In Death 25 - Creation in Death

vomit.
    “I knew you’d come.” Tears swam in Ariel’s eyes. “I knew someone would come, and when I saw them bring you in, I knew it was going to be okay.”
    “Yeah, hold on.” She had to slide to her feet, give herself a moment to balance. “You did good. You did real good keeping his attention on you so I could get to my piece.”
    “I wanted to kill him. I imagined killing him. It helped.”
    “I bet it did. Listen, I’m a little off center. I don’t think I’d better try cutting those ropes just yet. You’ve got to hang in there a little bit longer. I know you hurt, but you’ve got to hang in.”
    “I’m so cold.”
    “Okay.” Eve managed to pull off her coat, then draped it over Ariel’s bleeding and battered body. “I’m going to secure him, okay? I’m going to secure him, then go call for backup.”
    “Would you bring me back some water?”
    Eve laid a hand on Ariel’s cheek. “Sure.”
    “And maybe a whole bunch of drugs.” While the tears spilled out, Ariel struggled to smile. “This is a really nice coat.”
    “Yeah. I like it.”

22
    TWO ENERGY BOOSTS WITH A TRANQ CHASER , Eve thought. The combination had her feeling stupid, shaky, and not a little sick. But she not only had to stay on her feet, she had to do the job.
    Reaching around, she fumbled at her back for her restraints. Either they weren’t there, or she’d lost all sensation in her left hand. “Crap. I’ve got to restrain this son of a bitch, but my cuffs…I must’ve dropped them upstairs when he tranq’d me. Let me just…okay.”
    She turned, saw the ropes looped through the side holes in the table. “Here we go. Okay.”
    “You don’t look so good,” Ariel commented. “I probably look a whole lot worse, but you don’t look so good.”
    “Been putting in a lot of hours looking for you, Ariel.” Eve fought the knots on the rope, cursing under her breath as her fingers felt as agile as limp soy dogs.
    “Thanks.”
    “No problem. Bloody buggering hell! Was this son of a bitch a Youth Guide or something?”
    “I always thought they were little psychos.”
    Unsteady fingers slick with sweat, Eve tugged and dragged. “Almost got this bitch. Just hold on.”
    “I’m not going anywhere.”
    Eve muscled one rope free, then bent over from the waist, blowing out breath as her stomach tried to heave. “Little sick to my stomach. Don’t be alarmed if I boot.”
    Ariel managed a smile through gritted teeth. “If you do, boot on him. Bastard.”
    On an appreciative and slightly drunk laugh, Eve crouched down to tie Lowell’s hands. “You’re a stand-up, Ariel. A goddamn Amazon. I can see why Erik’s in love with you.”
    “What? Erik? Erik loves me?”
    Eve swiped at her sweaty brow, glanced up and over at Ariel’s pale face. “That was probably something I was supposed to keep to myself. Crossed the line. Blame the tranq. But listen,” she continued as she tied the rope around Lowell’s wrists just a little tighter than strictly necessary. “If you don’t go for him, you know? If you don’t, take it easy on him, okay? ’Cause he’s really gone over you.”
    Eve stood, ignoring the way her head swam, to release the second rope for Lowell’s feet. And saw tears sliding down Ariel’s cheeks. “Oh, man, I know you’re hurt. I know this sucks out loud, but just hang on a few minutes more.”
    “I’ve loved that dumbass almost since he moved in across the hall. Dumbass never made one move.”
    “Oh.” God, people were strange, Eve thought. The woman had stood up under unspeakable pain, but she was leaking because some guy was soft on her. “He probably will now. Jesus, music off!” she ordered as she bound Lowell’s feet. But the voices continued to soar. “You know how he shut that shit off?”
    “Not really. I’ve been kind of tied up since I got here.”
    Eve plopped down on her ass and laughed like a loon. “You ever think of giving up baking and going into police work, Ariel—I swear you’ve got the spine and the nasty streak for it.”
    “I like baking. I’m going to bake you the most incredible cake. It’s going to be a goddamn work of art. Oh, God, God, do you think someone’s coming with drugs soon?”
    “It won’t be long. I’m going to see if I can get the doors open, or break the glass.”
    “But…don’t leave me.”
    “Listen.” Eve gained her feet, stepped over so she and Ariel were face-to-face. “I’m not going anywhere without you. On my