Page 86 of Reaper

As soon as they leave, the door closes behind them. I hear his voice a moment later from further down the hall demanding that Brandy hand over the ring that she’s wearing. He’s most likely going to take samples to make sure she didn’t coat her ring with anything.

I turn Lark in my arms and gently grasp her chin. I gently tilt her head as I carefully brush her hair back behind her ear. Rage boils in me when I see eight bloody fingernail marks. There are also four smaller cuts, also bloody, that I’m assuming came from Brandy’s ring judging off the placement of them. With there being eight fingernail marks, I wonder if she only hit Lark once or if she got in a second hit.

“I’m okay, Anthony,” she says softly before reaching up and cupping my face in both her hands, but I can’t take my eyes off the blood on her face or the red handprint.

“She only got in the one hit to my face, but she was able to scratch my face twice as you can see. I don’t know if she recently filed her nails or what, but those fuckers were sharp.”

I finally tear my gaze from the blood and look her over more closely. “You said she only got in the one to your face, did she hit you anywhere else?”

“She poked my chest hard a couple of times during her rant before I’d had enough and grabbed her arm. She got in a glancing hit to my left arm, but it doesn’t hurt.”

Exhaling I pull her into my arms and she rests her head against my chest. Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head. “Let’s get you in by Doc so he can clean you up.”

Lark chuckles softly. “To do that, you kind of need to let me go, Hercules,” she teases as she looks up at me, her eyes sparkling.

Exhaling again, I force my arms to loosen my grip around her. She snags my hand in hers and opens the bathroom door. I lead her down the hallway to Doc’s medical room and walk in without knocking. He looks up from his spot at the counter and tilts his head toward the medical bed in here.

“Have a seat, Lark. I’ll just be a moment.”

“What are you doing?” she asks as she settles into place.

I lean against the wall by the door and cross my arms against my chest. My fingers itch to touch her, but I know I’d just get in Doc’s way.

“Taking a sample of her ring to make sure it wasn’t coated in something. I’ll need to take some blood, too.”

Lark sighs. “That’s not a bad idea. Her nails easily dug into my skin and they were sharp. I wouldn’t put it past her to have filed them sharp.”

I frown at that. Did Brandy see Lark following after me this morning when I brought her here? Or did she sharpen her nails after she saw Lark on my lap in the main room. If she put anything on her ring or her nails that would harm Lark, this might be the first time that I’d hit a woman.

“I’m okay, Hercules.”

I look up at Lark’s soft voice. She holds out a hand and I cross the room, taking it as I lower my head and bury it in the crook of her neck, breathing in her rose body wash and hair products.Her other hand rises to my chest and I feel her holding the edge of my cut.

Taking a few deep breaths, I feel myself calming down.

“Are you okay enough now that Doc can take a look at me?”

Embarrassed, I step back. “Sorry, Darlin’.”

She gives me a small smile. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Hercules.”

“Pres, you can still hold her, but can you switch to the other side so I can examine her scratches better?”

Even though he phrased it as a question, I know he’s not asking. I may be the President of the club, but in this room, Doc rules.

After I switch sides, Lark slips her hand in mine.

“Okay, Lark, just to be on the safe side, I’m going to start with a blood sample and then also take a sample from the areas that she drew blood before cleaning you up.”

Lark nods and pulls her hand out of mine. “Ever since the fire, my right arm is the best one to draw blood from because of the scarring on my left arm.”

Doc nods and makes a note on his computer. “After we get you cleaned up, is it okay if we talk a little about your medical records? I’d like to have some notes in case I ever need to patch you up again.”

“Of course, Doc. Do you want me to sign something so my regular doctor can send you my files? I’d rather you knew everything before something big happens rather than having to find out while you’re working on me.”

Doc sends me a proud look and I can’t stop the corners of my lips from twitching. That’s my girl.

“Or Python can get them. It’s really up to you, Lark, for how much you want to share. Who’s your regular doctor?”