Page 6 of Shiner's Light

“The message wasn’t just what they told her to tell us. She is the message,” Nines remarks, his voice taking on that thick, heavy tone.

“What’s she mean to you, Shiner?” Sniper uses that fatherly tone that I’ve heard him use when talking about Storm or his son. “Why would she be used to send a message?”

“It can’t just be because she’s Sasha’s sister,” Blow remarks knowingly. He knew I’d been done with Sasha after Milo was born. I only let the woman stay in the house we shared because a boy needed his mother.

“Olive isn’t anything like her sister. She never was. Whenever Sasha wasn’t around, she’d laugh and smile brighter. She could be funny and offered to help every chance she got. She disappeared the same day of the fire. I couldn’t find a trace of her. The woman vanished.” I remember searching for her, but nothing could be found. She up and left town.

“If she vanished, what made her come back?” Lucky furrows a brow and looks from me to Olive, then back to me. “Chelsea said she started working at the office not that long ago. She was quiet but nice and worked hard. She hadn’t skipped a day of work or missed anything until she was taken.”

“There’s something off here.” My phone beeps, and I pull it out to find a message from Rebecca telling me she’d be on the way in ten minutes. Texting her back, my thanks, I shove the damn device back in my pocket and look at Lucky. “Can you get Chelsea to pick up Milo for me? Until after Rebecca takes a look at Olive, I’m not leaving. I also don’t want her around my son. Not until I know what the hell we’re looking at.”

“Milo can stay with us,” Lucky agrees. “Chelsea will be more than happy to have him spend the night.”

“Thanks.” I knew my brother’s ol’ lady would make sure Milo had a great time and didn’t even miss me. “Tell him I’ll call him at bedtime.”

“Will do.” Lucky nods and leaves the rest of us to go tell Chelsea the plans.

“What are we going to do here?” Torch asks.

“I’ve got Keys looking into Olive. See what we can find. She might have vanished for a while, but he’ll find something. I’m sure of it. Until then, we need to discuss in church exactly what she said about the Crimson Blood Clan and the message they left,” Blow remarks.

“Need to know if she can describe any of them,” Nines states.

“We’ll talk to her after Rebecca takes a look at her,” Sniper says, nodding. “There’s plenty of shit to handle for the time being.”

Ain’t that the damn truth.

* * *

“She really needs to be in a hospital,” Rebecca murmurs, snapping off a pair of latex gloves.

“Before I gave her something for the pain, she said no to the suggestion,” I informed my cousin, standing on the other side of the bed, arms crossed and eyes watchful.

Rebecca finished stitching up the wounds on her back that needed them. Throughout her working on Olive, she questioned what happened to her, did a few exams that confirmed what I knew, and took care of cleaning the bite marks.

“I can’t be sure without X-rays, but I’m certain she’s got broken ribs. Granted, there’s not anything they can do for them, but we can tape them to help with comfort. Though I’m not sure how it’ll feel for her with all the bruising she has,” Rebecca informs me, not that I needed her to. I’m a volunteer firefighter, so I know the deal. I’ve also been in enough fights of my own to know how to patch myself up.

“I’m going to give her a shot with an antibiotic in it. I’ll also give you a prescription for some as well. It’ll help with any infection. I’ll also give her something in case of conception, and she’ll need to follow up with more testing to ensure that she wasn’t given something she didn’t want.”

“Right.” Nostrils flaring, I take in what she says while attempting to tamp down the fury raging through me. “Anything else?”

“Just the usual, watch her, make sure she doesn’t rip the sutures out. That she doesn’t overdo it. She needs to rest as much as possible for the next few days, give her body a chance to heal.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her. Make sure she does what she’s supposed to,” I mutter, drop my arms, and plant my hands on either side of my hips. “Anything else?”

“Maybe get her a counselor?” Of course, Rebecca would suggest that. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for Olive to see someone, but it’d have to be someone the club could trust.

“Got any suggestions?”

Rebecca’s gaze snaps to me and she eyes me closely. “I know a few. I’ll text you the numbers after I get home. The numbers are in my address book.”

Who the hell still keeps an address book? That’s what phones are for, isn’t it?

Instead of saying that, I simply nod and watch as she finishes packing her med bag.

Once she’s done, Rebecca looks to me once more. “If you need anything else, just let me know. Otherwise, I’ll check in on you guys in a few days.”

“Right,” I grunt and usher her to the door. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

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