“I offered to carry him to what was left of the sofa but he told me to fuck off, so I went to find help,” he muttered and they peered around the corner once they reached the top. “I didn’t think he’d be able to go anywhere on that leg and he was bleeding profusely from the head,” Blink explained and gestured vaguely.
“Jesus!” Hawk spat at him then ducked when they heard a large crash.
“He’s in his lab,” Blink groaned and waved at the door to their left.
“Stay out! I don’t need help!”
“You don’t sound well and you can’t work if you’re dead,” Blink called as they edged closer. Hawk glanced back at the other door and spied a bedroom but it was dark and didn’t appear to be in use.
“I came all this way, Casper,” Hawk said loudly as his neck craned and he reached for the door. It was cracked just enough for him to slip around it and glass crunched under Hawk’s boots as he eased into the room.
“No! Get out!” Grim roared and Hawk didn’t have a chance to find him before glass shattered by his right shoulder.
“Damn it!” Blink yelled but he stayed behind Hawk. “I told you, I’ll have you scooped up and dumped into the sea if you don’t get that leg fixed!”
“Do it, you meddling piece of shit!” Grim dared and Hawk’s eyes watered as he bit into his cheek to keep from laughing.
“Grim!” Blink screamed then held up a hand and took a cleansing breath. “Don’t tempt me. I’m only doing this because I want what’s best for you. Dr. Hawkesworth knows how to rebuild legs. He’s one of the best,” he added. Hawk snorted at Blink before he sidestepped into the center of the room.
“I’m the best but I’ve got a lot of baggage. I can fix that leg and anything else that’s broken, though,” Hawk said as he scanned the shelves and counters around the room. He could make out microscopes, beakers, tubes, bottles, scales, and all the other usual lab detritus as he searched the shadows then dodged to his right as something flew past his ear. Blink gasped as it smashed and green gel oozed down the wall behind them.
“What was that?!” Blink demanded as he pointed at the shadows and they heard a soft hum from the far-right corner.
“Ummm...” It was a raspy growl that made the hairs on Hawk’s arms stand but he finally saw Grim. He was bent and shrouded in soggy, soiled rags as he spilled over the edge of the counter. His dark hair was greasy and clung to his forehead and cheeks with perspiration as he panted and gasped for breath. Hawk didn’t like how chalky his skin looked or how grey Grim’s lips were but he didn’t know how much of that was just him. According to Aiden’s profile, Grim viewed himself as an object of scorn and had severe masochistic tendencies. He was described as pale, emaciated, scarred and caustic so there was no telling what was new or normal for Grim. He searched the jars, tubes and Petri dishes around him and Hawk saw Grim’s thin, wide lips pull into a grin. “Just soap. But this...” He laughed as he swiped another bottle off the table.
“No!” Blink barked; it was sharp and pierced the air like a gunshot. Grim raised one of his thin, dark brows and Hawk caught a peek of a glowing red eye beneath his stringy black hair.
“No?” Grim challenged but he was almost drunk with fever and Hawk suspected that he was being deprived of oxygen as his kidneys struggled to clean his blood and fluid filled his lungs. He swayed and set the bottle on its base and laughed as he tripped toward the opposite counter and reached for a hammer. Hawk saw his chance. He dove and crashed into him and immediately regretted the way they slammed into the floor but took advantage of Grim’s shock and his weakened state. They writhed and wrestled for several moments but Hawk was mindful of Grim’s brittle, straining limbs as he bucked beneath him.
“Just...hold...still!” Hawk huffed and used his forehead and pelvis to pin Grim down as he swiped at his arms and their legs kicked and tangled.
“Get off!” Grim howled. He thrashed and sputtered but his body trembled as he went into muscle failure. Hawk found Grim’s loose hip and his hand curved around it. He bucked hard, keeping Grim’s groin immobile as Hawk rotated the flaccid leg until he felt resistance and grinding. He gave Grim’s hip a hard jerk and he jumped and gasped beneath Hawk as the joint popped.
“You need an IV with Ringer’s and X-rays so we can see how much we can salvage,” he advised. Their breaths mingled as they panted and sized each other up. The sodden clumps of hair fell away from his face and Hawk finally saw the shimmering pink ripple that spread across Grim’s left cheek and jaw. His ear was a shriveled curl against the side of his head and Hawk understood why Grim didn’t want anyone to touch him, why Grim didn’t trust anyone. “I’ll take that other room. Send someone to clean up and replace the furniture,” Hawk told Blink but his eyes held Grim’s. One was raging, red and lidless. The other was wide, wary and grey like a winter’s day as Grim stared up at Hawk.
“That’s a terrible idea,” Blink replied and shook his head. “I said I couldn’t guarantee your safety but I hoped you’d survive the night, at least.”
“I’ll be fine!” Hawk said and winked at Grim. “That hip is going to hurt like hell for days and he needs to stay off of it. I’ll make him a bed on the floor in my room and I’ll shoot him if he moves during the night,” he offered then tossed a grin over his shoulder at Blink.
“No!” Grim protested as he began to thrash again.
“I’m almost sad I won’t be here to watch this...” Blink murmured before he shrugged and turned to leave. “You have my permission to shoot him if he doesn’t listen. Good luck, Dr. Hawkesworth.”
Chapter 3
I might have spoken too soon... Hawk admitted as he pressed himself against the wall and dragged the back of his hand across his forehead. It was October in Newport but he was sweating like July in Georgia. There was a loud crash and he ducked and cringed as he waited for an explosion or smoke. He heard a string of growled curses and took it as a good sign that Grim was still moving and swearing in his lab. Blink spared no expense converting the larger bedroom but Grim was trashing it.
They weren’t exaggerating about Grim. He was as mad and damaged as everyone warned Hawk. But it wasn’t the physical damage that took his breath away, when Hawk found himself nose-to-nose with Grim. It was the chaos and fear Hawk saw in Grim’s eye and etched on his face as they wrestled on the floor. Grim had the look of a dog with its leg in a trap who knew he couldn’t stop himself from attacking a helping hand.
“I’m coming in,” Hawk warned as he tapped his knuckle against the door frame.
“Stay out! I don’t want you in my lab!” Grim screamed. Hawk rolled his eyes and peeked around the wall then swung back before a very large book could strike his head.
“I don’t want to be in your lab. I’m moving you to the other room, dick,” he called. He managed to claw Grim out of his filthy, voluminous cloak before he writhed out of Hawk’s grasp and threatened him with a blowtorch. Hawk retreated with the cloak and found the other mattress against the wall in the other bedroom. He had a bag of Ringer’s solution hanging and an IV ready to go but Hawk still had to get Grim out of his lab and his long black latex gloves so he could run the IV. “I’m impressed that you were able to get up the stairs but we both know you’re in trouble. You’re smart, Casper. You can’t walk and you know you need to flush your kidneys or you won’t last more than another day. It’s hard to do killer clown shit if you’re dead,” Hawk observed and it was quiet in the lab. He said a quick prayer and spun around the wall and into the room. “Shit!” He crouched and covered his head as the hammer hit the door. “Hey, asshole! Do you want to die?” Hawk yelled and his finger swung around the room until he found Grim by the refrigerators and pointed.