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“That’s tough,” Nova offers, rubbing a slow hand across my back.
I look up and flash a watery smile full of regret for all the shitty choices I’ve made in my life, all the bad decisions that brought me here, to this clinic.
“I’m a total fucking wreck.”
He smiles at me and grabs something from a cabinet in the hall right outside the door. “Aren’t we all?” he asks and hands me an ice pack.
“For your face,” he says kindly.
I exhale at the cold pack, pleading with the tough bitch I used to be to rise to the surface, but she stays away for now. “Not like this.”
“Maybe not,” he agrees. “But the trick is to find someone whose wreckage matches yours.”
I frown. “Don’t you mean baggage?”
“Nah, fuck that. Baggage is boring. Real warriors leave a wreckage in their path.”
He gives me a smile and, fuck me. I’m in so much trouble.
CHAPTERTEN
Nova
I must be out of my fucking mind for prolonging my time with Maggie. She is one of the Bloodthirsty Devils, the same fuckers who put Banger in that hospital bed with around-the-clock protection and I have her sitting in my office like we’re old friends.
Whether she was directly involved or not, they are her friends. Her family. Still, knowing all that I can’t help my desire to protect her.
“So, Maggie, tell me how a beautiful girl like you got mixed up with an asshole like Demon?” Shit, I wince inwardly. “Sorry. Docs shouldn’t call their patients beautiful.”
“Don’t be,” she flashes a half-smile. “If I was still beautiful,” she points to the gauze covering the nasty wound, “I might have called you out, but since you’re just being nice, I’ll shrug it off.”
I frown. “Scars heal, Maggie. That scar on your face will heal faster than the memories of who did it to you.” I rummage through the bottom drawer of my desk until I find what I’m looking for. “But betrayal and helplessness hurt a lot longer than physical pain.”
Maggie frowns at the black and white bandana I hand her. “What’s this for? I don’t exactly need colors anymore, do I?”
I roll my eyes. “Not colors, Maggie. It’s for your hair.”
She frowns at me before lifting a hand to touch her hair. From the heartbreaking expression skating across her face, I know she’s having a flashback. My offer of a bandana made another part of the attack roar back to life.
“Fuck me, I forgot about that.” She measures her hair—or lack of—with her hand, her expression embarrassed as if the shearing was her fault. “How bad is it?”
“Not too bad. A little lopsided. You know, it’s that whole rock chick look from back in the day, but the easiest fix of all.” I shrugged and laughed. “Just wait, and it’ll grow out.”
Her smile lights up her whole face, even though it’s sardonic and says she thinks I’m full of shit. “You’re a real glass-half-full type, aren’t you?”
“Most days, I have to be, otherwise, why bother patching up wayward gangster girls?”
She laughs, shaking her head as she ties the bandana around her head. “Demon and I grew up together,” she starts, and I realize she’s finally going to answer my question. “I knew him way before the Bloodthirsty Devils andLas Sangrientas.Back in grade school. You know, the same old boring story. Friends and then more. And then came gang life.”
I frown at how simple she makes it all sound. “You didn’t care when he joined the gang? Your parents didn’t care?” It seems odd that any parent with a young girl wouldn’t keep her far from that life.
Maggie laughs, shaking her head. “I was already inLas Sangrientasbefore he became BTD, so no, I wasn’t bothered. It was just what people from the east side did. Joined up in the military like you or joined a gang. We chose the gang life.”
I’m not sure how much choice she had, but I lean forward, curious about her life. About her. “And your parents were cool with that?”
She laughs again. This time the sound is harsh and bitter. “My mom tolerated Demon. Thought he was good for me and could keep me in line. My stepfather hated Demon with a passion that only grew when he caught us fucking.”
She snorted his opinion of the man. “That sorry motherfucker beat me up and kicked me out. And my so-called mother let him. Bitch. Then, I stayed with Demon and his mom for a while, but she was so strung out I’m not sure she even knew I was there.”
