Vanessa
My hands were starting to feel like they were just blocks of meat crudely attached to my arms. I’d long since stopped panicking. I knew the loss of blood was dangerous, but being upset wouldn’t do anything but make me feel more dehydrated. As miserable as I was right now, I knew that I had to keep holding on.
I didn’t have any delusions about Cade saving me. While I hadn’t wanted to believe the Demon Catchers lieutenant, I was losing hope by the minute. Cade was dead. They’d hurt Cade, and it was all my fault.
I sighed loudly and tried scooting back against the wall. I was sitting on something hard and cold, like stone or concrete, and the circulation in my ass had long since stopped. My whole body hurt. I ached from the alcohol I’d drank before those assholes had kidnapped me, and the bonds against my wrists were more painful than I ever could have imagined. At the same time, I was wide awake. The pain kept me from being too relaxed, and even though I was starving, I knew I had more to focus on than eating.
The lieutenant had fallen asleep, and he jerked awake with a grunt. He stretched and then immediately cried out in pain, hugging his arm to his torso. I stared at him with narrowed eyes.
“What?” He glared at me. “What the fuck you lookin’ at, little girly girl? You ain’t never seen a man with a broke arm before?”
“Oh, I’ve seen plenty of people with broken bones,” I said softly. “I’m a med student, you know? I’ve even set bones.”
A flicker of interest passed over the lieutenant’s face, but he didn’t say anything. I felt satisfied, though—I could tell that the spark had been planted deep inside of his brain.
“Oh yeah?” He turned to face me, locking his jaw and hiding all traces of pain. “So you’re a real valuable little lady, aren’t you?”
I licked my lips. They were cracked and dry and the gesture was painful. I winced. “You might say that,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “Look, I’m not dangerous. You know that you can let me go.” I raised my eyebrows. “In fact, I could even help set your arm so it won’t hurt so much.” I glanced over the lieutenant’s frame. In the darkness of the room, I could still tell that his arm had been badly broken just above the elbow. The skin was swollen and turning a dark, ominous color that often indicated blood poisoning.
The lieutenant winced and drew himself up high in the chair. “I don’t think so,” he said with a chuckle. “I ain’t lettin’ you go. I ain’t that stupid.”
I pouted. “Oh, come on,” I said. “What could I possibly do?” I raised my shoulders up and tried to shrug. It was painful, but I tried not to show it. “I’m little. It’s not like anyone taught me how to fight or anything.” I rolled my eyes. “In fact, before I met Cade, I’d only been living away from my parents for a few days.”
He laughed harshly. “Honey, I don’t give a good goddamn. You could be a motherfucking Madonna and I wouldn’t care.”
I sank back against the wall, feeling defeated. “Fine,” I mumbled. “But you need to get to a hospital pretty soon. If someone doesn’t set that arm, you’re gonna get an infection.”
The man laughed. “I can deal with infections,” he said roughly. “I’ve had that shit before. Always clears up in a few days.” He raised his eyebrows at me and for the moment, I thought he was done talking. Then he said, “You know, we used to have a medic. A real valuable guy to have. But he done got killed in a crash weeks ago.” The man shook his head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that asshole, Cade, was behind all of it.”
I bit my lip. The idea that the Demon Catchers didn’t have anyone around to patch them up after confrontations was interesting to me—that showed that perhaps, they weren’t as skilled at planning as they would have led me to believe. I frowned.
“What’re you lookin’ so down for?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, I don’t know,” I said sarcastically. “Maybe about the fact that I was kidnapped and now I’m tied so tightly that I can’t even feel my hands.” I tried lower my tone. “That’s not going to be so good for me when I go back to school. If I can’t operate, I don’t know how I’ll be able to work as a doctor.”
The man stared at me. “So, you weren’t pullin’ my leg?”
“About what?”
“Being a med student.” The man let out a loud sigh and for the first time, I saw how much pain he was really in. His chest was swollen and I could tell he had a couple of broken ribs, too. “You weren’t kiddin’?”
“Hell no,” I said, trying to sound confident. “I’m at the top of my class and everything. All of my professors keep saying that they think I’ll do really well, probably wind up at a top hospital.”
The lieutenant stared at me. I could tell he didn’t quite believe me yet, but that he was desperate for what I was saying to be the truth. “Show me,” the man said. “Tell me something only a doctor would know.”
I twisted against my bonds. “Can you let me go?”
The man laughed. “Nice fuckin’ try, sweetheart. Tell me about the bones in my arm.” He shook his uninjured arm in the air. “What are they called?”
