Page 5 of Shiner's Light

Which I hope he never does.

“We need to lay you on the bed so I can better take care of these, Olive,” he remarks, stepping away. “Let me lay a towel down. I’ll turn my back while you take the shirt completely off and lay on your stomach.”

I suck in a heavy breath, not wanting to do so but knowing he’s not going to give in on this.

Without a word, Shiner grabs a towel, lays it down, and as he said, turns his back in order to allow me to lay down without him seeing my front. I drop the destroyed shirt and do my best to hide the whimper as I lay on my stomach. As bad as my back is, my stomach is nearly worse. I don’t think I’ve got internal bleeding. It’s just all superficial. or I hope that’s all.

Moments later, the bed dips next to my hip, and Shiner lightly touches a spot on my back. “I’ve gotta clean your back, Olive. To keep it from hurting you too badly I’m going to give you something for the pain.”

“Okay,” I utter.

I hear him rustling around, packets opening, and without warning, I feel the pinch of the needle going in my skin.

“There,” Shiner’s voice takes on a gentle tone, one I haven’t heard in so long it pains me now to hear it. “Once that takes effect, I’ll work on getting you bandaged up.”

My eyes start to droop, and my head feels fuzzy. Whatever he gave me was fast acting because in the next moment, everything goes dark.

CHAPTER THREE

SHINER

The moment the pain medicine kicks in. Olive is out like a light, and I’ll have plenty of time to get her cleaned up. As pissed as I am with her, I can’t believe she didn’t say something about just how much she’d been hurt.

Staring at her back, seeing how fucked up it was, I’m surprised she didn’t let on to how bad she’d been hurting. Lashes upon lashes mark up her back. From the looks of it, there had to have been something sharp on the whip used. Olive mentioned it was Sasha who’d done this. From the looks of her face and arms, I wonder who did the rest to her. She mentioned the Crimson Blood Clan. She gave me the message they told her to give, and my mind turned it all over. They knew she’d come to me. Sasha would have told them if she had any connection to them, and I’m willing to bet she did.

But why hurt her own sister?

I knew they weren’t overly close. Sasha would talk down to her sister and act as though she were stupid, but I knew she wasn’t. Hell, she used to make me laugh when all I wanted to do was put my fist through a wall.

Clearing my throat, I start cleaning her back by squirting saline across it and using gauze to wipe away the blood. It’s a good thing she’s not awake for this because the better look I get at the wounds, the more I realize she needs more help than what any of us can do for her here. She needs a doctor. For right now, though, I’ll get these covered, check the rest of her, then make the call.

Expertly, I apply the bandages, grab a fresh towel, lay it next to her, and gently roll Olive to her back, only to curse softly at the sight of her front. Black and blue, no cuts, but every surface, including her breasts and nipples, was bruised up. It’s all I can do to stay focused on helping her. Examining her abdomen to make sure there wasn’t anything internal. From the looks of it, I’m guessing she’s got at least a couple broken ribs.

I’m willing to put money down on it that she’d been sexually assaulted by those men. It’s one of the things they’re known for. If they didn’t rape her, the least they did was touch her. More like they beat the shit out of her. Leaning in closer, I grit my teeth and narrow my eyes, seeing the bite marks hidden by the darker bruises.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This woman stood there in more pain than she should have ever experienced and didn’t say a word. She came to me asking for help, and instead of doing just that, I brought her to the clubhouse, where I laid into her—not giving a damn about the fact she’d been obliviously beaten.

The very fact I did this will be my cross to bear. I’ll have to live with it.

Stepping away, I snatch up the wet towel from where the saline rolled down her sides, toss it toward the laundry basket, and cover Olive with a blanket I keep on the end of the bed. I pull my phone out as someone knocks on the door.

Without taking my eyes off Olive, I step back toward the door and open it while finding the number I need in my contacts.

“Everything good, brother?” Blow asks, and I glance quickly in his direction to find him with Nines, Lucky, Sniper, and Torch.

“I gave her something for the pain,” I answered. I moved to the side so they could see she was out and send the message to my cousin, Rebecca. She’s a nurse practitioner and should be able to come here. If not, I’ll load Olive up and take her to Rebecca.

“I thought it was her back that needed bandaging,” Torch says, cocking a brow.

“Olive’s back is fucked.” I meet his gaze while shoving my phone back in my pocket. “Just texted Rebecca to get her to come and bring her bag. Hopefully, she’ll be able to.”

“What else is wrong with her?” Lucky asks.

“Bite marks, bruises, her entire front is black and blue. You can barely see the bite marks. But they’re there. Her back is covered in lashes, some of them deeper than others,” I answer, shake my head, and release a heavy breath. “She didn’t say it. She most likely won’t, but I’d put money on it that she was raped.”

“Fuck,” Blow sneers.

---