Page 12 of Keeping Kara
“I’m gonna go over there and piss,” he said, gesturing toward a large tree off to his right. “You know, if you want to find a place to go yourself.”
She nodded.
Chaos turned, then quickly spun back around. “Please don’t run off. I’m not going to hurt you. I swear.”
She stared at him for a beat, then nodded again.
Knowing the possibility of her running was still high, Chaos had no choice but to give her the benefit of the doubt, turning away to go behind the tree to do his business. It wasn’t as if she was a prisoner. She likely knew this area better than he did. She was an adult and could leave if she wished. He simply didn’t want her to go. He wanted to get to know her better. Prove to her that she could trust him. That he wouldn’t hurt her.
That he’d hunt down and make whoever had hurt her pay.
But trust took time. She wouldn’t believe that he meant her no harm simply because he said the words. He’d have to prove it by his actions.
When he wandered back to the shelter where they’d spent the night, Chaos was relieved to see Kara standing by the rocks, looking uncomfortable and unsure.
“Will you help me with my shoulder?” he asked. He was well aware taking off his flight suit and shirt was going to hurt like a bitch, but it had to be done. He needed to know what the hell was stuck in his body, and hopefully get it out. He had no antibiotics or even soap to clean the wound, but he couldn’t continue to walk around with whatever was in there.
When Kara agreed, Chaos looked around, spotting another large rock not too far away. He walked over to it and sat. He took a deep breath—and immediately regretted it. His ribs were most certainly at least fractured. He didn’t think they were broken, as he could still move around without too much pain. But when he twisted the wrong way or breathed in too deeply, he was reminded of how hard he’d been slammed against that wall of trees last night.
He brought a hand up to the tab at his throat and began to unzip the flight suit. He attempted to shrug the material off his shoulders like he normally would—and sucked in a pained breath at the motion, his eyes slamming shut.
“Here, let me help.”
Kara’s voice directly in front of him had Chaos stilling almost immediately. He opened his eyes and turned his back to her…and she let out an audible breath.
“Oh, Arrow, you’re bleeding.”
He wasn’t surprised. “Can you see what’s in there?”
“It looks like a big piece of glass went right through your clothes. It’s sticking out of your back.”
Chaos nodded. Glass sucked, but it was better than a stick. Those tended to be covered in bacteria and dirt and other nasty stuff that would cause an infection to fester quicker than anything else. Not to mention it would hurt like a bitch to remove. Glass still hurt, but not nearly as badly as a freaking stick.
“Can you get it out?”
Turning his head, he glanced at Kara as he spoke, trying to gauge how she was feeling about this. If she was pale or looked at all queasy, he’d do it himself. Somehow.
He wasn’t exactly surprised when she pressed her lips together and nodded. This woman was made of sterner stuff than she probably thought.
“Can you tell how deep it is?” Chaos asked.
“No, not through your clothes. And not when it’s embedded.”
“Right. Go ahead and pull it straight out, slow and steady.”
“Aren’t impaled objects supposed to stay in place until you can get to a hospital?” she asked, hesitating for the first time.
“Generally, yes. But that’s in case they’ve pierced something vital, like an artery. There aren’t any arteries in my shoulder. No organs. Nothing that removing the glass can make worse.”
“It’s going to hurt,” she whispered.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I can handle it if you can.”
She straightened at that. “I can handle it,” she said, almost defensively.
“That’a girl,” Chaos said softly. “I have a feeling you can handle anything.”
She snorted. “Hardly. And remember, Kara the Terror. Don’t blame me if you’ve suddenly grown an artery in your shoulder and removing this piece of glass makes you bleed to death.”
