Authors: Maddy Barone
Rose felt her veins turn to ice. Not a bundle of bloody clothes. His burden was a woman, but Rose’s eyes refused to accept what they saw for a long shocked minute while she forgot to breathe. The woman’s head lolled against Snow’s arm. Her hair might have been brown, but so much of it was crusted with blood that Rose couldn’t be sure. Her eyes were blackened, her jaw so swollen it didn’t shut quite right, and a thin stream of blood ran from her mouth to the torn collar of her shirt.
Katelyn pulled Rose out of the way. “Put her on the bed,” she told Snow with authority. She must be just as horrified, but she moved calmly. “Doctor?”
Paint, behind Snow, answered. “Stone is getting him.”
With gentleness that contrasted with the rage burning in his eyes, Snow placed the woman on the bed. His fingers trembled as they reached as if to touch her face, but they curled into a fist. There was no inch of skin that wasn’t bruised or bloody.
Ms. Mary patted his arm and said gently, “You boys go on outside now. Men aren’t allowed in the women’s dorm.”
“No,” said Snow instantly, folding his arms over his chest.
Rose looked at him sharply. Snow never defied a woman’s order. The expression on his face when he looked at the injured woman was anguish warring with rage, and it made her wonder. She took his arm.
“We’ll need room to help Odell,” she said quietly. “Go outside, Snow.”
“Can’t,” was all he said, helpless, and angry, and quietly frantic. “Can’t leave her.”
She looked from his set face to the battered woman on the bed, an incredible suspicion blooming in her chest. “Is she your mate?”
Snow’s eyes welled with tears as he nodded. “And she’s hurt.” Tears turned to rage. “And Sky won’t let me kill the ones who did this to her.”
“Well.” Rose pulled herself together. “Maybe later. Right now I need you to go outside. Don’t go far. If we need anything to help her, I want you available to go get it for her. And don’t howl. She needs quiet to rest. Okay?”
With obvious reluctance, he nodded and eased out of the little room, casting one more agonized glance at the bed.
“You did that well,” Ms. Mary congratulated her. “Now, let’s get the poor girl out of her clothes.”
Odell was a terrible sight. She wore jeans, the remnants of a cotton blouse, and one shoe. Rose slipped off the shoe and found blood inside. How badly was she hurt? She went to work trying to get the jeans off. With the heavy denim saturated with blood it was hard to unbutton them.
Ms. Mary perched on the single wooden chair near the head of the bed. “Odell? Can you hear me? You are safe here. Do you understand? No one will hurt you here.”
Odell gave an almost soundless moan in reply. Outside, a long, low howl lifted. Poor Snow. Rose could only imagine how difficult it must be for him to know that his mate was in here, horribly injured, while he was forced to remain outside.
“Odell?” Ms. Mary leaned closer. “Can you hear me?”
“Ice?” the girl moaned. “Where’s ice? Need ice.”
“Yes, dear, we’ll get you some ice.” Ms. Mary signaled to Rose. “The doctor will be here any minute.”
Odell’s nose and mouth were so swollen she could barely speak. Ice would help with the swelling, and the pain, right? Rose went to the door. Katelyn waved. “Get hot water too,” she ordered, her oddly distorted voice authoritative.
As soon as Rose opened the door, Snow leaped off the step he sat on beside Paint. “What do you need?”
Rose hurt for him. “We need some ice and hot water.”
He was off at a dead run for the house. Paint caught her elbow as she turned to go back in. “How bad is she?”
“I don’t know. Bad.” Rose swallowed to control the urge to sob. “Who could have done that to her? Why did Sky keep Snow from killing whoever it was?”
Paint’s face closed. “Sky had his reasons.”
His tone didn’t sound like he agreed. “Where is Sky?”
“He went to find the girl’s family. He’ll be back soon.”
Snow ran up, carrying a metal bucket. “This is only half of the ice in the freezer. That woman Kim wouldn’t let me take all of it.”
He looked ready to kill someone. “That’s smart,” Rose soothed him. “What if we need more, but it’s all melted?”
Snow scowled. “Right. I’ll bring the water as soon as it’s hot.”
The sound of horses’ hooves and creaking wheels made her turn to stare. A carriage with a red cross painted on the side rolled along the drive at a spanking pace. The carriage door opened before the vehicle came to a complete stop. A tall thin man Rose didn’t know sprang out, followed by Sara in her neat gray uniform.
