Skin Walkers: Gauge (8 page)

Chapter
12

Back at StoneCrow’s Infirmary,
Jenny made short work of banishing Gauge from her surgery.  Against his protests and after a heated argument that forced Jenny to summon Monroe, Gauge was relegated to pacing the halls.  He’d stopped both Legion and King as they exited the exam room, but neither would explain what had happened back at Ella’s motel.

“Look
,” Legion rubbed the back of his head, “I didn’t see anything.  It’s not my place...”  He strode quickly out of the building even as Gauge scented the lie.

“
King!” Gauge demanded grabbing the Chief of Security’s arm as he made to pass.  “What is it?”

King
watched Legion disappear down the long empty corridor before turning sad eyes on Gauge.  “It’s not mine to tell.  You’ll need to get the information from Ella if she’s willing to give it to you.”

Gauge scowled at the
Walker.  He wanted to argue, but couldn’t.  If something so horrific had happened to Ella, then it was her right to keep it to herself if she chose.  He knew that neither King, Legion, nor Jenny would share their knowledge, and if it was that bad then he was grateful to them for refusing to do so. 

Gauge nodded once, before he released
King’s arm. 

“But when you find
the one who did this, let me know.”  King stalked down the hall tossing over his shoulder, “I’ll help you kill the fucker!”

A
lone again, and pacing the hall, Gauge’s imagination got the better of him as he pondered what could be so horrible that two Walker Sentries and one Walker Surgeon refused to discuss it. 

His
palms started sweating as he ran the gamut of hideous scenarios in his head.  When he envisioned some assailant throwing Ella to the ground and raping her, he literally dropped to his knees. 

He’d been harsh on
Ella since she’d come to StoneCrow.  Too harsh.  He’d been annoyed by her studious nature and the way she always wore her hair pulled back tight in that damned bun every day.  He knew that she hid behind her ugly clothes and even uglier glasses, and now he cursed himself for tormenting her by digging too deeply into her past.  He’d taken advantage of her competent abilities as his assistant.  She’d stayed late nights to finish up projects that he knew could wait, and he’d let her just so he could be near her.  Even worse was the fact that she had beautiful Alysa to care for. 

Just thinking of little Alysa’s smiling gray eyes had him clutching at his chest when he remembered how horrible he’d been to her mother.  How could he forgive himself…how would he ever
convince Ella to forgive him?

When Jenny came out of the exam room, she found Gauge on his knees in the hall.  His shirt was ripped to shreds and his chest was bleeding where
his hands had shifted to claws and had torn into his flesh.  She stilled at the sight of him.  She didn’t need to be a Walker to scent his agonized self-loathing, it was clearly written on his face when he looked up.  He was assuming the worst. 

Still in her blue scrubs,
Jenny balled her surgical mask in her fist as she dropped to her knee in front of him, “It’s not what you think, Gauge.”  Jenny shook her head, her eyes sympathetic.  “She hasn’t been raped.”

Gauge exhaled a harsh breath that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, which caused him to fall forward on his hands as his body began to shake with the relief. 
That relief was short-lived.  “How is she?”

Jenny
stood and Gauge followed. “Neither her ankle nor her wrist were broken, but they’re both sprained horribly.  She’s also got four cracked ribs, and those bruises.”  Jenny shook her head.  “They go to the bone.  I put her in a walking cast, but for now it’s just protection for her ankle.  She won’t be walking any time soon.”

Gauge ran a hand down his weary features. 

“Look,” Jenny continued, “I’ve got to keep her here, so we need to make arrangements for the child.  Before I put her under, Alysa was Ella’s only concern and when she wakes, I venture it’ll be the same.  Have you got any ideas?”

“Put her under?” Gauge demanded harshly?  “Why would you put her under for
bruises and sprains?”

Jenny shook her head, her face flushing sli
ghtly.  “Gauge, there’s doctor-patient confidentiality.  I can’t disclose…I shouldn’t even have told you what I already have.  You’re no relation of hers.”

Gauge’s eyes narrowed on the Doctor before he bit out, “
I’ll keep the child.”

“You?” Jenny scoffed,
relieved he was allowing her to deflect his questions. “Since when do you know anything about children?”

