Page 48 of Devious Obsession
He’s lit the fire now.
“Ignore him, Elana.” I move up the steps to her side. “I need some medicine, then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“Medicine?” He eyes me. “For what?”
“He was bitten by an animal with rabies. I flushed the wound, but it needs to be treated, and then he’ll need antibodies. I told him we should go to a hospital, but he seems to think you can help.”
I pull up the sleeve of my jacket, exposing the white bandage Elana taped over the wounds.
“You were bit? By what?”
“Does it matter? Do you have anything that will help or not?” Elana grabs hold of my hand, as though to give me strength. Does she think he’s getting under my skin?
I’ve taken bullets; a few barbs from this bastard aren’t going to hurt me. Besides, I learned a long time ago his opinion doesn’t count for much. A man who shirks his responsibility to his family isn’t a man at all.
“She’s got a mouth on her.” Seamus eyes me again. “Come inside. I’ll get you patched up.”
He opens the screen door to the cabin and goes inside. I grab it before it slams shut.
“Behave while we’re here,” I warn Elana when she steps onto the porch.
She laughs. “What do you think I’m going to do? Start a war between another crime family and mine?”
I sigh. Chaos seems to choose her.
Seamus gestures toward the kitchen. “Have a seat. I’ll get what I need.”
“I did not expect this.” Elana stands next to me surveying the cabin.
The exterior of the cabin is exactly what’d anyone would expect in the middle of the woods. A log cabin with small porch, some rickety wood planks for steps. A screen on the door to keep out the mosquitos. An ordinary small hunting cabin in the middle of the trees.
Inside, though, is like stepping into a James Bond movie. The kitchen has stainless steel, top of the line appliances. Granite countertops, and a kitchen island with an iron pot rack hanging overhead. The rest of the cabin is furnished the same way, modern and sleek.
“It’s so much bigger than it looks,” she says taking a step into the living area. Stairs trail off into a lower level on the side of the fireplace.
“Most of it is underground.” I tell her, shucking out of my jacket.
“Like a bunker?”
“Exactly like a bunker.” It wasn’t only my mother and family Seamus abandoned in his life. He has good reason to be hiding deep in the woods of Maine.
“How long ago was the bite?” Seamus brings a medical kit into the kitchen and sets up on the island. He glances up where Elana is looking at a frame on the wall in the living area. “Don’t touch that.”
Elana pulls her hand back like it was about to bite her.
“It’s crooked, I was going to fix it,” she explains.
“It’s crooked for a reason. Come over here and sit before you get yourself hurt.” Seamus points at the stools surrounding the island.
“He’s just as bossy as you,” Elana mutters, passing me and taking the stool at the end. “How can I get hurt touching a frame?”
“It’s not the frame, it’s what’s behind the frame,” I explain to her, watching Seamus pull out vials and needles from his kit. “What the hell is all that for? Isn’t it just some ointment?”
“For rabies? No.” He laughs. “You need a shot now, and then you’ll need to take one every couple of days. So, when did you get the bite?”
“A few hours ago.” I peel off the bandage from my arm. The wound has stopped bleeding, but the skin around the teeth marks is angry red.
“Good, then so long as you do the whole sequence of shots you should be all right.” He draws up medicine into a syringe then places it on the counter. “Gotta clean it first.”
