Scorched Earth by Sara Clancy

Author:Sara Clancy [Clancy, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 41030757
Publisher: ScareStreet.com
Published: 2018-08-03T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Aleksandr tightened the muscles of his jaw, smothering a cry as Nadya’s fingers prodded at the back of his head. The buzzing of the electric razor and the pull of his hair as they carefully shaved it off had combined to turn his headache into a migraine. Or it could be because you bashed your head repeatedly on a flight of stairs, a voice in his head noted. Aleksandr cringed. Even thinking hurt.

“Stop moving,” Nadya said as she smacked his shoulder. “You’ll mess up my work.”

Aleksandr grunted, both in annoyance and agreement, and settled under her hands. Sokolovsky kids knew well the virtues of always having an extensively stocked first-aid kit on hand. And they all knew the human body well. After some prodding, Juan had let Ivan take control of Evelyn’s care. He was better with arteries. And with Nadya taking care of Aleksandr’s split open skull, the older man had little else to do but worry.

They had managed to cut off her shirt without disrupting the shard too much. But there was blood. Bubbling up around the glass and dripping down to stain the mattress she lay on. We’re going to have to flip that, Aleksandr thought idly. He couldn’t be bothered to decide what they should do with the sheets. The bed he was sitting on wouldn’t fare much better.

The local anesthetic hadn’t had time to take its full effect. Evelyn tried her best to keep silent. It wasn’t working. Juan sat next to his daughter, half on the bed, vibrating with restless energy. He patted her hair, kissed her knuckles, whispered soft words of encouragement and praise as she endured Ivan’s work. Aleksandr watched in fascination as Nadya threaded her needle.

“You have an oddly shaped skull,” Nadya noted.

Aleksandr chuckled. It wasn’t exactly holding his hand but the sentiment was the same.

“I was thinking that, too,” Ivan said.

Even with a needle lacing through her skin, Evelyn wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to mock someone. “It’s the hair. You couldn’t see it when he had a rat’s nest. There’s nowhere to hide with a buzz cut.”

Nadya hummed thoughtfully. Pushing Aleksandr’s head forward, she prodded the tip of her needle along his scalp, never hard enough to break through the tender skin.

“It’s going to be super hard to stitch you up without leaving a scar,” she told him.

“You think you have it bad,” Ivan muttered. “Evelyn’s going to look like her arm was sown on no matter what I do.”

“It’s not a contest,” Nadya snapped.

“Says the loser of said contest.”

“Can we focus please?” Juan cut in. “We need to get this done before the police come looking for us.”

“What would it matter if they did?” Nadya said. “It’s not like they broke any laws. You know, apart from a short joy ride.”

“And property damage,” Ivan added.

“The property was already damaged. He just drew their attention to it. If anything, that’s helpful,” Nadya said.

“Don’t know if they’ll see it that way,” Juan said.

“Guys!” Evelyn cut in. “Please, work on my shoulder.

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