Rebel Heart

She cowered away from him, favoring her hurt wrist.

"Please don't hurt me."

Her tearful plea made him angry that he hadn't been able to protect her as he should have. Even so, she wasn't going to last long among the roughnecks in his camp if she didn't toughen up a little.

"You have to do what I say," he said. "You understand me?"

She nodded. He prepped bandages for her wrist, a bowl and washcloth, and a smaller version of the doc's med-gun, loading it with enough painkiller to knock her out. She inched away, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him. He gave her the shot first. Her body jerked, but its effects were immediate. She slumped against him.

Brady pulled her into his lap and set to work on cleaning her up and repairing her wrist. He didn't know if she hadn't had time to fix her wound or didn't know how; the wound was on the verge of becoming infected.

"Here's her shit," Dan said, ducking into the tent. He tossed her micro, pills, and a vault half the size of his hand on the pillows near him. "She okay?"

"She's gonna be a mess," Brady said.

"Donovan hurt her?"

"I don't think so."

Dan shook his head and flung himself down across from him, retrieving the sealed vault. He shook it then set it down when it made no noise.

"What is someone like this doing out here?" Brady demanded.

"No idea."

Lana's skin was soft, her body fitting comfortably against his. His blood heated at her familiar scent. He'd found her voice soothing and enjoyed talking to her when he was her Guardian, enough so that he'd looked forward to their paths crossing. He hadn't expected her to be as small or exotically beautiful as she was.

"We found Elise," Dan said.

"She put up a fight?"

"Oh, yeah. Took out two of our guys until I told her we had this one."

"Elise will do well here. This one …" Brady shook his head at the woman in his lap.

"Like a lamb to the coyotes."

They both studied the unconscious woman. Her shapely body was all but exposed. When he'd gotten Donovan's blood off her, Brady lifted her and placed her in his bed. He stood over her, pensive. It was easier to protect Angel from afar, before she knew what he was or faced the dangers he did daily. Though he took an oath to take care of her, he'd never expected she'd be lying in his bed, helpless against his world.