Page 63 of Tainted Love

“Bring it in.”

“You hurt?”

“Not me, no.”

Elijah and Lilah exchange glances before they each look over my shoulders into the house.

I head back inside with Lilah while he jogs back to his bike for the kit.

Metal cuffs clang loudly against the iron bars upstairs. Lucy must still be really pissed off up there. Can’t say I blame her.

Lilah pauses, her little gray eyes turning upward until falling back on me with accusation.

I sigh. “That’s…”

She flashes a sinful smile. “Oh, I know what that sound is.”

I glower. My baby sister has dozens of confirmed kills but that doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the thought of her having sex.

Elijah steps inside with his medkit hanging off his shoulder. “So, what’s—” He stops as his ears train on the same sound.

“Come on,” I say, gesturing them to follow me up.

We head upstairs and the clanging stops as we reach the landing. Lucy stares down the hallway at us, her eyes squinting to make out the unfamiliar faces. We stop in the doorway and Elijah raises an inquisitive brow.

“Hi,” he greets her.

“Hi,” Lucy replies through her teeth.

“Dante…” He clears his throat. “Why do you have a girl handcuffed to our grandparent’s bed?”

“Because he’s an asshole.”

Lilah chortles and leans against the doorway. “I like her already.”

I step into the room. “Lucy, this is my brother, Elijah, and my sister, Lilah.”

Her eyes flick between them, sharp and narrow. “My condolences to you both.”

Elijah moves around the bed, his training instantly zeroing in on her knee. “What did you do to her?” he asks.

“I didn’t do this to her,” I say quickly.

“Not directly,” she mutters, holding her vicious stare on me.

“They’re here to help you, Lucy.”

“We are?” Lilah asks.

I glance at her in the doorway. “Please.”

Elijah leans over to get a closer look while lowering his medkit onto the foot of the bed. “Looks like a blunt object — thin, metal.” His eyes shift toward Lucy. “You were struck twice.”

“You can tell that?” she asks.

“Yes…” He unzips the front pouch on his kit and pulls out a pair of rubber gloves. “The first hit your kneecap straight on but the second didn’t—” He pulls the gloves on, pausing above her. “May I?”

Lucy shifts awkwardly before giving him a quick nod.

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