Page 8 of Canvas of Lies
“If you could grab her purse and open the door, I’ll take care of the rest. Thanks, Gumby.”
“No problem. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do. And good luck with this one. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”
I rolled my eyes as he ran to throw open the cabin door. Though Kat flinched when I lifted her into my arms, she didn’t struggle. Her body was limp and warm, her dark lashes still against the curve of her cheek. After I carried her inside, Gumby gave a nod, set her purse on a side table, and closed the door behind him. A minute later, the van pulled back out along the narrow road in front of the cabin.
I laid Kat on the dining table behind the couch. Under the bright light of a rustic chandelier over the table, it was clear something had sliced through the upper sleeve of her jacket and into the soft flesh beneath it. I muttered a curse under my breath.
“I’m just going to grab the first aid kit and some scissors from the silverware drawer. I’ll have to cut the sleeve off.”
“Like hell you will,” Kat growled, forcing her heavy eyelids upward. “This jacket is worth more than your life, Nicolas Beaumont.”
“There she is,” I murmured.
The rush of relief nearly made me giddy as I reached out to cup her cheek. I let my thumb brush lightly over her skin, then drew it away before she could turn her head to bite me—she’d done it once years before, an injury which I remembered all too well. Though she glared, I winked before jogging into the kitchen for supplies to get her cleaned up.
“Let’s get this precious jacket off in one piece, then,” I said when I returned to her side, sliding my arm under her shoulders to help her sit up. “You’re sure your head is okay?”
“For Christ’s sake, Nico, I said it’s fine and it’s fine. You’re the one giving me a headache.”
I lifted my hands in surrender, but her expression stayed belligerent as she glared back at me.
Slowly, I reached for the jacket, watching her for any sign of pain. Kat closed her eyes on a sigh, but she forced them open again as I carefully tugged her right sleeve off, then made my way around to the left side and paused.
“Just do it,” she hissed.
I winced in sympathy as I peeled the left sleeve down, set the jacket aside, and scrubbed a hand over my jaw. Streaks of red coated her arm, painting the skin from her bicep almost to her wrist, though the gash near her shoulder had stopped bleeding.
Small miracles,I thought, but shit, it looked like a lot of blood. When she swayed slightly, I wrapped my arm around her to ease her back down.
“I never took you for the kidnapping type,” she said weakly, watching my face as I gently bathed her forearm with warm water, working upward toward her elbow.
“I didn’t kidnap you. You agreed to come with me.”
“So do little kids when a stranger offers candy or puppies.” Her tone still lacked its usual ferocity, but the sass hadn’t diminished.
“Why couldn’t you just talk to me?” I replied, lifting my eyes to meet hers.
For a moment, she looked as disoriented as she had when I opened the door of the van. She stared up at me, then I turnedmy attention back to her arm and soaked a fresh gauze pad with antiseptic.
“You could’ve just picked up the phone,” she ground out between clenched teeth, “instead of bringing along Pokey and his creeper van for the ambiance.”
I choked on a laugh. “His name is Gumby, but I might have to call him Pokey from now until the end of time.”
“Whatever,” Kat grumbled, but she gasped when I swabbed the wound.
“Give it a second, the sting will fade,” I murmured, keeping my voice low and soothing.
It definitely didnotsoothe her; she looked ready to stab me. I could’ve sworn I heard her teeth grinding together as I smeared ointment along the thin cut before wrapping her upper arm in gauze. When that was done, I surveyed my handiwork.
“At least you don’t need stitches. If I had to guess, I’d say your beloved jacket snagged on a nail from one of the pallets. When was your last tetanus shot?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Nico,” she snapped. “You just took me from my place of business, dragged me out to the middle of who knows where, and tetanus is what you’re worried about? When I get through with you, believe me, tetanus will be the last thing on your mind.”
I sat back to gather up the bloody towels. “I’m worried about you, yes. You’re important to me. Of course your safety concerns me.”
“You scared the hell out of me, showing up like that,” she said slowly, her eyes narrowed to angry slits. “That’s not enough to concern yourself with?”
“I’m sorry you were scared, but I was trying to be discreet.”
