Page 189 of Fury

Tania’s pale face was streaked with dirt, traces of mascara, remnants of fear and adrenaline. “I’m fine.” She tugged at the big black T-shirt she wore, adjusting it on herself, a hand at her chest.

“That’s all she keeps saying,” Grace said, her voice sharp. “I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“But I am, honey,” Tania said, eyeing her.

“Sure you are.” Grace pitched the gauze into a small plastic bag at her side and shot up from the bed, wiping at her eyes. “Take a look. See how fine she is. You’ll appreciate it.”

“Grace, don’t.” Tania’s face reddened.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Grace brushed past me and left the room.

I approached the edge of the bed, my eyes darting to the red marks around Tania’s wrists to the cuts on her fingers. I yanked down the loose V of her T-shirt. My pulse slammed to a halt and hammered all at once.

An F sliced into the skin of her upper chest.

“Motherfuckers!”

“Finger—”

“That’s about me, clear as day!” I bit out through my clenched jaw.

The vicious red F on her smooth white skin was a cheap imitation of the cuts on my face. She didn’t deserve being held down and cut, she didn’t deserve any of this shit.

My throat closed, my blood churned. “He used you to send me a message, to—”

“Please, please don’t start some kind of war over this.”

“War’s already begun, baby.”

Reich fraternizing with the enemy, laying out a red carpet for the Smoking Guns in my territory? I wasn’t going to let that happen, no way, not ever, especially now with Lenore living here.

Tania pushed up in the bed. “They can’t find her, can they?”

She was thinking what I was thinking.

“One of them was with Reich,” Tania whispered. “And if you—”

“I’m going to take care of this.”

“Oh, yeah?” Butler’s voice came from behind me.

I spun around. “They took her from you, asshole. What was she doing with you anyhow?” The jerk had an old lady at the hospital, and the woman he really cared about had been taken out from under him.

“Finger, I was at Butler’s place because I wanted to be.” Tania raised her voice. “They took me when I left the building.”

“I don’t need you defending me, Tania.” Butler’s eyes flashed at her from the doorway where he stood.

“Both of you need to concentrate on getting things right between your clubs,” she said. “That’s how you can make this”—Tania pointed at her chest wound—“better.”

Butler and I stood there glaring at each other. He blamed me, I blamed him. But hell, we needed each other now to clear the deck. Blades, Guns, Reich. All. Of. Them.

Tania touched my arm, and my thick gaze met hers. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Anything,” I said.

Butler let out a huff.

“I need to see my brother.”

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