Page 43 of So Savage

Trammell had cut Faith’s knees first.Then he’d severed her Achilles tendons.He’d cut the tendons in her elbow, and then Faith had passed out.She woke up in the hospital to learn that Trammell had cut her over forty times before Michael arrived and killed him with a single gunshot to the head.

She’d spent time in a coma too.A week?Two?She couldn’t remember.

She shivered and looked away.Marcus looked at her, and an unspoken agreement passed between them to leave the room.They stepped outside, but Turk lingered for a little while longer.Maybe he was remembering the day he met Faith.Faith was conscious when Michael introduced them, but she was covered in bandages and wires just like Delgado was.

“How’s her dog?”she asked.

“Her dog?Fine.He’s anxious without Delgado, but he’s behaving himself.”He looked into the room.“I don’t think we should bring him to see this, though.I can’t imagine it’ll help him to see her like this.”

Faith didn't know either.Maybe it would bring him some hope.Maybe it would bring him closure.Maybe those were only human emotions, and seeing his handler beaten nearly to death would only make him sad.

“It’s too bad she was sedated,” Marcus said.“If she was conscious, she might have been able to protect herself.”

“Maybe,” Faith said.“Maybe not.No one likes to admit it, but the reality is that size matters.A two-hundred-pound man who’s dedicated enough is going to overpower a one-hundred-thirty-pound woman.A woman trained to box will have an advantage over a woman not trained to box, but unless she gets a lucky knock out, she’s going to have a really hard time winning.That’s why we train our agents to aim for places like the groin, eye and throat in a life-or-death situation.”

She shook her head.“Let’s get out of here.I need to think, and I can’t do it looking at her.That sounds horrible, I know, but I was in the hospital once after a killer hurt me, and I can’t…” She took a deep breath and released it slowly.“Let’s grab some food in the cafeteria.We’ll touch base there.”

“I’m with you.”

"Turk?Come on, boy."

Turk lingered for a half-second longer, then turned slowly and followed Faith out of the room.He hung his head low and whined softly.Faith stopped and pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his coat and taking long, steady breaths.She could feel eyes on her as nurses and orderlies watched the FBI agent hugging a dog in the middle of their floor, but she didn’t care.Seeing Delgado like that had awoken memories that she would have preferred to leave buried.

But that’s not how it worked.Wounds healed, but they left scars.Hers had been dormant for a long time, but maybe it was more correct to say concealed than dormant.Seeing Delgado clinging to life reminded her what it felt like to be powerless.Like Delgado, she was trained to fight.Like Delgado, she had combat experience.Like Delgado, it hadn’t mattered.Jethro Trammell had overpowered her effortlessly, and it was only because of Michael’s intervention that she was alive.

She and Marcus got lunch and more coffee and sat at a table that was somewhat removed from the rest of the cafeteria.The lunch rush was picking up, so they wouldn’t have privacy for very long, but that was all right.People here were more wrapped up in their own problems than in what was happening around them.

Probably one of the few circumstances where it’s all right to be self-absorbed.

Turk stayed close to Faith, keeping his eyes on her and laying his head in her lap when they sat.His presence slowly calmed her, and after finishing her chicken salad, she was ready to get back to work.

“So I think it’s safe to say that we’re looking for a male suspect.I was fairly sure of that already, but the use of the sedatives made me wonder.”

“Do you think he changed his M.O.because she was female?”Marcus asked.

Faith shook his head."I think he got angry because he was interrupted.The first two kills were quick and clean.He was in and out before he could be noticed.This time, she resisted, and based on Wayne's testimony and the evidence at the scene, she resisted effectively, at least at first.By the time he was able to sedate her, security was coming, and he had to leave before he killed her."

"So he wanted to get hands-on with her because he was pissed off."

“That’s my guess.”

Marcus scoffed.“What a coward.”

“They usually are.”

Michael took a deep breath.“Okay, so we have a male with anger issues, but as long as things go his way, they don’t surface.He’s got to be big and strong because he carried an unconscious woman for at least a mile, and he had to do that while moving quickly in deep snow.Does this fit the description of James Cooper?”

“Yes.James is six-four, two-thirty according to his driver’s license, and just based on the picture, most of that weight looks like muscle.”She stiffened.“Damn it.I forgot about James.Shit.”

“It’s all right,” Marcus said.“I sent units to watch the old dog training facility on Beakman.”

“How did you know where to go?”

“All of our vehicles have GPS tags.I got the coordinates and sent them there.”

Faith sighed with relief.“Thank you.Sorry.I’ve just been all over the place.”

Marcus gave her a serious look.“You need to take a break.”

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