Blood Red (19 page)

Vivi Anna

and never have to look over her shoulder again.

“Red?” His voice was cracked and coarse.

She looked down at him. His eyes were open and looking at her. His mouth was caked with blood. He tried to smile.

“Don’t move, asshole. You’re in the process of dying.”

He coughed. “I can’t die, I haven’t fucked you yet.”

She frowned down at him. “Oh, you’ve fucked me more than you know.” She looked down at his wounds. There were three holes in his side. She couldn’t be sure if he was punctured inside.

“Do you have bandages?”

He nodded. “Kitchen cupboard.”

Red moved to the kitchen. She found gauze and tape. She came back with it. She looked around the room again. She went back to the kitchen, and came back with a bottle of alcohol.

She poured the alcohol over the wounds. Wolf cringed and yelped like a hurt puppy.

“Don’t be such a cub.”

He laughed and coughed as she dressed his wounds and taped him up tightly. She got under his arm, and helped him stand. He wobbled at first and leaned heavily on Red.

“What do we do?” Red asked.

“Get out of here. There’ll be more.” Wolf sat down on the edge of the bed. He took some deep breaths.

“Get my pack. We’ll need some provisions.”

Red grabbed the pack from under the bed. She packed it with food and a canteen of water. She got her knife straps and rigged herself up. Another on her 36

Blood Red

leg, one on each of her sides and two tucked at the small of her back. She grabbed Wolf’s arsenal of knives and ax and packed them in the bag. She found a shirt and helped tug it over Wolf’s large frame. He winced when she lifted his arm.

She looked down at him. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down his face. He was hurt badly. She couldn’t be sure he would make the trip.

But she wasn’t quite sure she could leave him.

Something had changed between them, and she wasn’t sure what it was. Two attempts had been made on her life. Wolf was somehow involved. He was either her savior or her damnation. She needed to find out which before she finally passed her judgment on him.

“Where are we going?”

Wolf stood up. He reached out and grabbed Red’s shoulder. He steadied himself. “Into the forest. There are plenty of places to hide.”

“Then what?”

“Then I will tell you everything.”

Red found her cloak and wrapped it around her.

She spotted another and wrapped it around Wolf. She hefted the pack onto her back, and trudged out the door. Wolf slowly followed her out. He winced as the pain seared through him. He was sure something was punctured within. He could feel it burn with each labored breath. He would do his best to get Red somewhere safe. He needed to tell her the truth before he died. She deserved to know, even if it destroyed everything she ever believed.

37