Page 13 of She Gives Love a Bad Name

She looks young, but there’s nothing innocent about her. If I’m going to learn anything about what happened to her tonight, I need to patch her up.

It takes me about twenty minutes to clean her. I draw the blankets up to protect her modesty. She’s wearing only a bra and panties, and I don’t want to put any other clothes on her until Rob addresses the wounds on her arm and back. She’s got some scrapes and bruises too, but those should heal without intervention.

“Grant?” Rob calls from the front door.

“In the bedroom.”

Rob steps into the room, and his gaze drops to the bed. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know. She showed up at the back door and passed out.” I stand and shove my hands in my pockets. “She’s got a deep cut on her right tricep and another on her left shoulder blade.”

He pushes me aside and sits on the bed. His hands methodically inspect the wounds. “Hand me my kit.”

I snatch the bag from the foot of the bed and give it to him.

He shuffles through it until he finds what he’s looking for. “They’re deep. I’ll have to stitch them.” He threads a needle. “Can you hold her while I work?”

Uncertainty floods me, but I take the spot where Rob was sitting and gather her unconscious form into my arms, resting her head against my shoulder. After readjusting the light, Rob sets to work. He’s quiet and precise, making the stitches small and effective so they don’t scar.

I stare at the wall above my bed, acutely aware of her skin against my thin T-shirt. I ignore the clean floral scent of her hair. My fingertips are light against her back as I hold her in place. Her breath ghosts against my neck in soft puffs. A thousand questions burrow into my mind, but I won’t have any answers until she wakes. Right now, she’s safe; that’s all that matters.

Once Rob finishes bandaging her shoulder, he shifts and scowls. “You’re going to have to hold her like this.”

He shows me how to position her in my lap to give him access to her arm. I do as he says, ignoring the brush of her body against mine and the brash reminder that it’s been a while since I’ve been intimate with anyone.

No. Not going there. I shove aside the rush of desire. Even if I were interested in pursuing something, it wouldn’t be with a kid fifteen years my junior who has a snarky mouth and sticky fingers.

Rob finishes the last stitches on her arm and wipes his hands on the towel before cleaning around the wound and affixing a clean bandage. “So.” He looks at me over her sleeping form. “Gonna tell me who she is?”

I clear my throat. “Remember that break-in at Marcy’s a few months ago when you asked me to take care of the thief?”

“Yeah.” He furrows his brow and his gaze drops to the woman he just patched up. “No way! This is the cat burglar you took care of that night?” He chuckles at my nod. “What happened? She seduce you and win her freedom?”

“No.” I put her down after Rob removes the bloody towels, then I draw the blanket over her sleeping form. “I gave her a choice—either prison or become my informant.”

“Which did she pick?” Rob asks from the restroom where he’s cleaning his tools in the sink.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her in months. Not until she showed up a bloody mess on my doorstep an hour ago.” I sigh and glance at her. “But it looks like she got herself into some trouble, that’s for sure.”

“What are you going to do with her?”

I run my hand through my hair. “Who the fuck knows. I can’t kick her out looking like that.”

“You’re such a softhearted grizzly bear.” Rob grins. “Always a sucker for big eyes and long sad stories.”

A scoff rips from my throat. He’s not wrong, but in this case, he’s not right. This kid might have information I need. She’s useful in gaining evidence for my investigations, nothing more. The moment she’s on her feet, I’ll kick her out. No skin off my back.

“You got your hands full, that’s for sure.” Rob stuffs his tools back in the kit.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Keep the wounds dry. No showers or anything that could get them wet. Change the bandages every day and give me a call if anything comes up.”

“Thanks, Rob. I owe you one.” I walk him to the door.

“Yeah, I’m racking up those favors this year. First Arthur, now you.” He claps his hand on my shoulder. “Get some rest. I’ll call you later this week to check in.”

“Thanks again.”

---