“Tell me.”
Ellery just flips me off instead, and I sigh, putting my phone away and pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Fine. Then I’ll have to start the dismembering.”
Their eyes narrow. “Go ahead and try it. I’ll give you hell.”
I’m sure they will. They’ve been nothing but a pain in my ass since I brought them here. Even when they were passed out, they were swearing in their sleep.
Ellery is a fucking thorn in my side. It will be nice to rid myself of them.
But not yet. Not until I get the information I need. I move toward my bag and pull out some tools, trying to figure out the best way to go about this in a motel room. It would be much better if I were at my own place. The basement makes for much better soundproofing and an easier clean-up. I can just hose it down and then scrub it with bleach. The carpet here leaves something to be desired.
“I bet your hands shake when you cut into people. It’s why you left the profession. You couldn’t hack it, huh?” Ellery says, tossing their magazine aside.
I peer at them over my shoulder as I pull out a pair of scrubs, a face mask, and gloves.
“I was the best in my field. People flew from all over the country to be operated on by me.”
Ellery swallows and then composes themselves. “Bet your hands shake this time.”
“I bet I’ll make a beautiful mess of you. They will be able to sew you back together without much of a struggle.”
As I tug the scrubs on over my clothes and tie the pants around my waist, I hear something rattle the doorknob, and a moment later, Bane comes barreling in.
He looks around the grungy motel room, his eyes wide, his hair a mess. And is that dirt on his cheek? My eye twitches.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, and he turns his gaze toward me.
“I don’t trust you. I wanted to know where you were sneaking off to. I thought maybe you were cheating.”
His eyes sweep up and down my body. “Oh dear. You’re in scrubs. That’s hot. I should be very mad at you. Iamvery mad at you.”
“Shit,” Nova says, appearing in the doorway and glancing at everyone before her. “I didn’t know Bane was in the trunk. He slipped out before I could catch him.”
I watch him puff up and wiggle on his feet. “I am very fast. Like a hummingbird.”
“Who the fuck is this prick and this bitch?” Ellery asks angrily, and Nova’s gaze goes to the person on the bed. “Surgeon-man and I are in the middle of something. You can leave.”
My eyes narrow on Ellery, and I feel Bane tap my shoulder. “Why do you have this girl here? Is this some kind of sex thing?”
“Fuck no. I wouldn’t touch that nasty dick with a ten-foot pole. And I’m not a girl. I’m non-binary, so fuck off.”
“Oh, well, how was I supposed to know that?” Bane says and then bobs his head. “But I’ll make sure I don’t call you that again.”
“My dick is not nasty,” I murmur, and Bane turns to me and giggles.
“It’s not nasty. I’ve seen it. It’s quite nice.”
Ellery scoffs. “I’m not into it. All right. Now, fuck off. All of you. I want to get this over with. Seems I’ll be having a long recovery period.”
My teeth grind at the open defiance as Bane moves toward them. “Well, since you’re not trying to encroach on what’s mine, it’s nice to meet you, angry demon. I’m Bane.” He holds out his hand toward Ellery, and they stare at it before shaking his hand.
“You have nice wrists. I have a bracelet that would look nice on this,” he says.
“Bane, Ellery is not a friend.”
He ignores me. “You’re giving him hell, right?”
