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“It’s probably something he did. Or he’s going to do. Anyway, it’s the only connection I can figure between you and Wormwood.”

Alessa holds up her hands. “Okay. Everybody stop a minute. Who is Wormwood?”

Candy helps me stand up.

“You explain it to her,” I say. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“You’re shot. You can’t be on your own so soon.”

There’s real concern in her voice. It’s good to hear after all this time.

“I’ll be fine. But I’m not healing right. I’m going to need your help bandaging me up.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

“One thing. My body. I’m a lot more fucked up than you remember.”

She smiles. “I’ve seen you plenty fucked up. I think I can handle it.”

“We’ll see. Just remember I warned you.”

She helps me up and gets my coat off. The three of them take a good look at my blue-black right arm. Alessa stares at my prosthetic left one.

“What the fuck did you do?”

“All of you clear out,” I say. “I don’t need anyone gawking while I get these wounds clean.”

Candy hustles the others out of the room. Stops at the door.

“You sure you’re going to be okay?”

I say, “I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Call me when you get out.”

“I look a lot worse naked, but I’ll need your help and I don’t think those two are up for it.”

“I’ll be right outside. Knock when you’re done.”

“Got it.”

She closes the door and I strip off the rest of my clothes and the cling wrap. I took a shot on the right just below the ribs. There’s no exit wound, so the bullet is still inside. The second shot hit the meaty part of my leg where it meets my hip. That one went all the way through. The only good thing about being this close to dead is that my sense of touch is pretty dull. Normally, either of those shots would hurt like hell. Now they’re bee stings and my biggest problem is the blood.

I get in the shower and turn it on hot. At least I think so. Anyway, I stand under the water long enough that I start to feel a little better.

When I’ve scrubbed the blood off and the wounds clean, I towel off and knock on the bathroom door. Candy comes in immediately. Still bleeding, I get back in the tub.

“See that cling wrap over there?”

“Yeah,” she says.

“That’s what’s holding me together. I need you to wrap my shoulder, body, and leg tight.”

She says, “Okay,” and gets right to it. No hesitation. I’ve missed her so much.

It takes a few minutes to get me mummified enough to stop the bleeding. When it’s done, we sit on the side of the tub in the steamy bathroom and look at each other.

“Hell of a way to let someone know you’re back,” she says. At first, it sounds like she might be mad, but she smiles when she says it.