Above the Law

Chapter Twenty-Three

Eden helped Parker out of the backseat, she lifted his arm and made him drape it over her shoulders. She winced at his weight pressing down on her, but took small steps towards the door. He was close to losing consciousness, she could tell by the erratic way his breath hit her neck, the way he wasn't trying to walk, but merely keep himself upright. She stopped at the door, shoving the key in the lock and nearly making them both fall through the doorway.

She led him down to the basement awkwardly, his weight was crushing down on her with every step. Eden had never thought he was heavy before, muscular sure, but not heavy. Not this heavy. She eased him down onto the metal table and screamed when she saw the blood shinning on his leather suit. She knew it wasn't Danny's. She knew Parker wouldn't be clutching his stomach harder than consciousness.

She stared at him with wide eyes. "Parker. Parker, I don't know what to do." His eyes were pinched closed, his body motionless. "Parker? What should I do? Do you want me... do you want me to stitch it closed?" The idea alone made her want to gag.

He shook his head faintly. His eyes still closed. Even with his mask on she could tell his brows were drawn together in pain. "Cauterize it."

Eden recoiled, shaking her head fiercely. "No. Oh God. No Parker. I can't do that."

He nodded once. "Yes you can." His voice was soft, distant.

She swallowed thickly, then glanced at his woodstove. She walked towards it slowly, her stomach clenching. She knelt, her wet hair clinging to her cheeks as she crumpled up newspaper. Her hands shook faintly as she built the fire, but she calmed herself down enough to strike the match.

She walked back to Parker. "Now what?"

He mumbled something she couldn't hear. Then, "Clean it. Soap or alcohol."

"Okay. I can do that..." She ran upstairs and grabbed a bar of soap, a bottle of vodka, a bowl, and a few washcloths, then ran back downstairs. "Okay. Okay... Are you okay?"

He nodded, his jaw set.

"Okay. Okay good." She grabbed the zipper at the base of his throat and pulled it down slowly. She heard his breath hitch. Or maybe it was her own. His black t-shirt was sticky with blood, she let out a deep breath, pulled her knife from her bra and cut his shirt off carefully. She cringed and began mopping up his blood with one of the cloths. She dropped it to the floor then grabbed a new one and dipped it in the soapy water. "You still okay?"

"Mmhm."

Eden hesitantly brought the wet cloth to his gash, cleaning tenderly. Her eyes shot up to Parker's face, pale and twisted with pain. "Almost done," she whispered. She attempted to pat it dry, but blood pooled immediately, saturating the cloth. She eyed the fire and pressed her hands into his skin. Parker jerked up and groaned. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry... oh God."

Eden didn't know how deep the cut was, or if the knife had hit a major organ. She didn't know if cauterizing it would even help. But she had already moved to put the fire poker in the flames. She pinched her eyes closed and controlled her breathing. "Now?" she asked quietly, more to herself than Parker. He didn't respond anyways.

She pressed her hands over his wound yet again, her gaze moving between Parker and woodstove where the fire poker now sat heating up. The longer she waited, the longer he would lose blood. But she couldn't find the courage to hurt him, even if it helped.

"Eden." He sounded drained. "I branded you. Repay the favor."

She nodded and watched her hands lift from his bloody stomach. She grabbed the red-hot fire poker and walked back to Parker. She wiped the fresh blood away, then held the poker above his rising and falling stomach. She only hesitated for a second before she pressed it down.