“All right,” I said, backing off.“No hospitals.”
Wind rustled through the trees, carrying the scent of pine and something else -- the metallic tang of coming rain.The temperature had dropped another few degrees.Callie shivered, her thin jacket providing minimal protection against the night air.
I glanced at my watch.Nearly midnight.The compound was close but bringing her there would mean questions.Hard ones.
“Let me see your hands,” I said.
She hesitated, then extended them.She’d need medical care.
“You fight back,” I observed.
A small, grim smile.“Always.”
I respected that too.
“When’s the last time you ate?”
She shrugged again.“Not sure.”
“Can you stand?”
She tried, bracing against the ground.Her legs wobbled, threatening to collapse.I reached out instinctively, stopping just short of touching her.
“May I?”
She nodded, reluctance clear in every line of her body.I slipped an arm around her waist, supporting her weight as she found her footing.She felt too light, bones sharp beneath skin meant to hold more weight.Malnourished, and not just from two days without food.
“You’re not cops,” she said, nodding toward my cut.“But you’re something.”
“Something,” I agreed, not elaborating.The less she knew about the Kings, the better -- for her safety as much as ours.
She swayed on her feet, and I tightened my grip slightly to keep her upright.She flinched at the pressure but didn’t pull away.
“I need to get you somewhere safe,” I said.
“Nowhere’s safe,” she repeated, but with less conviction.
“Safer than here.”
A distant sound pierced the night -- an engine, far off but approaching.Callie’s entire body tensed, her breathing accelerating into near hyperventilation.
“That them?”I asked.
She nodded, panic overriding caution.
Decision time.I knew taking her to the compound would have consequences.Was I prepared to face them?
“I’ve got a place,” I said, making my choice.“People who can help.But you need to trust me, just for tonight.”
“Why would you help me?”she asked, suspicion threading through the fear.“You don’t know me.”
A fair question.One I’d asked myself.
“Because years ago, I was on the wrong side of some bad men,” I said simply.“Someone helped me then.Sometimes that’s reason enough.”
Not the whole truth, but enough of it.The Kings had saved me from a life heading nowhere fast, given me purpose, family.Some debts you pay forward.
“I don’t have another option, do I?”she asked.
