Chapter 15 - Black and Blue

Gage was returning from his office when his pager went off. He checked the number; it was not one he recognized. He pulled into a gas station to make the call.

"Hello, this is..." He didn't get to finish.

"Where are you?" Nicky's voice was strained.

"In my car."

"Good. Head to Langer Park. Your girl needs help."

"She's not my girl, Nick. And what sort of help?"

"My guess? The sort of help that requires immediate medical attention. I'm on my way, but I don't have a car right now."

"I may need your assistance. Give me your location and I will pick you up, either before or after."

It took an act of will to pull out of the gas station slowly. Driving the speed limit was even harder. Nicky was waiting at a street corner on the way. Under normal circumstances, he would have teased her about it. Instead, he focused on getting to the park as quickly as possible without drawing attention. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

"What the fuck was she doing in the park?" he growled.

"How should I know? She told me she was going to spend the day reading in the tub," Nicky replied.

"It was a rhetorical question." He knew exactly what she had been doing in the park – just what he had told her not to do.

"When did she call?"

"About thirty seconds before I called you," Nicky snapped. "You think I'd wait?"

"No. I am not thinking straight."

"A lot of that going around today, apparently." Nicky looked out the window.

They were coming up on the park. Gage saw a group of women in dresses standing near the entrance, but no sign of Deira.

"Where is she?" He could hear the thinnest thread of panic in his voice and mentally stomped on it.

"Probably in the middle of that group of Jehovah's Witnesses," Nicky snickered. She couldn't help it. "I forgot to tell you. They're the ones who broke up the fight."

Gage blinked. There was nothing to say to that.

He pulled up to the curb and turned on his emergency flashers. Traffic had slowed since rush hour, but it wouldn't be legal to park on that side of the street for another hour. He motioned to Nicky to stay in the truck. She ignored him, as usual.

An older man was walking towards him. "You must be the husband," he said.

"Excuse me?" He pretended he had not heard.

"She said she was waiting for her husband to take her to the hospital. She wouldn't let us call the police." The man shook his head.

"She's had bad experiences with the police taking a long time to respond," Gage said automatically. "We had a break in a while back, and it took them forever to show up." He did not slow his stride.

The man trotted to keep up. Nicky held back, scanning the area in case Cavuto's men were watching. Unless it was random. He did not believe in random, not when Deira was involved.

"We should have called an ambulance. Those men did awful things to her. I thought I should warn you before you see her." There was terrible sadness in his voice. Gage flinched and walked faster.

The women were speaking softly to each other, but they grew quiet when they saw Gage. More than one looked at him with barely concealed fear. They stepped aside quickly to let him through.

Deira was curled up on the grass. He knelt down beside her, reaching out a hand but stopping just short of touching her. He did not know the extent of her injuries, but she was definitely a mess.

"Honey?" The word stuck in his throat and sounded rougher than he had intended.

She tried to uncurl and moaned.

"Shhh. Lie still, princess. I'm here." Those words came more easily.

He could hear Nicky talking to the women. "... just worried about her.... Good doctors...." She was thanking the old man for his help. Gage turned his head and nodded his thanks. The women were hesitant to leave, looking over their shoulders as the old man herded them back towards the bus. Gage turned his focus on Deira.

"I'm going to help you stretch out so I can see if anything is broken," he said. She shook her head, then took several ragged breaths. He ignored her protest.

She could not straighten out. Gage ran his hand over her legs, checking for broken bones. Up until that moment, she had been able to ignore her legs. There were so many other parts to focus on. She tried to control her breathing to minimize the pain. When he touched her ribs, she screamed. It hurt her throat.

"Get me out of here, now," she whispered. She kept her eyes closed. She did not want to look at her reflection in his eyes.

"I will, but it will be painful."

"Already is." That made her laugh and set off another coughing fit, causing her to curl up tighter. All of her muscles were cramped.

She felt him slide an arm under her legs and flinched involuntarily. He positioned his other arm to support her back and neck. Pain exploded along her spine as he lifted her, but it was nothing compared to the blast of pain in her head. She heard a high pitched keening. After a moment, she determined that it was coming from her. She could tell he was walking carefully, but every footfall made her feel like she was tumbling over rocks. Big, sharp rocks. She clenched her jaw, and the next wave of pain reminded her of why that was a bad idea. There was no part of her that did not hurt.

He laid her on the back seat. Nicky was searching the first aid kit, finally coming up with three instant ice packs. She laid one on Deira's cheek. It was hard to determine where the others would do the most good. The side of her face was beginning to turn purple. Nicky slid one under Deira's neck and put the other over her eyes. If nothing else, it would keep her from trying to open them.

Every bump in the road made Deira sob. She imagined this was what it would feel like to be drawn over a cheese grater. Gage and Nicky were silent. He's mad at me. It was her last thought before she passed out.

Gage pulled into the alley behind his house. Deira did not regain consciousness when he took her from the truck. He tilted his head towards the garage. Nicky slid into the front seat and parked the truck. When she entered the back yard, Gage was standing in one of the few shadows left by the flood lights. Deira was limp in his arms.

"I did not leave the lights on," he muttered, flicking his eyes to the window.

Nicky pulled her gun out of her purse and stuck it in her pocket, nodding at him. She cautiously moved to the door. It was locked. She stepped back and looked at Gage. The door opened a crack.

"Move and I will shoot you," a woman said.

"Then I'm not moving," Nicky brought her hands up, empty.

