Repossession (The Keepers Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

us across the room.
    “Wait, darlin’,” she stopped him, shoving a notepad across the counter. “What’s yer name?”
    “Jet. Jet Phoenix.”
    “Sign right der, please. My name’s Lillian, but everyone here calls me Lil. Holler if yer need me, now.”
    He signed and nodded. “Will do. Thanks, Lil.”
    “Jet?” I asked, letting him clamp onto my wrist again. He pushed his way through the crowd, dropping his chin as he glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah, so?”
    I didn’t want to, really. But I smiled. “I like that name.”
    “Oh, yeah?”
    “Yeah. Sucks it’s a traitor name.” My smile faded when his grip tightened around my wrist but he kept moving, sighing in appreciation when we reached the curtain Lillian had pointed out.
    Jet pulled the curtain back and waited until I moved in behind him to close us in. “Not much privacy, but it’ll do. Better than nothing, I guess.”
    I glanced at the small metal tub of water, tucked in the corner of the room, surrounded only by a pale-blue cloth curtain. The curtain was fastened to hooks on the wall, which slid like a regular shower curtain, but it concealed very little. Whispers and movement came from every angle, a mixture of lavender and dust drifting into my nostrils. I coughed, and turned to remove my shirt—Jet’s shirt—assuming I was going first.
    Jet froze when he saw the shirt slip up over my head, quickly turning to stoop down next to the tin tub. He started rummaging through his backpack. I slipped off my jeans next, then my panties, setting the clothes on the floor before stepping into the water. I bent over the tub to grab a nearby bucket, remembering to fill it for drinking water later. The water was cold, and I didn’t even want to think about who or what had been in it before me, but this was it for who knew how long, so I sank into the water with nothing but appreciation. “Do you, uh … need help?” he said. He rose and stepped forward, keeping his eyes leveled with the floor. He moved behind me, I guessed to give me some privacy.
    I curled my knees to my chest and crossed my arms over them, shifting my hair over my shoulder for more coverage. He’d already seen it all anyway, when he saved me, but something about his presence made me uncomfortable. “No, thanks. I’m okay.”
    I could feel him lift his gaze to my back. My eyes caught his when I peered at him over my shoulder. The room’s dim light accentuated the tired, sunken circles under his eyes. He looked as if he could sleep for weeks straight. The sight made my chest ache, partly because I could relate, and partly because I sympathized for him. Sympathy for my enemy was completely irrational, of course, but it was there anyway.
    He rubbed a hand over his head and exhaled. “Let me at least apply some meds to those cuts. They look inflamed.” Before I could object he was behind me, seated on the rim of the tub. He pulled a jar of ointment from one of his pockets and began gently dabbing the cool medicine onto my back. Between running for my life from my home in Morton, being captured and thrown into a cell, and being caught in a scuffle with the men who’d almost raped me, I’d managed to acquire a few cuts and bruises. The scent of mint relaxed and refreshed me, and I slowly leaned forward to rest my head and arms on my knees.
    “That’s one nasty scar on the back of your neck,” he said. “Injury?”
    “Don’t know, been there since I was a kid. My parents said it was a birthmark or something.”
    His rough fingers continued to massage the gel into my cuts, my breath catching every few seconds as his callused skin irritated the tender wounds. He slowed when I winced. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to be gentle, but I’m shit at it.”
    “No. The medicine feels good, the skin’s just sore. Please, don’t stop.”
    He cleared his throat. “I know your outsides are banged up, but … how are you … on the inside? I mean, after what happened earlier. You can talk