She tried to smile again. It went crooked. There was blood on her teeth when her lips parted slightly.
I checked her face for damage. The swelling above her left eye was getting worse, but it wasn't life-threatening. Other than that, I couldn't see anything but the multitude of bruises and marks on her legs and a few scrapes on her elbow.
I took her hand and checked her pulse again. It had evened out a little.
I climbed behind the wheel, peeled away from the alley, and pinged Viper.
"Did you pick up the package?" he asked, sounding a little worried.
"Yeah," I said. "Can you send a doctor to the safe house?"
There was a pause, then Viper's voice went tight. "Compound doctor?"
"No. Use the alternative. The one we have on contract for outside jobs. Don't want this on the Bureau record."
"You got it."
"Tell him to be discreet."
"Ya think?" Viper made a noise like a tongue click, then hung up. I was surprised he didn't have any offhanded comment for me.
I glanced at Kimmy again as I flew through the intersection.
Every red light made me think of Valmont's hands on her. I gripped the wheel harder, trying to subdue this fury messing with my brain. I didn't even know I was able to conjure such a strong emotion, but I guess there were a lot of things I didn't know about until I met Kimmy.
I don't remember the drive except for the terror that she'd stop breathing between one block and the next.
By the time we reached the safe house, the streets were completely empty. The ride in the elevator seemed like it took forever. The lights inside the loft were too bright. They made everything look worse—every injury on her body.
I took her to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed, then grabbed the first aid kit and got to work—pressure to the cut, ice pack to the swelling, water for her lips. In the privacy of my mind, I thanked the Bureau for the basic medical training. I wasn't a doctor, but I knew just enough to keep her stable until the real doctor got here.
When I finished, I took a breath and quietly sat next to her. My hands shook, not from the adrenaline crash. Rage, or maybe grief.
I'd seen women beaten before. This job was dark. It gave me an unrestricted access to the worst of humanity. But I'd never wanted to unmake a man as badly as I wanted to unmake Caius Valmont in that moment.
She stirred, and I felt my heart jump out of my chest.
"Seven?" she murmured.
"I'm here," I said.
There was a long pause, then she smiled. It wasn't a real smile, just the curl in the corner of her lips, but it made me feel weird things as if the world was fixing itself.
Then she whispered, "You're beautiful." She reached up for my face. Her fingers, cold and small, traced the line of my jaw. It was nothing, barely a touch, but it short-circuited things inside me.
"Don't talk," I said. "You're in shock."
"I mean it."
I didn't know how to answer. She watched me, searching for something, and I had no idea what she was hoping to find.
"We did it," she added. "We got what we wanted."
She released my wrist and clutched the pendant at her throat. "I kept it safe."
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
She looked at me for a long time. Then, with a motion so fast I almost missed it, she grabbed my shirt and pulled me close. Her lips met mine, soft and hot and alive, and tasting a little like blood.
