“Yes, they are responsible for that and so much more.” The woman’s fingers lingered on her face and followed the line of scars that continued down her neck and disappeared into her gown.
Aware of Caroline’s appraisal, the woman said, “Yes, they did this, right before they murdered my entire family.” Her voice was at once hard andhaunted. “Your husband, he was injured trying to defend you?”
It was all she could do to nod her agreement, knowing the young woman was asking if Reaper had been injured in an attempt to save her from being raped and tortured. It was close enough to being true.
The young woman’s gaze finally turned to Reaper. After a long measured look, she said, “I will see to your injuries first and then I shall treat your wife. But we must move quickly. The guards constantly patrol the halls, looking for their next victim.”
“I’m fine. Just help him, please.” Caroline dug her fingers into Reaper’s abdomen, almost too afraid to believe the girl’s story. But the woman’s eyes and voice and bearing all spoke to the truth of her words.
“Lie back on the table. Let me inspect your wound,” The woman moved forward, forcing Reaper to lie back on the paper-lined examination table behind him.
Caroline was immediately at his side. “Thank you, thank you so much. If there’s anything we could ever do to repay your kindness . . .”
“Did you kill them?” she said softly.
Reaper answered just as softly, “I did.”
“Did you make them suffer?”
Reaper once more answered, “I did.”
“Then that is payment enough. I need to remove your tunic and inspect your wound.”
“Go ahead.” Reaper lay back on the table, his face even paler than before.
The young woman parted his robe and his large, black rifle immediately came into view.
“We stole it from the guards. Please, we don’t mean any harm,” Caroline said in a rushed voice.
“Good, one less gun for them to kill children with. It still needs to be removed so that I can do a proper examination.”
Caroline reached for the gun and Reaper’s hand closed over hers. Deliberately, Caroline unwound his fingers and eased the strap from his good shoulder. “We can trust her.”
The look in his eyes flashed from doubt to acceptance, and Caroline marveled at how good it felt to know he had faith in her assessment. He nodded.
“I am not a doctor, but I am a nurse,” the young woman said. “I graduated from Cambridge before returning home to help my village. Do you give your consent for my treatment?”
Reaper nodded, his expression grim. “Yes, but no pain meds.”
“Of course. The guards keep those under heavy watch anyway.” The woman pulled a small pair of shears out of a nearby drawer and began cutting away his dirty T-shirt. The material stuck to his shoulder and Reaper hissed when she tried to pull it from his skin.
Instead of ripping the material like Caroline would’ve done, the nurse carefully eased it back down. “How long ago did this occur?”
He said, “Twelve hours or more.”
The nurse clucked her tongue, “you should have come much sooner, the blood has attached your flesh to the material.”
In the first hint of humor Caroline had ever detected in him, Reaper quirked a small smile and said, “We would’ve been here a long time ago if it hadn’t been for all the men trying to kill us.”
Caroline gasped and covered her mouth while the nurse just smiled and began prodding the wound once more. “No, I suppose not. I need to know what type of work this is. Pistol? Rifle?”
“Pistol.”
She clucked her tongue once more, reminding Caroline of her old nanny turned housekeeper back home. She’d always made that same sound on the rare occasions when Caroline did something naughty, like dump her supper under her bed to keep from eating the greens her father had insisted she eat as a child.
“We’ll need to treat you for infection. Is the bullet still lodged?”
“It is,” he said.
