Page 9 of Never Trust the Living (Battle Crows MC 7)

A very effective way of ending an argument is asking the other person for a piece of their hair.

-Bram to Dory

BRAM

I woke up with a headache from hell and the knowledge that something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

“Wake up,” a whispered voice said urgently.

I cracked open my eyes and felt like I had a pickax through the brain for my accomplishment.

I quickly closed them just as fast as I’d opened them, but it didn’t matter.

The damage was done.

“No, open your eyes,” the whispered voice continued. “Please.”

I did, but only because she said please.

I rarely ever heard that.

Not even from Mimi.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Was that my voice? Why did it sound like it’d been sent through a cheese grater?

“My brother kidnapped you,” she whispered. “And it looks like he’s hurt you. A lot.”

I felt like I’d been hurt. A lot.

“Your brother’s the psycho?” I rasped, feeling like even that little bit of discussion was quickly taking my strength.

“N-no.” She poked me in my wounded shoulder, and I nearly saw stars.

“Ouch,” I hissed, opening my eyes enough to glare at her. “That hurt.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’ve had a dislocated shoulder before myself.” She hesitated. “I can put it back in for you.”

Was that what I had?

“Umm.” I hesitated, unsure that she should be doing anything to me at this point, let alone setting a shoulder. If she even could. She was a little slip of a thing from what I could see. “I don’t…”

Just as the last syllable of ‘don’t’ left my mouth, I felt her grasp my shoulder, do something to it that sent shards of agony through me, and then heard a pop.

I gasped for breath like a fish out of water as I stared at the dirty ceiling of whatever underground system I was in.

A cave is what it looked like, but without confirmation, I wouldn’t exactly know, seeing as I wasn’t conscious when I’d been brought here.

By the psycho brother.

“You call the police?” I asked hopefully.

“Of course, she didn’t call the police,” the psycho drawled. “My sister is scared shitless of me. She knows better.”

I looked at the girl to now see her staring at the ground as if just the sound of his voice alone sent her into a panic attack.

---