Page 82 of Deserving Cora
In response, Pipe let go of her and headed for the bathroom. He returned seconds later with a wet washcloth and handed it to her without a word. Cora went to the other side of the bed and began wiping her friend gently. Owl and Pipe turned their heads when she lifted the nightgown, once again giving the almost comatose woman the respect she deserved.
Cora did the best she could and felt marginally better when there were no more traces of what someone had left behind on Lara’s skin. She couldn’t help but lean down and whisper, “Wake up, Lara. Please. It’s Cora. I’m here. I’m with some friends and we’re going to get you out of here. But you have to wake up and talk to us. Okay?”
To her surprise, Lara’s head slowly turned her way…and Cora swore she saw recognition in her eyes.
“It’s me,” she told her friend. “We always said we’d be there for each other through thick and thin, right? Well, I’m thinking this is some pretty serious thick, huh?”
Lara blinked.
“Can you talk to us?” Owl asked.
Lara’s head rolled slowly on the pillow, turning toward Owl. She stared at him without saying a word.
“That’s Owl. He’s with me. His real name is Callen, but people call him Owl because he’s got such perfect eyesight,” Cora told her.
“Stalker,” Pipe said with a small grin from behind Owl.
Cora wasn’t ashamed of the research she’d done on the men of The Refuge. Besides, it wasn’t as if the information wasn’t out there for anyone to find if they looked hard enough.
But at the sound of Pipe’s voice, Lara whimpered.
“Easy, it’s okay. That’s Pipe,” Cora told her. “He’s mine.”
Pipe made a small sound, and Cora looked up at him. He seemed surprised at her words.
She wrinkled her nose. “Too soon?” she asked sheepishly.
“No, not at all,” Pipe told her. The bed was between them, but for some reason it felt as if they were the only two people in the world.
“You’re scaring her,” Owl told Pipe. “Step back.”
Pipe immediately took a step away from the bed.
“You’re okay,” Owl told Lara. “No one’s gonna hurt you again. Do you hear me? I won’t allow it.”
To Cora’s surprise, Lara’s tongue came out and she licked her lips before croaking, “Hurt.”
“I know, and as soon as we can, we’ll do something about that. Pipe’s gonna figure out how to get us the hell out of here and we’ll get you all fixed up. Okay?”
Cora held her breath. She felt no jealousy at all that Lara had responded to Owl and not her. She was thrilled she was talking at all.
In response to Owl’s words, Lara’s arm inched across the narrow bed. She grabbed hold of his wrist. “Don’t leave. Rather die…”
Her voice was thready and weak, but they could all hear the desperation in her words.
“I’m not leaving you. Not a chance in hell. And no one is dying. Hear me? But I need you to fight, Lara.”
“Tired,” she said, closing her eyes.
But Cora noticed that she hadn’t let go of Owl’s wrist.
“I know you are,” he said gently. “Rest for now.”
Lara nodded and let out a long sigh.
Cora pressed her lips together as she lifted the blanket back up and over Lara’s body.
Lara’s head moved her way, and her eyes popped open again. She still looked out of it, and the thought of someone drugging her friend made the murderous anger return. But Cora did her best to remain calm.
