“Dunc would’ve held out as long as he could with that list,” Dragon said quietly. “Givin’ the feds some time.”
“Should’ve told them what they wanted to know,” I snapped, wiping Rebel’s hair away from her maple frosting-covered mouth. “He held out when his daughter was gettin’ beat.”
“They would’ve beat the fuck outta her anyway,” Casper replied, using the same logic I’d fed Molly earlier. “She showed up. They weren’t just gonna let her bounce—had to put the fear a’ God into her first.”
“You think they’re gonna come here?” Hulk asked Dragon.
“Doubt it,” Dragon said. “They got what they wanted. Probably halfway outta the country by now. Musta knew we were comin’ if they left their man behind. Even Russians don’t leave their own dead for the cops to find.”
“How do you know they got what they wanted?” I asked.
“Killed him,” my dad said quietly. “If there was anything left to know, they woulda kept him alive. Took him with ’em.”
Dragon nodded.
A knock on the door interrupted us and I opened it up to find Trix’s face pressing into the opening.
“Cops called Molly. They’re on their way here.”
“Shit,” I grumbled as the men stood up from the table.
“You get that shit straightened out?” Dragon asked as I moved out from in front of the door.
“She knows what she’s supposed to say,” I assured him.
“Let’s hope she sticks to it.”
I nodded and left the room, searching for Molly. If she’d talked to the cops, that meant she was awake, and I wanted to see how she was feeling.
I found her sitting at a table with Farrah at the edge of the room. Lily and Rose were standing next to them, and I could tell by the way that my sister was standing that they were begging for something.
“He’s here now, you monsters,” Farrah said as I walked up to the table.
“What’s up?” I asked as Rebel dived for Molly. I barely caught her in time, then set her gently in Molly’s lap, being extra careful of her arm. They’d sent her home from the hospital in a soft cast because her arm was still too swollen to put in a hard cast, and she had to go back tomorrow so they could change it.
“We wanted to come get Rebel, but Mom wouldn’t let us,” Lily said, her hands on her hips.
“You know that room is off-limits,” Farrah said.
“I just wanted to get Rebel.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why did Rebel get to be in there?” Rosie demanded, making Farrah raise one eyebrow.
“None of your business.”
“Rebel, you want to go play with Rose and Lily?” Molly said, breaking up the argument. Reb didn’t reply, but she must have done something that only Molly had seen, because a second later, Molly was sliding Reb off her lap to the floor. “Be good.”
Rose grabbed Rebel’s hand and marched her and Lily toward one of the couches near the far side of the room, where Trix and her boys were playing with some big Legos.
“How you feelin’?” I asked, leaning down to kiss the top of Molly’s head. She hadn’t been responding to my touches, but she hadn’t asked me to stop, either, so I was going to keep doing what I wanted. There was no way I could be near her and not touch her.#p#分页标题#e#
“Sore,” she said quietly. She lifted a cup to her mouth and gingerly took a sip of her coffee, wincing. “The inside of my mouth stings like a bitch.”
“Got a lot of cuts in there,” I reminded her as I pulled a chair over and straddled it backwards.
“Just don’t mess with them,” Farrah told her. “The more you fuck with them, the longer it’ll take for them to heal.”
“I know,” Molly replied. “But easier said than done.”
“Rinse with some sea salt, too. It’ll keep ’em clean,” Farrah said. “Think I’ve got some in Casper’s room from the last time I got pierced.”
I looked at her, not remembering the last time she’d had a new piercing. Then I shuddered and looked away. If I couldn’t see a new piercing, I sure as hell didn’t want to know about it.
“Cops are at the gate,” Tommy called from the doorway.
“Let ’em in,” Dragon ordered, meeting my eyes across the room.
Showtime.
“You ready for this?” I asked Molly. She looked scared. Super nervous.
“What if they don’t believe me?” she whispered.
“Baby, I’ll be right here. You tell them you want me present if they ask. It’s all good. They just wanna tell you about your dad—you’re not on trial, for fuck’s sake.”