Page 68 of Lily's Eagle

He appears right in front of me before anyone can answer, piercing me with his hard, unyielding gaze which is in no way less intense just because I can’t see his eyes clearly.

“What happened? Where’s my daughter?” he demands.

I shake off the grip Tiny still has on my arm. I want to stand upright for this, on my own.

“A man took her captive,” I say and dead silence falls over the large group of men gathered around us. I can’t even hear them breathing.

“At a scrapyard, south of there, I don’t know how far, five mile, ten maybe,” I say.

“What happened?” Cross demands. “How?”

What he’s actually asking is how could I just leave her to save my own ass. I’m glad he’s not saying it, even though I know it’s true.

“We have to go save her now, she’s been there for hours,” I say, glancing at the sky as though that’s gonna tell me how long it’s been since I left her there. Even if I could see the stars through the thick canopy above, I couldn’t tell shit from it.

“Where is this farm? Can you find it again?” Cross asks.

“Yes, I can, let’s go,” I say.

Doc appears by Cross’ side carrying his large black doctor’s bag. “I have to look at your injuries. Ash says you were shot.”

I glance down at my arm. “It’s fine. Not bleeding anymore. We have to go.”

Doc comes to stand directly in front of me. “You can tell them where to go while I look you over, how’s that?”

“I’m going too,” I say, and turn so he can get a look at my arm.

He takes a tiny flash light from his pocket and shines it over my arm, then over my head and into my eyes, blinding me again.

“I’m fine,” I assure him.

“He’s not,” Doc tells Cross. “Ask him what you need to know then I’ll get to work.”

I shake my head. “Get to work now, while I talk. Then we’ll all go.”

I start telling our story, leaving nothing out, describing everything I remember in as much detail as I can, while Doc does his thing.

“I have to get back on the road to know exactly how far the farm is,” I conclude. “It shouldn’t be too hard to hit it. Expect for the dogs, there’s at least ten of them and they’re loud as fuck.”

Doc has put something on my temple, a cream of some sort that stings, but dulls the ache even more. He also disinfected my arm, and is peering at it from all angles now, shaking his head.

“The bullet went through and doesn’t seem to have hit anything vital,” he says. “But this thing needs stitches.”

I shake my head. “Just wrap it up.”

“You can’t go with us,” Cross says. “You can barely stand.”

I look at him straight in the eyes. “I can and I will go with you. I promised Lily I’d be back for her when I left her there and I am going to keep that promise, or die trying.”

“Yeah, you’ll die,” Tank says, not unkindly.

Cross is studying me very closely, not saying anything.

“I had to leave her,” I say. “I was the only one who knew where she was and I was in no shape to fight off that man on my own. I would’ve died there if that meant she’d be saved, but that’s not what it would’ve meant. I’m sorry. I failed. But there’s no way I’m letting someone else save her now. She’s my responsibility.”

Cross’ look just grows more and more intense the longer I speak. But he’s gotta know all this, he’s gotta know I wouldn’t just leave his daughter to save myself.

“So you had some big plan of rescuing her,” Tank says. “What was it?”

---