Page 23 of Bound by Wreckage
“Meds will have to wait.”
She groans, but I hit theswitch to the rollup door inside of the car and we’re off.
We drive until we pass Savannah and cross over into South Carolina. Halfway through, Carsyn took the blanket off, but didn’t move from her spot. Checking on her every so often, she slept which is exactly what she needs.
As soon as word got out that shots were fired at the Rangers, the calls from my brothers started. I justgave word to Ryker I needed a few days and I was safe. I wasn’t about to drag them into this. I gave Carsyn my word I wouldn’t tell anyone. I’ll deal with my family later. Since, I take off regularly, needing space, they didn’t think anything of it. But I do have a run with Jacks coming up in a few days that I need to be at.
I pull us off at a hotel. “I’m going to get us a room. Hang tight.”
The bright lights shine in the building as I pull out my wallet along with a fake ID and credit card. Places anymore don’t let you stay in them if you don’t have a damn card they can put on file. The ones I have will never trace back to me.
“Will that be two queens or a king, sir?”
“Two Queens.”
The young kid runs through all the necessities, and I look one more timeat my ID so I know what name to write on the slip. Scribbling it across, he hands me the key.
“Thanks.”
Darting outside and into the car, Carsyn sits in the backseat staring at the place. “It’ll be fine.”
She gives me a small nod as I drive around the building. There’s a back entrance, and that’s where we park.
“Let’s get you up and laying down.”
“Nox, I’ve laidthe entire trip.” Her eyes gleam in the rearview mirror. She is still terrified.
She leans on me as we make our way to the room. The burst of cold air hit us, and we suck it in. Carsyn takes the bed furthest from the door and surprisingly doesn’t make much noise when she sits on the bed, still holding that metal box. It must mean something great to her.
Opening the first aid kit,I kneel before her. “Need you to take your shirt off so I can see if anything needs stitched.
“You sure that’s the only reason?”
A smirk comes over my lips. “Are you teasing me, Carsyn?”
She looks down, embarrassed. Fingers under her chin, our eyes connect.
“This is a good thing,” I reassure her. The strength to bounce back and find any moment of reprieve after whatshe’s been through is a sign of the woman under the bruises. A woman who refuses to break.
She nods just a touch. “I’m not sure what it’s going to look like under there.”
“I’m prepared,” I say, knowing it’s going to be hard.
The statement isn’t completely true. While physically I am fine, emotionally when she removes her shirt, more than anger flows through my veins. It’sa rage so powerful it almost knocks me on my ass.
“There. How bad is it?” she asks, looking down at her body. There are marks over a lot of her torso and only a couple that look deep, but it’s crusted over enough that it’s not bleeding. The color of her skin is despicable. Purple, blue, green, yellow and some black cover her skin like war tattoos instead of her normal ones. There is barelyany skin untouched. Her side piece is a beautiful feather angling up the curve of her body. Birds fly out of the feather skating further up her side, but with the marks on her skin it’s not vibrant like I’m sure it normally is. All of it pissing me off even more.
“Should we get you a shower first?”
Her head shakes rapidly. “No, it’ll hurt worse. I need a day or so then I’ll be good.”She looks down at me. “What?”
“Just can’t fuckin’ believe that someone did this shit to you. No one should’ve touched you. I’m going to kill him.”
“No!” She jumps, and anger takes back over. She wants to spare this asshole? Does she love him? “I mean, I want you to promise me that you won’t go after him. They saw you, but that doesn’t mean anything. You put me in a car or a trainor something, and I went off by myself. You can’t ever say that you brought me here.”
“I’m not afraid of him, Carsyn.”
She reaches over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re not. But I am, Nox, and I don’t want you involved any more than you already are. Nothing can happen to you.” There’s more to her words, an underlying meaning that doesn’t get past me.