Gage stepped into the light, his face tight.

"Put the gun down, Katya," he said carefully.

"Uncle Charlie?" There was relief in her voice. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"I'm sorry, kitten." He kept his voice light. "I am coming in now." His thoughts were racing. She should not be here.

Katya was standing in the middle of the kitchen when Nicky pushed the door open. She gaped as Gage walked in.

"Tell me you did not do this." Katya crossed her arms.

"What?" He was stunned.

"Tell me you did not do this," she repeated, her blue eyes hard.

"Of course not!" He had not meant to raise his voice. She stepped back.

"Then wait here." Katya ran out of the kitchen. She quickly returned. She placed a folded blanket on the table. A small pillow was in her hand.

"Set her down and get out of my way," she said calmly.

"Wait in the next room. I will see to this," Gage said, carefully lowering Deira to the table. As he laid her head back, he shook off the phantom feeling of blood running over his fingers. This is not that day. He leaned over her to make sure she was breathing.

"Pokret, grožđica!" Katya yelled. Move, curr!

Gage automatically stepped aside, then glared at her. "Where did you learn that?"

"Dad said if you ever got crazy, I should say that to you. That it would buy me time. I guess he was right." She looked up at him. "Now stay out of my way while I see how badly this woman is hurt."

Katya's movement was quick, efficient. She obviously knew what she was doing. She slid the pillow under Deira's head, having determined that her neck was not broken. She called out for scissors to cut off the sweatshirt and the tank top underneath. More demands followed. She did not look at Nicky or Gage, just held out her hand when she heard them arrive with whatever she had asked for. Half an hour later, she looked up.

"I'm going to need help with this."

"What do you need?" Gage asked quietly. He had a list of other questions, but they could wait.

"Her fist is clenched around something. I can't move her fingers."

Katya stepped back. Gage took Deira's hand. Her knuckles were scraped but that did not account for the blood that caked her fingers. He had not seen it when he had picked her up. He pressed on the tendon just below the heel of her hand, causing her fingers to move. He gently pried the knife free and straightened her hand. The blade had sliced open her palm. The wound began to bleed again.

"What did you do, princess?" he whispered.

"She can't hear you, Uncle Charlie." Katya gave him a little push. "Let me finish so we can get her to a bed, okay?"

"Does she need to go to hospital?" he asked.

"Of course she does," Katya grunted, "but that won't work for you, so we'll do what we can and see how things stand in the morning."

Gage looked at his niece. She was lean and strong, like her mother. She had that same air of grace and determination. Her hair was coming out of the clip that held it back. He didn't remember it having been so dark before. She seemed to have gotten taller, too. Or maybe it was just that he no longer saw the little girl she had been. He closed his eyes.

"Asleep on your feet?" Nicky asked.

"No. I doubt I will sleep tonight."

"Fucking martyr." She looked up at him. "This was not your fault."

"But it is my responsibility now," he said.

Katya sighed and turned to them. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"You need to move her to a bed," she said. "She can stay in my room. I'll sleep on the couch."

"No," Gage replied. "You can have your room. I will put her in mine. I can watch over her there." Again.

"You'll have to wake her up soon. She may have a minor concussion. For now, though, let her be. She's woken up a few times, so she's in no immediate danger."

Gage just nodded.

"Will you stay, Nicky?" Katya asked.

"I don't think so. I have things to do tonight."

"Let me call you a cab," Gage offered.

"You do that. But first get that girl to bed. She's going to feel like shit tomorrow no matter what, but the less time she spends on the table, the better," Nicky said.

Gage took Deira upstairs and tucked her in. Her hair had been braided but it was coming undone. He smoothed a stray curl from her swollen face.

When he returned to the kitchen, Nicky and Katya had cleared the table and were slumped in chairs.

"Thank you for your help tonight," he said to both of them.

"You're welcome," Katya looked at him. "If you really want to show your gratitude, you'll pay for take out. I'm starving."

"Done." He smiled at her.

Nicky looked at Gage with a promise of long conversations to follow.

Katya turned to her. "Are you sure you won't stay? I could make up the couch."

"As interesting as I think a slumber party would be with you, Katya, I need to go home and finish some work." Nicky watched Gage relax. "Maybe some other time," she said.

His tension was back instantly. He thinks I'm a threat to her. How fun.

Katya went in search of a phone book. Nicky looked at Gage. If he was feeling antsy about her, she was going to make it work in her favor.

"I like your niece."

"She is easy to like and very smart. I expect her to do great things after college." Do not fuck with my family.

"Nice house." Nicky glanced around the kitchen, then back at him. "Your sense of décor has improved." I know where you live now.

"I hated to leave my last place," he replied pointedly, "but it had bugs."

"Don't you hate that?" Nicky smiled at him.

"Yes, very much. This place is much cleaner." I have better systems now and know your weaknesses.

"That's good. And just think, in a few years, the gentrification squad will arrive and your property values will go through the roof." People are going to find out where you live.

"I have a hard time staying in one place, so perhaps I will not be here long." Disappearing is easy.

"Where would you go?" I can find you.

"The world is a big place, Nicky. You never know. I could end up living right on top of you."

"Providing any of us make it through this mess," she muttered.

"We will." It was the most direct threat he could make, accompanied by his best smile.

Nicky laughed. She heard the cab horn blare and headed for his front door.

The game was over, for now. Neither of them had won. It didn't matter. She liked the game.