“The doctor is here.” Rose turned and went back into the dorm with the ice, leaving Paint to bring the doctor in.
Odell turned her head toward the door when Rose came in. Neither of her eyes could open more than a slit and Rose couldn’t decipher the expression on that battered face. “Ice,” the girl moaned. “Where’s Ice?”
Rose lifted the bucket. “I have it right here.”
“No.” The girl’s head moved restlessly on the pillow. “I want Ice. Where is he? Get him for me.”
Ice? Rose’s brow furrowed. “Do you mean Snow?"
“Snow. Yes, Snow. Where is he?" She raised her voice to a raw croak. “Snow! Snow, come here. I need you. Snow!"
As Rose expected, the door to the dormitory opened and footsteps thundered down the hall. It wasn’t just Snow making all the noise. Like all the men in the Pack, he walked silently. But he was the first person in the door. The doctor and Sara were right on his heels. The only one Odell noticed was Snow. Somehow that hideously battered face relaxed when she saw him and she lifted one wavering hand toward him. He flowed toward the bed and went down on his knees to carefully take her hand.
The doctor and Sara entered the already crowded little room. He didn’t seem to take notice of anyone except Odell. With crisp efficient moves he stripped off his jacket, handed it to Sara, and rolled up his sleeves before moving to the bed.
“I am Dr. Jackson,” he said in a clear voice. “I’m going to take very good care of you. Can you tell me your name?”
Rose couldn’t understand Odell’s mumble, but the doctor nodded encouragingly.
“Very good. This is my assistant, Sara Nelson. Sara, clear the room so we can examine this young woman and determine our best course of action.”
Sara handed the doctor’s coat to Rose. “I think Katelyn should stay,” she suggested. “She will know how Odell feels.”
The doctor nodded distractedly, already beginning his examination. “Very well. If everyone else would please leave?”
Ms. Mary got up from her chair. “Of course, doctor.”
Rose obediently moved to the door and waited for Snow to join her, but he remained on his knees beside the bed. “Snow? Are you coming?”
“No.” He sent a defiant glare at the doctor. “Odell wants me here.”
The doctor, apparently seeing that Snow couldn’t be moved, nodded. “Very well. Please try to stay out of my way.”
Outside the dorm was a small crowd. Rose recognized Sky, Paint, and Stone, but the other two men were strangers. They sported bandages around their heads, and she guessed they were Odell’s kinsmen who had been injured in the fight the other day. Was that just yesterday?
Ms. Mary spoke. “Dr. Jackson is with Odell. Miss Nelson is with him. I’m sure they will come and tell us what they can as soon as they know something.”
“Snow?” asked Sky.
“He’s with Odell,” said Rose.
Paint asked, “Where’s Katelyn?”
“Miss Nelson asked for her to stay and help,” Ms. Mary said. She smiled at the two strangers. “You must be the Grahams, Odell’s family. Let’s all go into the dining room and have some coffee while we wait.”
They all trooped after Ms. Mary into the house. She settled them at the dining room table and called for Kim to bring them coffee. The sour-faced woman looked even sourer when she brought a tray of cups and a pot of coffee. Rose could see she wanted to ask questions, but Sky just thanked her and sent her back to the kitchen.
As Sky introduced the two strangers as Rob and Scott Graham, Odell’s brothers, Rose poured coffee for them. Rob had thinning dark brown hair cut short that he ran his hand through over and over. Scott was younger, and wore a perpetual scowl. She could see the banked anger in them. Sky and Stone were controlling their fury, but it was there. She knew how the men of the Pack felt about women. To see any woman hurt bothered them. To see a woman deliberately beaten was adequate cause in their minds for murder. When that woman was connected to the Pack in any way…How had Sky managed to prevent Snow from killing whoever had mistreated Odell? Why hadn’t he killed the person himself?
Paint pounded a fist on the table. “I heard the doctor say he wanted the room cleared. Why did he allow Katelyn to stay?”
Ms. Mary gave his clenched fist a gentle pat. “It will be good for Odell to have a woman there who knows what she’s going through.”
Paint drew a sharp breath. “What do you mean, who knows what she’s going through?” He lifted his hand to adjust his eye patch, but he dropped it again. He curled it back into a fist. “How could she know what Odell is going through, unless…” His face went as hard as marble. “Did that happen to Katelyn?”
