Page 76 of Born Savage

“You’re going to bruise, but you don’t appear to have any additional injuries.”

Injuries.

“Wha…” My throat was parched, which made forming words difficult. Even my lips were cracked, the taste of blood lingering in my mouth. While images continued to play out in my mind, as always, they began to dissipate leading to more malevolent shadows. “What happened?”

He leaned forward, the silhouette of his rugged face suddenly close. Too close. When I reared back, he chuckled. Subtle. Powerful. Yet non-threatening.

“You were attacked. I handled the situation. Drink this, but only a little bit at a time.” Even after he handed me a cannister of water, he kept his hand around mine, guiding the opening to my lips.

I took small sips as requested, still wincing from discomfort.

“There you go. You can have more later.”

“Handled,” I repeated, tossing off the covering that continued to entangle my legs. There were moments of memories, but the past images were mixing with what had just occurred outside the compound. I couldn’t seem to slow my breathing, my heartrate skyrocketing. “Are they dead? Those fucking Borgata? Are they?”

A deep sigh came first before he answered. “Yes.”

“Even the guy who tried to…” Rape me. Of course he was dead. He’d been a headless corpse.

“Yes, Star. Especially him.”

“Why are you here?” The better question was how had I ended up in this bed. I glanced down at my hands, the tips tingling as I thought about how I’d tried to start a fire and couldn’t.

Rage shifted on whatever he was sitting on, which had to be boxes since I had no chair in the room, leaning even closer. He just had to be in my space. “Because I was worried about you.”

The answer was so simple yet in the world of nightmares and monsters, very complex. “You don’t need to worry about me.” I almost added my signature line that I could take care of myself, but with what I’d just been through—what the group of us had been through—that wasn’t the truth. “Thank you for saving my life.”

Maybe we’d both surprised each other with our words because I sensed his body tensing.

“You’re welcome.”

We had nothing in common, and other than the obvious, no real reason to carry on a conversation and the next seconds were awkward.

“What’s wrong?” He noticed me glancing at my fingers.

“Nothing.”

“Pyrokinetics. Very rare.”

He knew. Of course he knew. How could he not? I nodded. “I’ve had it since I was a child, but my…” I almost laughed because I’d almost said my mother had told me not to use the gift unless absolutely necessary. But not the woman I’d grown up with.

“You were never taught how to use the ability.”

“No,” I managed. “All I know is that when I become very angry, sometimes I can’t control it.”

He took a deep breath, studying me. “What were you dreaming about? The dog? You kept saying Jake.”

“I…” I struggled to remember and for whatever reason, a face with full color and detail lingered in my mind. “Not the same Jake. My dog when I was a child. Before…” Why was this suddenly so terribly painful? “Before I was abandoned and you found me. I was dreaming about my puppy, the one my parents gave me. I mean my real parents. I mean…” Agony swept through me, a deep ache that I’d never felt before. I dropped my head into my hands.

The tingling was ferocious all over again, heat building in every muscle. He gripped my hands with his, inching closer. “Breathe, Star. The memories can’t hurt you.”

Every muscle was twitching, my stomach in knots. “Are you so certain of that?”

“I’m sorry, Star.”

“What are you sorry about? You couldn’t possibly know what it’s like to feel total abandonment.” Snapping at him wasn’t going to help anything, nor would it even make me feel any better. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you went through. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t suffered.”

He was tapping his foot on the floor, a typical sign of nervousness, but I couldn’t imagine a man like him anxious about anything. He was so calm and collected. In truth, if I wasn’t so jaded about Savages, which I had every right to be, I’d say he was amazing.