuckled, and my stomach dropped. I pushed off the wall and moved forward. The man stared at me with fear in his eyes as he sobbed. I wrapped my hands around his arm and called on my healing powers. He gasped as they began to flow into him, but I couldn’t look at him.
You fucking coward.That wasn’t Wolf’s voice. That was mine.
Madame hovered behind me as I worked and again that sugary sweet smell drifted around me, mixing with the smell of blood and urine in a way that made my stomach turn. Her men prowled around the chair like wild animals. They watched Madame torture the man, eyes bright with excitement. After the third or fourth healing, two of them surrounded me as I tried to retreat to my corner.
“You know, I think I got something I need you to take a look at, Bones,” one of them leered.
I tried to move past him, but the second one blocked me.
“Me too.” He grinned, licking his lips. “Been hurtin’ me so bad.”
“C’mon, sweetheart, help me out.” The first leaned over, grabbing my wrist and yanking me toward him.
I tried to jerk away, furious, but Mac appeared at my side and grabbed the man’s arm. He didn’t even say anything, he just stared him in the eyes with an expression that made goosebumps rise on my arms. The man sneered, but I could see the fear he tried to hide. He dropped my wrist, and I darted back to my corner.
“Calm down, Mac.” He spit in the hay. “We’re just havin’ some fun.”
“Not with her you’re not,” Mac said, his voice cold and hard.
The two of them muttered some more but retreated to where Madame was sawing off one of the man’s fingers as he screamed.
I stared at the hay and tried to feel numb, to shove my mind out of my head and let it float away like I’d done so many times with Juck. Mac came back to lean on the wall, a lot closer to me than he’d been before, but I didn’t look at him. The next time I stepped forward when Madame called me, he followed like a protective shadow. Madame’s men glared at him and muttered to each other, but no one tried to grab me.
Madame eventually killed the man by slicing his throat and dismissed us. It didn’t seem to matter how many people I’d seen killed because it still made my heart lurch into my throat when she struck that death blow. The man’s body slumped in the chair, blood dripping onto the floor, and I stood there staring, my brain stuck on the stupid thought I didn’t even know his name. Mac grabbed my elbow and started hauling me out, and I let him, my legs weak and shaky.
Once we got a safe distance from the watchtower, Mac stopped and turned to me. I kept my eyes down, trying to hide the fact they were brimming with tears, and attempted to calm my ragged breathing as I waited for whatever he wanted to say. But he didn’t say anything. He stood there silently for so long that fear began creeping in. When I couldn’t take it any longer, I finally peered up at him. In the dim light, I could tell he was looking at me, but I couldn’t see his expression.
“You good?” he asked in a low voice.
I stared at him.Good?!
Fury brought me back to my senses. “Fuck you, Mac,” I hissed at him before I wrenched my arm free from his grip and pushed past him, striding toward the clinic.
He didn’t try to stop me, but I heard him follow me a few paces behind.
When I angrily threw the door open, I faltered on the threshold. Trey, Griz, and Sam were standing around the exam table. All of them turned toward me.
“Bones—” Trey’s eyes were wide with concern as he moved forward.
I pushed past him, storming to the ladder.
“Bones?” he called after me, but I didn’t stop.
