Eye Of The Storm - DK3 (73 page)

“Deal.” Kerry turned the shower on and let it run over her good hand to test the temperature. It took a while to warm up, long enough for Dar to finish her task and enter the bathroom. “Almost ready.”

“Mmhm. Here. Let me get that off for you.” Dar carefully removed the sling, then studied her gauze wrapped arm. “You want plastic over that?”

“I guess.” Kerry swayed on her feet. “I don’t think I…oh, okay. Yeah.

That’ll work.” Dar unbuttoned Kerry’s shirt and slid it off and down both arms, taking care not to pull her injured one. “Ew.” She gazed down at her body, covered in dirt and smoke residue. “I look like I live in a garbage can.”

“Nah.” Dar unhooked her bra and removed it, exposing startlingly white skin against the rest of Kerry. “Remind me to send a nice note to…”

she glanced at the tag, “Hanes.”

“Tch.” Kerry fumbled with her belt. “I don’t think they had this in mind when they designed that model.”

Dar stripped her own shirt off and glanced down. “Hmm.”

Kerry glanced up. “Oh, shit, Dar.” She forgot about her trousers and focused her attention on the raw, vertical shallow slashes across Dar’s belly. “Where did you? Oh, wow. That must hurt.”

“Um.” Dar reached around and unhooked her bra, wincing as the fabric slid down and caught on a jagged cut just below her collarbone. “I
Eye of the Storm
401

think I was crawling over that glass I broke down that first tunnel.”

“Jesus.” Kerry wet a washcloth and gently cleaned around the injuries. “Dar, you should put something on these. They’re going to get infected.”

“Later.” Dar unbuckled Kerry’s belt, undid her jeans, tugged them down, and pulled them off over her already sneakerless feet. “Glad we were wearing denim.” She patted one thigh, then slid a finger under the waistband of Kerry’s cotton underwear.

I should be way too tired to feel anything.
Kerry closed her eyes briefly, as the familiar tingle worked its way up her body from its center in her groin.
That must say something about us.

“Kerry?”

“Mmm?” She blinked her eyes opened to see Dar’s concerned look.

“Oh, sorry. Just reflecting…here, let me…” She managed, one handed, to undo Dar’s jeans and watched them slip down. “Ooo, are those new?”

“Yes.” Dar dredged up a weary grin. “C’mon. I have grunge in places even the biology books couldn’t find.” She pulled off her bright red briefs and helped Kerry step into the tub shower, letting the warm water wash over the both of them.

Twin sighs of appreciation emerged. Dar took the soap and a washcloth and set to work cleaning Kerry’s skin, rubbing very gently over the scrapes and bruises that liberally covered her upper body. “Does your neck hurt?”

“Yeah.” Kerry rocked her head back and forth a little. “And I’ve got a headache that would drop a manatee at two fathoms.” She took a little soap in her good hand and started to work on Dar’s tall frame.

They were quiet for a few minutes as they rinsed off, then Dar got some shampoo and carefully worked it into Kerry’s thick blonde hair, avoiding the lump on the left-hand side.

It felt so wonderful. Kerry moved a step forward and just leaned against Dar, nuzzling her chest as the water washed the soap away, taking the dirt and sweat with it. She stayed there while Dar scrubbed her own hair, then stepped with her outside the shower and let Dar towel her dry.

The room air felt cold against her skin as they left the bathroom and she stopped long enough for Dar to ease her T-shirt over her head, the soft fabric smelling of sunlight and cedar from her chest of drawers at home. Then Dar led her over to the bed, pulled the covers back, and guided her down onto the soft surface. “Easy.”

“Ungh.” Kerry slid under the sheets and put her head down, glad beyond reason to be still and quiet and comfortable. She closed her eyes and listened to the soft sounds of the room, hearing a faint knock, then Dar’s low voice as she answered it. The door closed and there was a soft clink as a tray was set down, then the sounds of liquid pouring and a spoon being stirred.

The bed next to her moved and dipped and she opened her eyes to see Dar seated next to her, damp hair slicked back, with a mug of steam-402
Melissa Good
ing tea in her hands. “You’re pretty darn good at this.”

“Good at what?” Dar got an arm behind her and supported her as she took the mug.

“TLC.” Kerry sipped at the tea, which had a wonderful mint scent and a nice, sweet taste. It slipped down her throat and warmed her and she sighed in relief. “Here. Have a sip.”

