Page 124 of Property of Fang
What do they hope to find? The truck would be long gone by now.Unless club members hang around to witness the panic they caused.I’ve heard of people doing that; pyromaniacs staying behind to watch the fire burn; murderers lingering near the scene to see the police go in and the body come out.
Doesn’t matter how purely we live our lives, there’s a little bit of sick fascination in all of us. And people like the Devil’s Breed are least afraid to let it show.
“Either of you hurt?” Loki asks as he approaches the booth.
I tip my face up to him and shake my head. “Will they find the person who did it?”
“Fang and Darko?”
I nod again.
“Don’t know.” He tugs his phone from his hip pocket and checks the screen before thumbing a quick reply…and not telling me a thing.Goddamn it.So sue me for wanting to know if we’re still at risk. I shift my hand to rub methodical lines up and down Molly’s back. She seems shaken, but not upset.
I wonder how many incidents like this she’s already seen, being Fang’s daughter.
“What happens now?”
Loki glances to the room before answering. “You two wait there until we get someone to take you home.”
I want to help. Would rather assist in the triage than sit on my ass as a spectator. But I understand; somebody needs to take care of Molly, and I really don’t mind that it’s me.
Knowing she feels safe enough to find comfort in me? After the week I’ve had, it’s priceless.
“Are we still in danger?” I ask low enough she hopefully doesn’t hear.
“We’re always in danger,” Loki states.
I guess they are. Using my fingertips, I gently brush Molly’s hair away from her face. “Are you okay sitting here until they get back?”
She nods. “Where did Daddy go?”
“I’m not sure.” What do you tell a child? “I think he went to help some of the people who got hurt.”
“But they’re all over there,” she says, pointing at the small assembly of people being given first aid by the staff. “And he’s not.”
Astute little girl.“I’m sure he’s fine.”
“But how do you know?” Her pitch rises.
I lightly grip her chin to turn her small head to face mine and look her square in the eye. “Because even though I’ve only known your daddy for a short time, I already know he’s a very brave, very smart man. He’ll know how to stay safe.”
She nods and leans into my side again, and I note Loki closely watches our interaction. He gives me a slight nod, then ducks over to talk to a shaking young woman and her friend. I lift my hand to push the things on the table away from us and hesitate.The hell?Blood dots the side of my hand.But I didn’t get hurt.Which means.
Shit, shit, shit.
I lean back a little and scour Molly while she frowns up at me, confused. “Does anything hurt, honey?”
“Not really.”
What does she mean by ‘not really’? “What do you mean by that?”
Molly lifts her right arm. “It stings a little, but it’s okay.” Glass catches the light, small enough not to notice at first glance, but enough that she bleeds from several small sites.
How?Fang curled himself around her far side. Wouldn’t he have shielded her? I scour the table and find the likely explanation: glass shards scattered amongst the shakers and napkins. Blood dotting the completed puzzle page. Molly had her arm resting on the table as she colored. She must have gotten some of the initial glass spray.
“Here.” I take her small arm and study how best to get the pieces out. “Are you okay if I try to make this better?”
The girl nods.Bless her trust in me.I shake out a clean napkin and set it on the table before grabbing another to stem the bleeding afterward. Using my fingers to get the shards out risks pushing the pieces in further, so I snag a steak knife from the table caddy and hold the blade to control the very tip of the serrated edge.