“Your radius and ulna are below the elbow,” I said automatically. “And the humerus connects your elbow to your shoulder.”
The man stared again. “You really ain’t kidding, are you?”
“No,” I said softly. “I’m dead serious.”
The man sighed. He got up from the chair with a heavy grunt. “Wait here,” he said with a smirk on his face. “I’ll be right back.”
I shivered as I watched his heavy frame mount the stairs and climb out of the basement. When he got to the top, I fully expected him to leave me alone in the dark. Instead, he pushed open the door and yelled loudly for someone to come. Shit! If he calls someone else, I won’t be able to escape! Fuck!
A younger guy, very Italian looking, trotted over. “Yo, Isaac, what’s up?”
“Untie that little bitch,” Isaac said. “I have plans for her.”
A chill ran down my spine as the younger guy jogged down the stairs. He had a menacing gleam in his eye and I shuddered as he stepped close to me, then grabbed my shoulders and dragged me painfully away from the wall. I let out a cry of pain as my legs scraped against the ground.
“Quit whining,” the younger guy said. He spun me around and started working on the ropes that were binding my hands. I could barely feel anything, but my arms sagged free once the ropes were loosed. “There,” he said. “What else, Isaac?”
Isaac climbed down the stairs, gripping onto the railing with his uninjured hand. “Nothin’,” he said. “You did good, kid. Thanks. You can go now.”
I felt a wave of relief wash over me as the younger kid bolted up the stairs and out of sight. He slammed the door and I cringed, but I knew that was for the best. At least this way, I was free. Pulling my hands in my lap, I started massaging them. It was painful at first but eventually the blood returned to the surface under the skin and very slowly, the pins and needles feeling began to fade.
“Hurry up,” Isaac said. He eased back down into the chair. “I’ll have him come and tie you up again after.”
“Sure,” I said politely. “What do you need?”
“Fix my arm,” Isaac said. “Come set it, or whatever you fancy med school assholes do. Make it so I’m not hurting.” He winced and rolled his shoulder back. Again, I saw the massive swelling caused by the uneven break in his arm.
Cautiously, I stepped closer. From this distance, I could tell that Isaac was in a lot of pain. His pulse showed clearly in his fleshy throat, and every breath came with a strained sound.
“You’re really hurting, aren’t you?” I kept my voice as soft and low as I possibly could, imitating all of the professors that I’d watched at UW hospital. “It’ll be okay, it’ll only take a second.”
When I touched Isaac’s arm, I felt his skin was damp with sweat and he was burning up with a fever. I realized that perhaps an infection was already setting in, or worse, blood poisoning. Isaac glanced up at me and there was a measure of fear in his dark eyes.
“This won’t hurt much,” I cooed as I braced one hand close to his shoulder and the other right at his elbow. Isaac was a big man and I wasn’t particularly strong, but I knew I had one chance to hurt him or I’d really be screwed. I counted to three under my breath, then gripped his arm with all of my might and twisted hard. I could feel the broken bones sliding under the skin and Isaac let out a wild howl, a sound that I’d never heard a human make before. He screamed so loudly that it stung my ears. After waiting another split second, I dug my fingers in and twisted one more time until his arm was almost completely rotated. The ends of the broken bones were far apart, and I knew that I’d done a significant amount of damage.
As Isaac roared in pain, I reached towards his waist and pulled the gun from his holster. He barely recognized what I was holding as I stepped backwards, holding the gun directly in front of me.
“You crazy bitch!” Isaac roared. He screamed again and my heart began to slam against my ribs. What if someone heard him?
There was no time for that. Without a second glance, I took off towards the stairs and began running. I heard a flurry of footfall above my head and I held my breath and broke through the door. It opened to a kind of kitchen, and I saw the younger guy who had untied me, along with a few more guys who looked equally tan with black hair.
“What the fuck?” One of them jumped forward and I waved Isaac’s gun around in the air like a crazy person.
“Stay away from me!” I hissed, stepping backwards. Behind me, I could see there was a porch door that led out to a yard. “Stay the fuck away or I’ll shoot!”
“You cunt,” one of the younger guys said. “Hey, assholes, I think she hurt Isaac!” As he spoke, I heard Isaac’s angry roars from below. “Get her!”
The younger guys all lunged towards me and I turned heel and ran. The porch door was within sight and I wrapped my fingers around the handle, flinging it open and flying through the opening. Outside, all I could see was field after field after field.
With the younger men hot on my tail, I ran as fast as I could. My chest ached almost immediately and my hands were so sweaty that I feared I’d drop Isaac’s gun. I did it! I realized as I sprinted through the field. I’m free!