Page 8 of Phantom
“What was all that commotion?” Dr. Marteau asked, and my heart thudded as I imagined Colin hearing all of that while he was afraid he was being pursued.
“You guys heard?” I rolled my eyes. “My brother lost his temper.”
“I heard. CJ is out cold. I gave him the good drugs. He’s in bad shape,” Dr. Marteau replied. “He’ll be okay, though. He’ll have some permanent scarring, especially on that left arm. You’ll need to regularly dress his wounds until they heal, but he doesn’t require surgery. I left a burn cream and some Vicodin for the pain. I should see him again in a few days.”
I nodded. “Thanks, doc.”
“Of course.”
I stood aside so that he could walk past me toward the front door. As soon as he was beyond me, I pulled my gun out of the back hem of my jeans and fired directly at Dr. Marteau’s right shin. He hissed out a swear as he dropped to the floor. Lockjaw ran over and loomed over him, growling and snarling.
I walked over and crouched next to Lockjaw so that I could look Dr. Marteau in his eyes. “I thought I asked you not to call my dad, doc.”
Dr. Marteau was groaning in pain, trying to pull himself to his feet, but every time he moved too much, Lockjaw snapped at him. “I have strict orders to always call your dad. He’s a scary man.”
“Well, I think you can now see that we’re cut from the same cloth,” I replied in a low, resonant voice. “Next time I tell you to do something, you’d better not disobey me. We can always find another doctor.”
“Y-yes, Valkyrie.”
“Good. Now get out of my house. Lockjaw will see you out.”
Leaving Dr. Marteau to figure himself out, I stood and walked back into the guest bedroom. As Dr. Marteau said, Colin was passed out on the bed, starfish style, one leg hanging off the bed. He looked much better with a new white wrap of gauze around his left arm and crawling over his torso. I was able to see his bare torso now that he wasn’t awake to freak out about it, and I let out a little groan. He’d taken great care of himself. Mind wandered briefly to what he could do with me with those full, thick arms, but I shook it out of my brain.
I had hoped to explain what happened with his bike sooner rather than later, but he’d have to hear the story in the morning. I pulled a blanket from the closet and pulled it over him, then left the room, ducking my head into the living room just long enough to see that Dr. Marteau managed to get out and that Lockjaw was already snoozing away in his bed. Then I turned around and went back into my own bedroom.
As I changed for bed, I couldn’t shake the fear that Colin might be gone when I woke up the next day, but it wasn’t like he could get far without his bike, anyway. I set my gun and phone on my bedside table where I could reach them both in case of emergency, and with the hope that I’d findCJstill in the guest bed in the morning, I climbed in my bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Four
Phantom
Usually, the sun on my face in the morning served as a frightening realization that I’d actually allowed myself to drift off, and feeling the morning light would send me into a panic. I woke with the need to make sure that my bike hadn’t been stolen, that someone hadn’t lifted me from wherever I was, or that someone wasn’t preparing to kill me. For the first time in close to a month, I woke up in a warm and comfortable bed and felt totally at ease. Because I’d gotten actual drugs as opposed to my main medicine recently—booze—I didn’t have the usual headache that came with waking up in the morning, and though my body was sore all over, it wasn’t the barking pain I typically had to fight through before I could set out for the day.
When was the last time I got a good night’s sleep? Even before I left the Unchained Dogs, my nights were usually plagued with worry over Caid, and thus also sleepless. Caid was in Germany and under the best care Luther’s money could buy, and I was in Tess’ house with my wounds finally having been tended to by an actual doctor. I felt the best I’d felt in a very long time, if ever.
I lifted my arms to stretch them above my head and was happy when they moved without too much protest. The white bandages coiled around my left arm were a painful reminder of the discoloration beneath that Dr. Marteau had told me would be permanent. It wasn’t as if I was a shorts and t-shirt kind of guy, but Arizona heat was nothing to play around with. Regardless, I’d be creating a permanent wardrobe of long-sleeved shirts and jackets going forward. Vanity aside, I didn’t want anyone linking my arm to anything that happened to me back in Rumble, and I didn’t want anyone to think that I was too weak to handle myself.
Gathering my bearings, I realized there was a blanket pulled over me. I assumed that Dr. Marteau wasn’t the romantic type, so I figured Tess must have come in and covered me up before she went to bed. She’d always been that way, quietly caring for me, doing the things I was too dumb to do for myself. Half the time, I’d neglect my homework, eating, or even sleeping when I took care of Caid back before we left Hoppa. Tess would help me get my schoolwork done, feed me some lifted leftovers from her family’s dinner, and even soothingly run her hand through my hair until I couldn’t hold my eyes open anymore. For someone so young, the way she took care of me was unbelievable. She clearly was still up to her same antics in that regard. It’d be difficult not getting caught up in her before I left. I didn’t realize how much I missed her until I was talking to her again. It was almost enough to make a guy want to stay.
Almost.
I climbed out of bed, and my bladder made itself known almost instantly. Another luxury I’d forgotten all about was peeing in a place that didn’t have a tick risk. I thought of the door Tess pointed out the day before, grabbed my long-sleeved shirt off the desk, and made my way to it. At the very end of the hallway, I saw the door that Tess had pointed out as being hers. I reached the bathroom door, but I couldn’t drag my eyes away from Tess’ bedroom. It was probably a bad idea, but the pull was too sweet, and I continued past the bathroom door and down to the end of the hallway.
Thankfully, the door was cracked, so I tipped it open just a bit further and peeked my head inside. Unlike the more subdued decoration in the rest of Tess’ home, her bedroom was well designed and littered with pictures of her family and Lockjaw and tons of Steel Knights logos and sigils. Her bed was king-sized and covered in a dark blue comforter, and Tess was dead center in a nest of pillows. Her hair was spread across the bed above her head, and her sleeping face was perfectly calm and serene.
She was still the most exquisite sight I’d ever seen.
I could have stood there and stared at her forever if I didn’t have to pee and wasn’t concerned about her labeling me as a creep, so I snuck back out of the room and down to the bathroom to relieve myself. I pulled on the shirt when I was done and noticed for the first time how grungy and dirty it was. Hopefully, I’d be able to take some time to purchase a few new articles of clothing and take a long, hot shower before I had to get the hell out of dodge. As much as I wanted to stay and soak up more of Tess, staying in one place for too long was dangerous, and I didn’t want my trouble to find Tess or her family.
I left the bathroom and walked into the living room. I was planning on helping myself to some coffee and working on getting Lockjaw to not hate me, but the sight I found froze me in place. The coffee table was completely shattered, and not far from it was a concentrated stain of blood, droplets of which spattered across the floor in a line toward the front door.
Shit.
I rushed to the front door and threw it open. My heart started to race as I ran out to the driveway where Tess and I had left our bikes, and though I was expecting what I saw, it didn’t frighten me any less. Tess’ bike was banged up, but mine was mangled beyond recognition.
How did they find me so fast? Did Luther honestly anticipate that I would hide amongst the enemy? I’d been careful to keep my association with Hoppa to myself while I was running with the Dogs. I’d already dragged Tess into my trouble. It was too late.
I needed to run. As much as it would kill me to leave my bike behind, it wasn’t going anywhere in the condition it was in after the clearly ferocious beating it withstood last night while I slept. I could grab my stuff, hike out of Hoppa, and then see if I could catch a ride. Where I’d catch a ride to, I wasn’t sure, but if I could just get out of Luther’s purview, I could figure out my next step. With my wounds sufficiently patched, I could travel more than a few miles without needing to stop. I could start by getting out of Arizona.