Dar obeyed, then leaned back, letting out a long, exhausted breath.

The bombardment of people and emotions was over at last and she sat still for a moment, collecting herself with a weary effort.

But she found herself not wanting to think at all. She just wanted to lie here, with her arms around Kerry and block out the last twelve hours, setting it aside until her mind could deal with it.

Right now, that wasn’t an option. Dar shivered a little, not entirely from the chill air. She cradled Kerry in her arms and closed her eyes.

Hoping like hell she wouldn’t dream.

Kerry put her nearly empty cup down and snuggled down into Dar’s embrace, letting out a sigh and tugging the covers up a little around them both.

It was over.

She was safe.

For right now that was enough.

WAKING UP THIS time felt like she was ascending from a deep dive, Dar groggily thought, as she slowly drifted up from a well of sleep that had been mercifully dreamless indeed. Half of her wanted to just sink back down into the pleasant warmth of the bed, but the other half was crankily aware of her body’s stiffness and it was poking her towards consciousness and movement.

So she reluctantly opened one eyelid and surveyed the room, noting the dim, gray light coming from the window. Rain. An even better reason to stay in bed. She rotated the eyeball towards the bedside clock and blinked at the red numbers displaying back at her.

Oh.

No wonder I feel stiff. I’ve been in the same damn position for twelve hours
.

Dar peered down at Kerry, who was curled half on her side, with both hands tangled in Dar’s shirt and her head tucked into her shoulder. The blonde woman hadn’t moved much either, but her breathing was steady and regular and her skin tone had returned to its normal healthy state rather than the drawn grayness of the night before.

Dar remained still for a little while, just watching Kerry sleep and feeling the warmth of her friend’s breathing through the thin cotton of her shirt. Then the discomfort forced her to straighten out, stifling a groan as her back protested the motion fiercely.

Even the slight sound was enough to get a response from Kerry, however, who murmured and opened her eyes, reaching instinctively out as Dar shifted. “Hey.”

“It’s okay. I’m just stretching,” Dar reassured her, seeing the sleep fogged and slightly dazed eyes peering anxiously back at her. “How are you feeling?” She cleared the very disheveled hair out of Kerry’s eyes and watched her blink a few times in confusion. “Ker?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kerry’s brow creased slightly. “Mmph.” She cleared her throat slightly and tentatively shifted. “Not too bad,” she murmured, in a surprised tone. “What time is it?”

“Five.”

“Jesus.” Kerry swallowed. “No wonder my mouth feels like cotton wadding.” She drew in a breath and rolled over onto her back, stretching out cautiously under the covers. Other than her sore shoulder, everything 404
Melissa Good
seemed to be pretty much okay, and she wiggled her toes, feeling a hundred times better than before she’d gone to sleep.

Except for one thing. “I’m starving,” she informed the popcorn ceiling. “Are you starving?” She laid her hand over her very empty feeling stomach.

“I dunno. Let me get enough kinks out to stand up, then I’ll let you know.” Dar groaned, as she slowly extended her legs and arched her back. “Son of a…” She felt like one huge cramp. “Ow.”

Kerry patted her thigh. “Easy there, tiger,” she murmured. “I can’t believe we slept so late. I wonder what’s going on.”

Dar slid out from under the covers and got to her feet, rubbing the back of her neck and walking gingerly. “I’ll turn on the news.” She limped over to the connecting door between their room and her parents and stuck her head inside, smiling at the dark, quiet room with its sleeping occupants. She drew back out and shut the door carefully. “Still snoozing.” She yawned and scratched her belly, then hit the remote for the television and trudged towards the bathroom. “I think I am hungry, now that you mention it.” Walking around loosened things up a little, though her back was still protesting.

“Good.”

Dar listened to Kerry rustle around for a minute, then she used the restroom, ran water in the sink, and splashed handfuls of it over her face.

It was cold and faintly metallic smelling, but it worked to wake her up.

She patted her skin dry and regarded her reflection, smoothing her dampened hair back off her face. “Mmm.” One finger touched a bruise covering half her cheekbone. “Last time I had one like that, I was still in high school.”

She met the eyes in the mirror for a moment, then turned the light out and reentered the room to find Kerry sitting up in bed, cradling her arm. “Oh, wait.” She grabbed the sling and held it up. “Need this?” She walked over at Kerry’s nod and adjusted the canvas support around her, then sat down on the bed and glanced at the menu Kerry had open in front of her.

