Page 52 of Fury

“Nice.”

“Yeah, it is nice. It was. Where are you from?”

“Nebraska.”

“Not too far away.” Her cool fingers smoothed over the edges of the bandage and traced along my skin where my flaming arrow tattoo was, next to my own scars from my time at the Smoking Guns. Her gaze snagged on mine. You could lose yourself in those big dark eyes. I took out another cigarette.

“Those are a hell of a lot of scars. They look recent too,” she said.

“They are.”

“You get in fights a lot?”

“Yep.”

“Serena’s got a lot of the same scars on her. Plenty more, though.”

I lit another smoke, inhaling deep. “Her ex did a job on both of us.”

“And your hands?” She pressed her lips together and took in a tiny breath waiting for my answer.

I only nodded.

Tania turned away from me and packed up the first aid material and shoved it back in the pharmacy bag. She rolled up the waste paper from the bandages in a ball and tossed them in the garbage basket at the side of the dresser.

“Don’t leave those there,” I said. “Don’t want to leave anything behind for anyone to trace us.”

“Oh. Right.” Tania grabbed the stuff she’d thrown in the basket and shoved it in another plastic bag and then in her duffle. “So what’s the plan? How long do you think we should lay low here?”

I glanced at Serena who had curled up on the bed behind Tania and fallen asleep. She looked more like a twelve year old than a full grown woman.

“I want her to gain her strength back. She wasn’t eating or sleeping right. For years, I expect. They beat her up bad the night before I went in and got her.”

“They?” Tania’s face tightened. “I thought you said her ex?”

“Her ex is part of a bike club too.”

“Oh shit.” Tania’s face reddened.

“They abused her.” I grabbed another smoke from the pack at my side and clicked my lighter on.

Tania sucked in a breath. “Oh, I forgot, I got you some ibuprofen. I have naproxen sodium too. It’s stronger, if you want, if you—”

“Yeah, load me up, Tania.” I shot her a smirk as she launched from the bed to her handbag and got out two pill bottles. I took one of each and chased them with the soda I’d been nursing all morning. I laid back down on the bed alongside Serena. “I’d like her to get stronger, then I’ll get her out of here.”

“They’re looking for her, right? Why don’t you come with me to Chicago? You two could get lost in the big city or—”

“I can’t leave, Tania. I got to stay around here.”

She laid down on the other side of me. “Your club?”

“Don’t ask me anymore. I ain’t gonna tell you anyhow.”

“I don’t want to know,” she whispered. “What I really want to know is what happened to your face. Sorry, but, it’s pretty brutal looking.”

“I’m ugly, huh?”

She smiled. A gentle smile, a smile that was so unexpected, so relaxed and welcoming, I didn’t know what to fucking do with it.

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