Page 91 of Pretty Monsters

I keep Raven close to my back as we move down the stairs. Ted has a busted eyebrow and blood running down his fingers. Everyone else seems to be covered in blood, but judging by the way they are moving it's probably not theirs.

"Keep on the lookout as we move out. There could have been more here and they've only fallen back," I warn.

"Sin, we've killed twelve men. My father only has twenty well-trained fighters, eighteen if you don't count the two of us, because I don't. The rest are still in training. If there are six more men waiting out there for us, that means he's vulnerable."

"Is it safe to go back to the gym?" Raven asks, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

"I don't know," I reply. If it were just Lucien and I we would return and fortify it as best we could.

"Shane took the girls to a motel. I had him take some cash we had in the office. They should be out of the city by now," Ford answers.

"We have to go back and get the car. Let's pack up quickly and join them," I suggest.

* * *

We'reon the road in under fifteen minutes, and even that feels like an eternity. Raven is holding up well considering she killed two men and set two buildings on fire. The warehouse we used for our ambush caught fire once we were halfway down the block. Hopefully, any evidence we left behind would be destroyed in the flames.

We check in to two more rooms on either side of the one Shane rented. Thankfully, it's another no questions asked establishment. Someday I'm going to take Raven to a place with room service and mints on the pillows. She won't live the rest of her life covered in blood and gore.

Things are still strained between us and Lucien, so he decides to room with Ted, leaving Ford to room with us.

"How is he?" I ask, remembering the blood trickling down his arm back at the warehouse.

Ted's face gives no information. "It's nothing," he says , while Lucien works to cut away his shirt.

The ruined material falls away and reveals a deep cut in his shoulder. "I'll go get Jen," I say and turn for the door.

"Don't," Ted says. He lifts up what's left of his shirt and shows scars on his abdomen. Lucien and I both have similar stories mapped onto our skin. "I've had worse."

"How exactly did you explain that," I gesture to his collection of scars, "to your girlfriend?"

He shrugs. "They assumed my mom and I fled an abusive home, and since they weren't exactly wrong, I never filled in the rest of the information."

I'm anxious to get back to my room where I left Raven alone with Ford. "If you don't want me to get Jen, what are you going to do? That bullet might have only grazed your shoulder, but it's deep. It needs to be cleaned and stitched closed."

Lucien opens a first aid kit. "You know I can handle this. I've stitched you up a few times, as I recall."

"Can't say I'd have let you if there was an actual nurse handy," I mumble.

"I don't want to put any more trauma on Jen and Amber. This situation is fucked up enough without Jen having to close a bullet wound on a friend," Ted insists and closes his eyes.

"Let me know if you need any help. I'm going to my room."

"Give me about a half an hour and then meet back in here. We've got stuff to go over before we call it a night," Lucien informs me.

Inside my room Ford and Raven are sitting staring at the television. Neither of them seems to be aware they're watching an infomercial for car wax. This was why I didn't want her to come with me. Of course, I was worried she would be hurt. Any of us could have caught a bullet, like Ted did. Raven proved she is capable with weapons, but that doesn't mean I want her to actually have to use them. Even if her skills with a bow and arrow did save our asses tonight, I still wish she wasn't there.

I grab her hands and pull her up from the bed. "Let's take a shower."

Ford snaps out of his fog and throws a pillow at me, hitting me in the back. "Don't take too long. I've got brains in my hair."

"Gross," Raven mutters.

Ushering her into the bathroom, I close the door behind me. "He'll live. Now go get your ass in the shower."

She cranks the water on and we both peel off our clothes. The water is still cold when we get under the spray, so I turn us so it falls on my back. Blood runs off our bodies, creating a pool of pink water around our feet. Even though she managed to kill two men without getting any of their blood on herself, I was not quite as efficient.

I squirt some of the sample size shampoo in my hand and start to wash her hair. She moans as I massage her scalp.

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