“I’ll figure it out.”  Gauge rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m not letting either of them out of my sight until I figure out what the
fuck happened.”  His eyes lowered to hers, “Has she told you anything?”

“No.  But I can tell you from my exam that I had to
remove gravel that was embedded in the palms of both her hands.  Someone threw her down and put the boots to her, and whoever it was didn’t care if she ever got up again.”

“
Alysa spent last night with Aries and Conn.  I followed Ella back to her home and left around two.  This had to have happened sometime after that.”

Jenny nodded,
“The wounds are consistent with that time frame.  What were her plans?”

Gauge shook his head as another bout of self-condemnation swamped him.  “I don’t know
, Jenny.  She said she was tired and needed to get home.  I kept her at StoneCrow too late.  I asked her to stay in one of the guest suites, but she refused.”  He dropped his head, “I should have made her.”

“Well once we find out where she went
after you left we can start piecing together what happened.”

“She
didn’t go anywhere once Gauge left.”  Monroe’s voice reached them from the far end of the corridor.  He strode toward them in his typical self-assured manner.  “I just spoke with Stoney.  The two are friends.  Stoney says Ella called her late, about three, and asked her to check on Alysa first thing in the morning.  Stoney said she sounded strange, worried.”

“And she didn’t report it?” Gauge growled angrily.

“Report it to whom?” Jenny scoffed.  “Hey King,” she mocked, “Ella called and she sounded strange.”  She dropped the mocking tone to frown at Gauge, “King would have looked into it first thing in the morning and he’d have found the same thing Aries did.

Gauge
scowled at Jenny long moments before he turned to eye the exam room door, “When can I see her.”

“You can’t.”
Jenny put a hand on her hip defiantly.  “She needs her rest and I’m not messing around.  I don’t want her hounded or disturbed.  She’s in bad shape, and the last thing I need is her riled up.  If she wakes she’ll just worry about her daughter.”

“I won’t wake her, but I will see her.” Gauge’s eyes d
immed in challenge.  He wasn’t going to argue the point.  He’d see Ella one way or the other.

Jenny dropped her hand from her hip rolling her eyes in resignation.  “Fine!” she snapped.  “You’ve got fifteen minutes, and that’s it!”

Gauge stalked to the exam room doors, pushed them open, and stopped.  Jenny watched his shoulders rise and fall in one fluid motion.  Then he looked back at her over his broad shoulder with anger flickering in his eyes.  “Why’s she bleeding?”

Jenny pursed her lips and shook her head sadly.  “She’s been bleeding.  You just couldn’t s
cent it over her pain.”  Jenny watched his eyes flash dangerously, his jaw clenched.  “She’s going to be alright, Gauge.  In the meantime…”

Gauge was shocked to see tears spring forth in Jenny’s eyes.  The
Surgeon was known for her objectivity and unwillingness or inability to ever get emotionally vested in her work.  But she was vested now.  It was obvious that what had happened to Ella angered and hurt Jenny, and Gauge couldn’t fathom why.

Jenny sniffed back her tears in self-disgust at her rare show of emotion.  “I suggest you find t
he bastard that did this to her…and kill him!”

She
was a surgeon and a humanitarian.  She rarely condoned the frequent deaths that occurred at Skin Walker hands.  That fact contradicted by her comment had Gauge narrowing his eyes on her, trying to read whether she was being sarcastic or sincere. 

Jenny knew what Gauge was looking for and she raised her head defiantly, challenging him to see the
certainty in her eyes.

“He’s already dead.  He j
ust doesn’t know it yet.”  Gauge turned and disappeared through the exam room door.

Inside
the exam room, Gauge felt out-of-place.  He scanned the monitors that were hooked to Ella’s slight frame and listened as they beeped their incessant declaration that she lived.  While the sound should have brought comfort, it carried only shame for the fact that it was needed at all. 

Gauge slid to the side of the bed and sat in the chair
there, pulling it close until he was able to stare at Ella’s peaceful features.  He wanted to touch her, but was afraid.  He knew that every part of her must hurt, and he still didn’t know what it was Jenny, Legion, and King had seen that had them ready to kill. 

Gauge partially shifted, letting the grizzly that existed in his soul awaken and come forth. 

The children at StoneCrow were taught by the Indian elders that frequently visited the schools how to know which animal to call forth for specific senses.  They were taught that, when a leaf falls in the forest the eagle sees it, the deer hears it, and the bear smells it.  As children it helped them to remember which animals held the greatest abilities.