Rose looked at him. The flat tone of his voice barely hid the violence shivering beneath it.
Sky and Ms. Mary exchanged a glance. Sky leaned forward with a sigh. “Yes. I found Katelyn in a very similar situation. When I brought her here we weren’t sure at first if she would live.”
The level of suppressed rage in the room went up. Rose finished serving coffee and took her seat on Sky’s right. She could almost see the rage floating in the air like snakes with gaping jaws dripping with venom or scorpions with tails ready to attack. Remembering Odell’s broken body made her own fists clench. That had happened to Katelyn too?
“Why does it keep happening?” she demanded. “Hasn’t anyone been arrested for it?”
Rob and Scott both made noises of disgust. “Not if it’s the mayor’s best buddy who does it,” Rob said bitterly.
Scott thrust out his jaw. “It’s time for them to pay.”
Sky raised his hands in a soothing gesture. “Tomorrow the council votes on the Women’s Acts. We need to wait until after the vote. If it passes, things will begin to change. We can change Omaha to be a better place for everyone, without battles in the street. Yesterday showed us that fighting isn’t the answer. Having the City Guard mow down innocent citizens doesn’t help anyone, especially not our ladies.”
“Yeah?” It looked like Rob would spit on the floor, but he coughed instead. “And what if the vote fails?”
Sky looked him directly in the eyes. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“It’s only two days away. I think we should have a plan in place ahead of time.”
Slowly, Sky nodded. “You’re right. I have some ideas. But war should be our absolute last resort. Once bullets start flying, we don’t know where they’ll hit. It could be your sister or your cousin or your mother that is killed.”
Scott slammed his hand on the table. “Better to die of a bullet than from the beating of some coward!”
“Even better to live,” Sky countered, voice level. “Omaha needs to change peaceably. Once we start fighting amongst ourselves, Omaha will fall. We’ll go back to the way it was in the Terrible Times. Nobody wants that.”
The Grahams looked at each other. “Maybe we do. At least then we’ll have the right to protect our women.”
Sky sighed. “With no law at all, we’ll be protecting our women from everybody. The law in Omaha has been used to control us, but it should be used to protect us.”
Talk became general after that, no one willing to further discuss the vote or the possibility of civil war in Omaha. It seemed like a long time before the doctor came in. He looked grave, but not despondent.
“I have done all I can. Miss Odell’s injuries are severe. Her nose, cheekbone, two ribs, and three fingers are broken. She almost certainly has some internal injuries. However, her breathing is good and her memory is sharp. I believe she will recover with time and care. She would receive better treatment at the hospital.”
“No,” said several men at the same time.
The doctor gave a wintery smile. “So the young man with her said. Is he her husband?”
“No,” said Sky calmly, “but he wants to be.”
Odell’s brothers looked sharply at him. “I’m Rob, her oldest brother. I say she doesn’t go to a place where the assho—” He broke off with a quick glance at Ms. Mary. “Anyone could get to her at the hospital,” he concluded.
“The hospital might not be safe for her,” Sky agreed. “I think she will stay here.”
Rob and Scott nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. You’ve got decent security.”
“Very well.” The doctor picked up his coat from the back of the chair Rose had laid it on. “Miss Nelson will stay and nurse her. I will check back in with her tonight and tomorrow morning. If there is any change in the patient’s condition, Miss Nelson will know if I should be sent for.”
Ms. Mary got up to walk him out to his carriage. “Thank you, doctor.”
The group around the table broke up then. Paint took Odell’s brothers out to the dorm to visit her, and Stone went to add his presence to the guard on the dorm. When they were alone Sky touched Rose’s cheek with a gentle hand.
“What a miserable mess,” he said quietly.
“I know. Isn’t there any way for the man who hurt Odell to be punished?”
He looked tired when he shook his head. “No. Not right now.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he laid a finger lightly over her lips.
“Someday, probably someday soon, men who brutalize women will be punished. But right now I still have that paperwork waiting for me in my office. And after this morning, I need to re-do the budget to figure out how we can afford to keep feeding our guests and pay our taxes.”
She brushed his finger away. “How much did it cost to bring Odell here?”
“Every single bit of gold I had.” His voice was grim, but he smiled at her. “I’ll see you later.”
“Wait. Take my gold, Sky. I insist. If I’m supposed to be your mate, we should share what we have. Take the gold. Joe put it in your safe.”