Page 141 of Fangs
“Guess I’m not done apologizin’ yet, am I?”he added in my head.
“I’m not that mad…anymore.”
He sighed, rubbing his forehead.
“So that’s what’s been goin’ on between you two?” Griz asked. “You’ve been having mental conversations?”
I nodded, but Mac gave Griz a look I didn’t understand.
“Who can?—”
Lana suddenly surged upright, her wide eyes full of a familiar ice-cold fury focused solely on me.
“You!” she shrieked, then launched at my face.
23
Ireleased Lana’s arm, trying to bring my hands up to shield myself, but she hit me with so much force that both of us toppled out of the rover on the opposite side from where the others stood. I hit the ground hard with Lana on top of me. My scarred back spasmed in pain, and all the air whooshed out of my lungs. I was so distracted by not being able to breathe that Lana was able to rake her fingernails down my face.
She was screaming, but if she was screaming words, I couldn’t understand them. I finally gasped in a breath and got my arms up over my face as she clawed and scratched my flesh like a feral cat. Then, just as suddenly, she was gone, ripped off me by Mac, who pinned her to the ground with Raven’s help. Griz dropped to my side, swearing furiously.
“Fuck, Em! Okay, hold on. Let me get the kit.” He jumped to his feet again, darting to the rover.
I sat up, my back shrieking in pain, and gingerly touched my face with shaking fingers. It felt like she’d left long scratches on my forehead and cheek. My fingers came away bloody, but the cuts felt shallow.
“Em!”I realized Mac wasshoutingat me in my head.“You okay?”
“I’m okay,” I assured him.“It’s just a scratch.”
Griz appeared at my side again, a first aid kit in hand. “What thefuck,Lana?” he thundered, but his hands were gentle as he pressed a clean rag against the bleeding wounds on my face. His eyes, dark with anger, met mine. “Did you hit your head?”
I shook my head, listening to Raven yell at Lana. “They feel pretty shallow,” I reassured him. “
He carefully cleaned the scratches on my face, my eyes smarting at the sting. Lana finally stopped shrieking in the background, and I could hear Mac talking in a low, angry voice. Griz’s lips were pressed in a thin, flat line, and maybe I imagined it, but he seemed to avoid my gaze.
“How do I look?” I asked, hoping to lighten the mood.
He studied the jagged scratches on my cheek and sighed. “Like you got in a fight with a cat.”
I gave him an exaggerated frown. “Acat?C’mon, couldn’t it be a cougar?”
His eyebrows raised slightly as he finally met my eyes. “You wouldn’t have much of a face left if you got in a fight with a cougar.”
“Wow,” I drew the word out. I tried to raise an eyebrow, but that hurt. “Okay, fine. Can we at least say it was a bobcat?”
He stared at me, his eyes narrowing. “Are youjokingright now?”
I smirked at him.
“Mac, I think Em must’ve hit her head,” Griz yelled over his shoulder.
Mac was at his side in seconds, his face worried. “She hit her head?”
“She must’ve ’cause she’s makin’ fuckin’jokes.”
Mac’s brow furrowed, but his eyes lightened. “You’re right, must be pretty serious,” he drawled.
“Probably on death’s door,” Griz agreed, his lips twitching.