Shifting partially now, Gauge drew in a slow deep breath and the bear inside grumbled, his chest vibrating with the displeasure of s
centing Ella’s blood.  It wasn’t much, but enough to anger the animal within.  Gauge scanned her body, remembering back to the apartment when he’d pulled the sheet from her.  He’d seen no wound.  It wasn’t until…  He’s eyes darted to her shoulders and he tilted his head trying to catch the slightest glimpse of her back. He could see nothing without moving her, and he refused to move her.  Jenny was right.  Ella needed rest and she needed peace.

Gauge
stayed long after the fifteen minutes Jenny had allotted had expired.  He said nothing, didn’t touch Ella.  He simply sat staring at her.  Finally, Jenny quietly entered the exam room and stared at him in silent indication that it was time for him to go, but he didn’t want to leave.  He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d failed Ella somehow and the weight of that burden threatened to crush him.  Why had he never noticed how small she was, how frail she seemed. 

“If you want to help her,” Jenny whispered, “do what she’d want you to do.  Go f
ind Alysa and take care of her.  Protect her child for her, Gauge.”

Jenny was right
. Jenny was always right.  It would kill Ella to know that Alysa was alone somewhere on the Estate.  Yes, she was with a family that Gauge trusted with his own life, but Ella wouldn’t know that.  She’d want Alysa with Gauge. 

He stood quietly and bent to brush his lips across the knuckles o
f Ella’s hand before he stalked past Jenny and left to find Ella’s heart and soul, her little daughter, Alysa.  He’d do now what he should have done from the moment he’d met the small woman that was too damned defiant for her size.   He’d ensure her and her child’s safety. 

Chapter
13

Gauge stood seething beside Ella’s bed in the infirmary.  “Why won’t you just tell me what it is?” he quietly hissed.

“Because,” Jenny whispered in angry response, planting hands on her hips to scowl up at the Walker.  “You’re no relation and the information is confidential.  You should be grateful for the information I
have
given you.”

Large hands balled into fists.  He’d been badgering Jenny for the past three days in an attempt to find out the full extent of Ella’s injuries.  While the Doctor had supplied some information, she still refused to divulge the source of
the blood he’d scented when they’d brought Ella into the infirmary or the reason for the severe reaction of the Walkers who’d assisted with carrying her that day.

“I’m going to find out,” Gauge growled low.

“I need to clean her, so you need to leave.”

The two stood scowling at each other for long tense moments.

Finally, a low raspy voice offered, “It’s fine, Doc.”

Both heads jerked to find Ella staring up at the stand-off they were having at the foot of her bed.

Jenny cleared her throat and turned toward the bed, “Sorry to wake you, Ella.  How you feeling?”

“Like hell,” she offered truthfully.  She winced as she used her good arm to adjust herself on the bed.  “You here to clean my back?”

Jenny’s eyes slashed to Gauge then back before she nodded once.

“He can stay.”

Gauge had watched the conversation with a grim determination.  He wasn’t leaving and he felt a slight victory at Ella’s acceptance of the fact.

“You sure?” Jenny asked quietly.  She didn’t miss the way Gauge turned to frown at her.

“Yeah.  I’ll need some help anyway.”

“I can call a nurse,” Jenny offered earning her a displeased growl from Gauge.

Ella chuffed a laugh, drawing both Jenny and Gauge’s attention.  “Did you just growl at her?”  Her brows hiked.  She was surprised that Gauge had forgotten that she wasn’t supposed to know about Walkers.

It was Gauge’s turn to clear his throat as he crossed to the bed addressing Jenny but looking at Ella.  “What do you need me to do?”

Jenny snatched up a pair of rubber gloves and put them on before reaching into a box on the wall and pulling a much larger pair for Gauge.  “Put these on.” 

He did as directed and
waited.

“We need to roll her over,” Jenny approached
carrying a foam square that she placed on the bed near Ella’s shin before crossed to the opposite side of the bed to face Gauge.  “We need to go slow and easy, okay?”

Gauge nodded once and attempted to mask his concern.  Why did they need to move her?  It’d be impossible to not hurt her.  His eyes met Ella’s
and he tried to look reassuring, but had to swallow hard when he watched Ella pale and scented her escalated fear.  He looked up to Jenny, “Is this necessary?”