“Ooo.” She made a grab for the folder, spotting something interesting.

“Ah ah.” Kerry tugged it back one handed. “Dinner first, then dessert.” She scanned the choices, then picked up the phone and dialed room service. “Hello…ah, yes, it is.” A pause. “Thank you. Um…I’d like to order something for dinner?” She scowled at the television, which was on a shopping channel. “Put on CNN, will you?”

Dar keyed the remote, but left the sound down.

“Yes, thanks. Um, two of the clam chowder.” She put the phone against her chest. “How do ribs sound?”

Dar tickled hers lightly. “Fine.”

“Stop that.” Kerry hissed. “Two orders of the ribs. No, the full rack.”

A pause. “Do you have anything bigger? A what? No. No. That’s okay.

I’ll pass on the cow.” She rolled her eyes. “Baked potatoes sound great
Eye of the Storm
405

and the salads, yeah.” Another pause. “A large pot of coffee, and um,”

she flipped the page, “two of the Death by Chocolate Killer Mountain Brownies with vanilla ice cream and fudge sauce.”

Dar scratched an ear. “When you put it like that, it sounds so excessive,” she muttered.

“It is.” Kerry smiled. “Yes, thanks, that’s great.” She hung up the phone. “About thirty minutes.” She reached over and turned the sound up, as a familiar scene appeared.

“The explosion, believed to be centered in the middle of the seventh floor, set off a chain reaction when it touched off the gas supply inside the hospital,” the announcer said gravely. “Two hundred people are believed dead, and today the FBI has started investigating, citing a tip they received that this horrible tragedy might not have been an accident.”

“Two hundred people.” Kerry breathed. “Oh my god, Dar.”

“Senator Roger Stuart, in Washington for Senate hearings on his conduct was an eyewitness. Seen here, as he assisted in evacuating victims from the floor worst hit, he stated that so far as he could tell, there was no warning, just a huge explosion that shook the entire building.”

Kerry stared at the screen, seeing her father’s battered face and burned clothing through a faint haze of memory. The camera showed the firefighters perched outside the broken window, and what was, unmistakably, her father’s outline as he handed out one of the children.

Through a billow of smoke she could also see Andrew’s distinctive form, but it seemed like a dream to her, not something that she’d lived through only half a day prior.

Dar blinked at the screen, which showed further film and a close up of the window as a thick puff of black, oily looking smoke poured out.

“Damn.” She watched a dimly seen figure holding onto one of the women, as they climbed into the firefighter’s basket and it occurred to her suddenly that she was watching herself. “Is that…”

“You,” Kerry murmured. “Yeah it is.”

The film cut to Dar clambering over the edge of the basket herself, then all of them ducking as an explosion shook the screen, sending a fire-ball out inches from the erratically weaving platform.

“Oh my god. You just...” Kerry’s eyes widened. “Dar.” She turned her head.

“Yeah.” Dar put a reassuring arm around her. “It was kinda close. I made Dad go before me. I wanted to make absolutely sure he was okay.”

Kerry leaned her head against Dar’s shoulder. “I’m glad I didn’t realize how close you came. I’d have had nightmares, I know it.”

“I thought I was going to have nightmares but I didn’t.” Dar sighed.

“I think I just want to forget the whole thing.” She looked down at her hands, which were covered with tiny cuts and scrapes and really stung.

“It’s sort of a blur already.”

Kerry thought about that. “I remember you being very brave,” she commented softly. “I remember you saving my butt a few times along with some other people’s.”

406
Melissa Good

“I just wanted to get you out of there,” Dar replied. “I didn’t really care about those other people.”

“That’s not true. You cared about your parents,” Kerry objected.

“Well, yeah.”

“You cared about those kids.”

Dar didn’t answer.

“Dar, why is it so hard for you to accept your own heroism?” Kerry asked.

She didn’t get an answer for a while, then Dar shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know.”

Kerry tucked a hand inside her elbow and studied Dar’s face, its battered profile still and somber. “This really rocked you, didn’t it?”

Dar nodded.

“You want to talk about it?”

Dar drew in a breath. “Not yet.” She gave Kerry a brief, honest look.

“But I will…and you’ll be the first one to hear it.”