Page 11 of Pierce

5

Pierce

An hour passedbefore I could get back with supplies for her. I had to explain what happened to everything I’d purchased at Costco—Fence and Miles offered to go back to look for the truck—and clean myself up before I had a chance to gather things for her.

Blankets, dry clothing which was much too big for her, but at least it was clean, bottled water, candles and flashlights. I had no idea what she’d need, if anything, but it was a start.

She was still unconscious when I arrived. I wished I knew if that was a good or bad thing. Should she still be out like that? Should I wake her?

I made a more comfortable pallet for her and moved her to it, then used my pocket knife to cut the hoodie away from her shoulder rather than trying to pull her arm out of the sleeve.

The caution I used with her, the gentleness she inspired in me… it was all a surprise. I had never been a gentle person. None of us were. There was too much of the dragon in us to concern ourselves with tenderness or caution.

She brought out something in me I wasn’t aware of until now.

I was just as gentle when I poured fresh water over the wound to get a better look at it without dried blood getting in the way. It appeared to have stopped bleeding, but I could see the shoulder joint clearly. The wound was far too deep for me to do anything about it—anything humans were accustomed to doing, at any rate. Sewing, that sort of thing. I wasn’t a surgeon, and I had never suffered a wound I couldn’t recover from on my own, thanks to my blood.

My blood…

The sound of footsteps further down the tunnel stopped my thoughts in their tracks. There shouldn’t have been anyone else here, ever. There was no reason. I moved closer to her, protective.

“I thought so.” Smoke and Gate stepped out of the darkness.

Smoke’s scowl was clear even with his face still half in shadow. “I heard the noise out here before you showed yourself to us and thought you must’ve stopped here for some reason.”

“You’re a regular detective.” I , turned back to her.

Well, they knew. It was bound to happen.

Her breathing was shallow and rapid, like she knew she was in danger without being conscious. Just how much danger remained to be seen.

Not much, I hoped. I would hate to have to fight either of them for her sake or any other reason, but I would do it if they pushed me far enough.

“What’s she doing here?” Gate demanded, walking into the cell and standing over the two of us. “Where did you find her?”

“She was swept up in the mudslide on the road. Her car was dangling off the cliff. I pulled her out before it went all the way.”

“Why didn’t you just let her go?” he asked.

My head snapped up, and I glared at him.

“Would you be able to sit by and watch a car plunge off a cliff without so much as trying to help?” I whispered, afraid of waking her.

“Knowing that the car was driven by a human? Yeah, I would. Like they’ve ever done anything but hunt our kind.”

“I don’t believe you. I know you would’ve at least tried.”

He didn’t argue. “I sure as hell wouldn’t have brought her here!”

“He’s right,” Smoke agreed, entering the cell.

He was always the voice of reason, the one who measured his words and decisions more carefully than the rest of us. I normally respected that—in the moment, with the girl lying helpless and in need of my protection, my temper flared and the dragon roared inside me.

“Easy for you to say.” I stood up to face the both of them with my hands balled into fists. “I couldn’t leave her to die out there. The road was useless. I had to shift to catch her before she hit the trees—”

“You shifted?” Smoke grunted.

“You let her see you?” Gate’s jaw dropped. His eyes moved, focusing on her.

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