Jenny didn’t look at him as she tucked Ella’s good arm securely at her side.  “Her back has a wound that needs to be cleaned.  It must be done.  On the count of three,
I’m going to roll her toward you.  You’re going to put one hand on her chest and one on her lower abdomen to keep her from rolling too quickly.  She doesn’t have much muscle control, so it’ll be up to us to do the work.  Got it?” 

Again Gauge nodded, nerves
making his mouth suddenly dry as his own fear spiked.  He’d ever rarely felt the emotion, but the thought of hurting Ella brought the unfamiliar feeling to the surface and he hated it.  He hated that someone had done this to her and had left him feeling fear of injuring her worse. 

Too soon, Jenny l
ooked at Ella apologetically, “You ready?”

Gauge tensed and
Ella took a deep breath and nodded.

Jenny bent and slid one hand behind Ella’s shoulder.  Gauge clenched his teeth at the rage that surfaced when Ella whimpered at the pressure Jenny applied to her bruised arm. 

Jenny’s other hand slid behind Ella’s knee and she slowly stood, forcing Ella’s body onto its side.

Gauge’s large hand pressed to Ella’s chest and he’d already flattened the other on her lower abdomen.  When the weight of her body would have sent her rolling onto her stomach, he caught the weight and painstakingly lowered
her.

“Get her injured leg on the foam pad,” Jenny directed as she raced around the bed to assist. 
Her hand gripped Ella’s calf and directed the leg to where she wanted it before she dashed around Gauge’s large body and jerked the pillows off the bed before returning to help Ella turn her head to the side.

Finally, Ella was settled on her stomach with her head turned toward Gauge.  He scented her tears before his eyes shot to her face. 

“Damn it, Jenny!   Why can’t you give her pain medication?  Or put her out for this procedure?”

“I don’t want to be put back out,” Ella explained weakly.  “It’s not her fault, please don’t
yell at her.”

Gauge growled his frustration.  He wanted to hit something.  He wanted to hit someone.  Jenny had kept Ella
out for the past few days so no answers were forthcoming.  He had no outlet for the rage that was eating at him.

“Calm yourself or leave,” Jenny whispered as she crossed to stand behind Gauge.  When he turned to scowl at her, she lower
ed her voice so only his Walker hearing would pick it up.  “It’s about to get worse.  If you can’t control yourself at any point, just walk out.”

The words had Gauge’s gut wrenching. 
Worse!

For the first time, he eyed Ella’s back and watched as Jenny’s slight fingers untied the two
ties of Ella’s hospital gown at her shoulder and hip.  She pulled a white towel from off her shoulder and placed it across Ella’s ass before she parted Ella’s gown exposing a gauze covered back.

Jenny’s fingers began prying at the medical tape that held the large padding in place, and had Gauge wondering at the wound.  The padding covered Ella’s back from shoulder to sho
ulder and from just below her neck to just above her ass.  What could have happened that would cover that much area?

When all the tape was loose Jenny
stilled to look up at Gauge.  His eyes found hers and he watched as she drew in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, indicating he should do the same.  He did, but instead of exhaling he held the breath as Jenny peeled the gauze back.

Gauge felt the color drain from his face and the room tilted as the air left him
all at once.  Involuntarily, his hands reached up to grip the side railing of Ella’s bed.  He tried to see through the angry tears that flooded his eyes.

Someone had taken a knife to Ella.  The
wounds were long, deep, and gouged from one shoulder across her back to the opposite hip was one gnarled word.  THIEF. 

He didn’t even look at Ella or Jenny as he drug in an agonized breath
.  Without blinking, he bent and brushed his lips across Ella’s forehead before he released the bed rail and stalked from the room.

Jenny crossed to stand in front of Ella as she bent to her eye level, “You okay?”

“Guess that didn’t go well.”

Jenny followed the path of Ella’s eyes and locked on the rail of the bed.  Both spots where Gauge had been holding the rail were crushed into forms that perfectly fit the inside of
his fists.

Jenny’s eyes darted back to Ella’s.  “He’s going to want answers, Ella.  They all are.”

Ella closed her eyes and sighed. 
I know.