"This is Huck's business, Auggs."
"Since you're the one who almost got blown up, it's your business too. Since it could have easily been me who got blown up, it's also my business. You might as well tell me," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know Huck is going to eventually."
"Look, there is competition in this town, Auggie. Huck made a move. Someone else is making a counter-move."
"Hell of a counter-move," she said, pressing the gauze to my forehead, wincing for me as I let out a string of curses. "Does it get worse from here?"
"Not if we can get a handle on it."
"What did Reign say?"
"Shit."
"You didn't call him yet, did you?"
"I was a little distracted. Laying in a hospital bed. Then looking for your missing ass."
"Huck has probably thought of that by now."
That was true.
But also not great for me since mine should have been the first call. That said, Reign would likely understand that the priority was protecting the girls.
"How many concussions have you had in your life?" she asked, carefully cleaning the fresh and dry blood along with the dirty and pieces of gravel off my temple and cheek before moving onto my hands.
"Less than the average football player."
"How's the headache?" she asked a couple minutes later, after sticking some butterfly bandages to my forehead.
"Not great," I admitted.
To that, she nodded, going back to the cabinet, shaking something out of a prescription bottle, handing it to me.
"What is it?"
"Oxy. What can I say, Booker really does think of everything. Take it. You're going to have a long night. You'll need it," she told me, tossing the used items, putting the rest away, then washing her hands again. "But I can think of a more immediate pain reliever," she said, nodding.
"Knocking me out cold?" I suggested, cracking my jaw, feeling a bit of the pain release with the tension that had been held there.
But then she was moving, lowering, dropping down at my feet.
"Auggs..."
"I suggest you be quiet," she told me in a low voice. "Or everyone is going to know my particular method of pain relief," she told me, unzipping my pants, reaching inside.
I shouldn't have been able to get it up. With all the shit that should have been occupying my mind, there shouldn't have been any room for things like blowjobs in the bathroom.
But it didn't seem to matter what kind of pressure I was under, when Auggie got those ideas into her head, there was no resisting her.
So she took me into her mouth.
And she took the pain away.
By the time I came back down, the Oxy was starting to kick in, as a warm wave through my body.
"I'll be a good girl," she told me, taking a deep breath, reaching for the door handle. "I will stay here and not try to escape. But you have to promise to come get me when you guys have a safe place to stay."
"I promise," I told her, sealing my lips to hers for a long moment, then making my way toward the door.
"Take care of her, Booker," I demanded as he opened the door for me.
"Focus on your problem. I got the girls."
With that, I moved back outside, finding Seeley leaning against his car, casually smoking.
"You shouldn't smoke," I told him. "Give me one," I added, catching the pack when he threw it, finding the lighter tucked inside.
"Your girl cleaned you up."
"Yep."
I didn't bother denying she was my girl. The facts simply pointed at that truth. I was over pretending it wasn't the way things were. There were much more important things going on than trying to hold onto that half-believable lie.
"Where are we heading now?"
"Good question," I said, reaching for my phone, finding a text from Huck.
"That's a motel," Seeley told me when I rattled off the address.
"Temporary digs," I told him, tossing the cigarette, climbing into the car.
"Who's the kid?" Huck asked, meeting us outside the long, low hotel straight out of the seventies.
"New chauffeur," Seeley supplied, leaning back against the car. "Got any errands you need run, boss?" he asked, looking at Huck, chin raised, daring him. To do what, I wasn't sure.
"Supplies," Huck surprised me and, I think, Seeley by admitting. "Changes of clothes, soap, toothbrushes, all the basic life shit. Me and my men lost everything we owned tonight. Get enough for two days," he said, going into his wallet. "This should cover it."
"And you'll get your chauffeur money when you get back," I told him, just in case he was thinking of taking the money and running. Even though I highly suspected wouldn't be the case. This kid was seeing some potential here, with up and comers. He wanted his foot in the door. I understood that. I'd been like him once upon a time.
"Is everyone in there roughly the size of Andre the Giant, or just you?" Seeley asked, catching Huck off-guard, getting a snort and smile out of him.