Indelible

Smith strolled after them, his gait still casual. He whispered something as he passed Lena that she was glad she could not hear. She kept her expression neutral, wondering how she could get the knife out of her pocket and drive it deep into Smith's heart.

"Psst," Brad said. She lifted her chin, letting him know she was listening.

"What did she mean?"

Lena kept her voice as low as she could. "Time."

Brad thought for a moment. "Three thirty-two?" he whispered, and she nodded. "On your signal."

"Get ready," Smith told his partner, and So

Lena saw what they were doing and lunged toward the front of the room, screaming, "No!" just as the gun went off.

She had been several feet away, and Smith had ample time to ward off her blow. He looked a

"Marla," Lena said, still looking out the window. "They got Marla." She turned on Smith, her fists raised. "You fucking bastard!" she yelled, pounding into him. It was just like with Ethan – he was nothing but a wall of muscle.

"Whoa," Smith said, stepping back, taking her with him. He caught her hands easily, laughing at her anger. "You're a feisty one," he said, wrapping his hand around her ass and pulling Lena into him. "You like that, lady? You like that big cock?"

Lena clenched her jaw shut. "You killed her," she hissed, digging her fingernails into his arms. "You killed that old lady."

He put his lips close to her ear. "I might kill you, too, honey, but don't worry, we'll have a little fun first."

She jerked away, her hand catching on the bandage he had tied around his bicep. She threw the bloody cloth on the ground, then wiped her hands down her legs as if she could get the filth off herself. "You bastard," she said. "You murdering bastard."

He had his hand to his arm, and she could see the blood pooling through his fingers. "That's not good," he said.

So

"Wrap this around my arm," Smith ordered, holding it out to Lena.

"Fuck off," she said, and he gave her an open-palmed slap that sent her to the floor.

"Do it," he told her, handing her the bandana again.

Lena stood and took the cloth. His arm was bleeding profusely, though from what she could tell, the wound was not deep. Still, she tied a tourniquet around his upper arm, pulling it tight, wishing she was squeezing it around his neck.

"What are you looking at?" Smith asked Sara, pushing Lena away as he walked to the back of the room. So

Smith repeated, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Sara told him, kneeling by Jeffrey again. She put her hand to his face, and Lena saw he stirred, but did not wake. "He needs to be in a hospital."

"We're go

She got the defibrillator and the IV kit, casting a look over her shoulder for So

"I'm not a vascular surgeon," Sara said.

"You'll do," Smith told her, taking the bag from Lena.

Sara kept trying. "The axillary artery has been hit. I won't be able to see anything."

"Doesn't bother me," he said, kneeling down beside Jeffrey.

"I can't do a block under these circumstances," she told him. "I'm not an anesthesiologist."

"You keep making excuses, I'm go

"What are you doing?"

"Might as well give him a fighting chance," Smith said, unbuttoning Jeffrey's shirt cuff.

"I can do that," Sara told him, but Smith waved her off.

Sara demanded, "Why are you doing this?"

"Why not?" he shrugged as he rolled up Jeffery's sleeve. "Nothing better to do." Still, he gave Lena a look over his shoulder, and she wondered again if he was showing off for her benefit or if he just liked playing these games. Maybe it was a little of both.

"You should insert the ca

Lena watched as he wrapped the rubber tourniquet around Jeffrey's upper arm. He was by no means an expert, but he managed to get the needle inserted into the vein on the third try.

Smith laughed at his failed attempts. "Good thing he's passed out."

"You've seen this done before," Sara said. "How often do you need infusions?"

He looked up at her, and Lena could see his crystal blue eyes registering first alarm, then something that looked like joy. They both stared at each other for a few beats, before Smith laughed.

He said, "Took you long enough."

"You've got it wrong," she told him, and Lena wished to God she knew what Sara was talking about. "You've got it all wrong."

"Maybe," he said, glancing at his accomplice. The other man was staring out the front window as if he had no concern about what was going on in the rest of the room. Lena knew that he was watching them, though. So

Smith co

Lena sat down, her back against the wall. She kept one hand tucked behind her as the other held the IV. Smith was less than a foot away from her, but Lena had no idea what she could do.

Smith opened the medical case. "Tell me what to give you."

Sara said, "I can't do this."

"Lady," Smith told her, "you don't have a choice."

She sat back, shaking her head. "I refuse."

"I'll kill a kid for every minute that you don't do this," he said. When she did not respond, he took the gun out of his waistband, held it up, and aimed the muzzle toward one of the girls.

Brad moved in front of the child, and Smith said, "I'll shoot you, too."

"And then what?" Sara asked. "You shoot them all, and it's just me left?"

He nodded toward Lena without looking at her. "I can think of some other things to do," he said. "What do you think about that, Doctor? You wa

"You wouldn't," Sara said, though surely she knew he would.

He asked her, "You think that kind of thing runs in families?"

Sara looked down, something like shame passing across her face.

Lena could not keep herself from asking, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you know?" Smith responded. "Of course you don't know. It's not like he's go

"Who?" Lena said, just as Sara told Smith, "No."

"Don't like that, do you?" Smith asked. He kept the gun pointed toward Brad, saying, "How about you, Skippy? You like hearing that?"

Brad shook his head. "It's not true."

"What's not true?" Lena asked.

Smith looked back at Sara. "Tell them, Doc. Tell them why we're all here."

"No," Sara insisted. "You've got it all wrong."

Smith's lips peeled back in an awful smile as he told Lena, "Your boss? Big Chief Tolliver lying out there with his head blown off? He raped my mother, and I'm the bastard that paid for it."