“Doctor Man?” Voodoo repeated.
Rose shrugged. “Don’t know your real name.”
“Stop moving, little ladybug, or I will absolutely tie you to this bed and not feel an ounce of remorse for it,” he warned.
“Idiot,” she mumbled, but turned her attention to Voodoo. “How did you get the black eye?” Concern overtook her features. “Were you in the basement when the ceiling fell down?”
How the hell could the little ladybug care whether her actions had hurt one of the people who were holding her captive? She was all sorts of surprising, and Steel found he almost enjoyed unraveling another of her layers.
“Mr. Bedroom Man here didn't like me touching you,” Voodoo explained with a smirk.
“Touching me? I’m so confused. Why am I even here? You want to hurt me, that’s why you kidnapped me. My brother won't play your games, so you're going to have to kill me anyway. Why didn't you just leave me to die? Why am I in a bed? Why do I have an IV? Why is there a cast on my arm? I remember someone saying you should kill me, but then I remember you saying I have to live. I don’t get it,” she finished, an almost helpless look on her face that he wanted to wipe away, but she moved again and winced, and he was growling before he even realized what he was doing.
“Ropes!” he yelled so Blade would hear him.
“You're not really going to tie me to the bed, are you?” Rose asked uncertainly.
“No, he’s not, he’s just being a little caveman because he hates seeing you in pain. I have you on pain meds and antibiotics along with the fluids. You have several cuts from the concrete, and while they look okay now, and we cleaned you up as best as we could, I didn't want to risk infection,” Voodoo explained.
Glancing at the bag hanging from the post of the bed, Rose shook her head, then immediately shot him a worried glance, like she still wasn't sure if she was going to find herself bound to the bed. “You're putting fluids in me, but I don’t have to pee. I'm so confused,” she wailed.
“Catheter,” Voodoo told her, then pointed to the black eye. “Your caveman didn't like me putting it in, but since I was the only one who knew how to do it, he didn't have a choice.”
“But he gave you a black eye for doing it?” Rose asked, her gaze bouncing between the two of them.
Voodoo grinned at him, but Steel just grunted. Thankfully, he was saved from having to think up a reply when he wasn't sure how to explain the extent to which he hated anyone touching her for any reason, because Thunder appeared in the doorway with rope in his hands.
“Do we still need this?” Thunder asked, obviously having caught the end of the conversation.
“No,” Voodoo and Rose said in unison.
“Yes,” Steel replied at the same time.
“Okay. How about I just set these down here?” Thunder said slowly as he put the ropes on the nightstand, his amusement evident, and Steel couldn’t think of a time he’d seen any of his men in such good moods as they’d been watching him tie himself in knots over the little ladybug.
“How about someone tell me what's going on?” Rose said. “You were lifting concrete,” she said, looking to him. “You came up here with rope really quickly,” she added, looking to Thunder. “And you were supposed to save my life, but I get the feeling that has nothing to do with you being a doctor,” she said to Voodoo.
“Actually, I'm not a doctor,” he told her with a cheerfulness that reminded Steel of the old Voodoo, the one before the experiments.
“Well then, what am I supposed to call you?” Rose snapped.
“Sorry, little ladybug, no names,” Steel informed her. Since they would have to return her to her home at some point, once she was healed enough, it was better that she stick to her silly made-up names for them.
“What does it matter if you're going to kill me anyway?” she demanded.
Uncurling his fingers one at a time, which were still wrapped around her wrist, he lowered his hand until it circled her neck, squeezing just tight enough to get her attention but not to cause her any pain. “Thought I already told you that you have to live.”
“But I don’t understand.” She huffed in annoyance.
Giving her a one-sided smile, Steel nodded. “I know. Don’t make me regret not putting these on,” he said with a nod at the ropes, then indicated to Voodoo and Thunder that they should follow him from the room.
As he closed the door behind them, he could hear Rose muttering and grumbling to herself, and the other side of his lips curled up into a real smile. The little ladybug was wild, but she was certainly breathing fresh air into their stale lives.
December 28th
9:10 P.M.
How dare he just walk out of there without telling her anything.
