Savage Vandal (82 Street Vandals #1) - Heather Long Page 0,41
and my bruises.
Wait…
A slow grin pulled my lips wider. It would be great for them. Especially since they were letting me shower alone. I’d bet they had no idea how long my showers should or could be. They probably expected me to be a spoiled princess like Rome had called me that night.
My lip curled. Still…I cranked the water on cold and hissed when the icy spray hit my chest. It was so cold, it almost made it hard to breathe.
That was okay.
Cold would help with the bruising. I could warm it up when I needed to wash.
Thirty minutes of punishing cold was about all I could stand and I was fucking shivering, but I couldn’t feel the bruises anymore. I switched up the warm water and even tepid was warmer than what I’d been using. It took me time and some maneuvering, but I got my hair washed, rinsed, and conditioned. By the time I soaped everything and rinsed off, I was beat again.
What a waste, but then again, I had more data than when I’d started.
And more access.
One step at a time, I reminded myself.
I was going to get out of here one way or the other.
Chapter 10
Emersyn
The next two days after Jasper fixed everything for my shower, I took to showering twice a day. They didn’t need to know it was for the cold and the fact that it did wonders for the bruising along my back and ribs. I did my damnedest to avoid being naked around any of my caretakers. Morning—or what I assumed was morning because I really had no idea—of the third day, I woke alone.
Totally alone.
When I first opened my eyes, I was curled on my side facing the chair where my current keeper would usually be seated. A single dim light remained on in the corner. It was the light Rome used when he sketched. Rubbing a hand against my face, I sat up slowly. The combination of cold showers in addition to the enforced rest had at least minimized the bruising effects I’d suffered. For that, I was going to be grateful.
I tested my ankle as I stood. It was wrapped, but the sharpness when I put my weight on it was missing. Two steps, and it barely twinged. I pushed up on my toes and lifted my good leg, forcing all of my weight onto the bad.
The strain was there. My muscles objected to the activity after being so disused. The ankle held though. Setting my foot down, I stretched my arms over my head. The pull on my chest and back ached, but I’d had worse. I stretched my arms behind me and clasped my hands as best I could before I bent. The crack of my spine popping and the scream of muscles protesting invigorated me.
Step by step, I stretched until I was warmer and looser. The wrist was still problematic. I hated the damn splint. They hadn’t put me in a cast, so that had to mean something. At the same time, I hadn’t seen Doc since he helped me bathe. Apparently Jasper or “Hawk” as the others called him—what the hell kind of name was that?—had blocked him for some bizarre, possessive jerk reason.
I wasn’t an idiot. I got that guys got crazy stupid about that stuff and he was warning off Freddie with very violent threats. The image of the gun Hawk had placed under Doc’s chin shivered through me, and I frowned. Had Jasper done something to make sure Doc didn’t come back?
Fuck.
And if he did, why?
He wasn’t doing anything more than stare at me when he was in here. Well, except for the shower thing—and the dresser thing. My clothes weren’t in suitcases anymore. They’d hauled a dresser in here and put my stuff up.
There was the book thing too. He’d brought me a stack. No television or phone or Internet, but I had books.
Most of them were fantasy, a couple of spy thrillers, and at least one romance novel. They were well-thumbed too. Not new.
Fine, Jasper had done more than stare. Still, they hadn’t told me anything about why I was here. Or what was going on, and when I tried to broach it with Vaughn, he changed the subject. The one time I brought it up with Kestrel, he’d just gone ice and shut me out.