Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(25)
Roash flew into the room and landed on the side of the bathtub. The ceramic was hard for him to grip, so he eventually flew up and landed on the back of the toilet and stared at her.
“It’s okay, Roash. I’m fine.”
Wanting to feel the warm water over her injury just for the peace it would bring her, she dropped her head ever-so-slightly lower, feeling the heat soak into the rough edges of the skin that had been torn. She didn’t know if it was smart or not. It was stinging, but then any water would sting. Taking a chance, she pulled her head completely underwater, swallowing her cries.
After a moment, she came up for air, loving the feeling of her entire scalp soaking in the warm water. With low reserves and not wanting to ask Eagle if she didn’t have to, she pulled herself into an upright position and started with the soap. It was only as she started to lather up and wash her body that she could see the tiny slices in her skin—the details of the damage to her body. With her face to toes scrubbed, she turned her attention to the shampoo.
That was a whole different process. She was forced to stretch out to rinse it, then back up for a second shampoo. By rights her hair should be rinsed the second time under running water, but what she’d done was already awesome. She twisted the long reddish locks to a tight coil and tucked it on itself high on her head. She reached for the towel on the floor, dried her face, neck, shoulders, and hands. Then using the bar at the side of the bathtub, she pulled herself up to sit on the tub edge again.
Her whole body throbbed, but it was a good kind of throbbing. She was drained by the time she finished getting dressed again.
Perched on the bathtub, she studied the floor, wondering if she should try to walk to the bed on her own. Then considered an alternative. With a smile on her face, she slipped down until she sat on the floor and proceeded to scoot slowly to the bed. But the penalty for that was exhaustion. She stretched out on top of the blankets and closed her eyes. She was asleep in seconds.
*
Eagle’s work had backed up. As efficiently as possible, he went to the cages—feeding, cleaning, checking on his charges. Some bandages had to be switched; one had been ripped off, and another splint had been pried apart. The things that some of the birds would do to avoid treatment. Even if for their own good. He patched and soothed from one end of the property to the other.
By the time he was done, he knew he’d burned through the time allotted for Issa’s bath. He’d kept an ear out but hadn’t heard her call. He and the dogs walked back inside; he washed his hands and headed for the spare bedroom. He stopped at the doorway in surprise.
She was fully dressed and stretched out on the bed atop all the covers. There was a damp trail back to the bathroom. A soaking wet towel still lay on the floor. He picked it up, hung it over the shower railing, pulled the plug in the bathtub, not surprised to see the grayish-blackish water as it disappeared. He used the showerhead to give the bathtub a quick rinse and turned back to check on her.
As he got closer, he could see her hair was twisted into a knot. And, of course, she’d soaked her stitches. They looked pretty good. The skin was less angry, and she hadn’t torn anything open. So, no harm done.
He shifted her lower half, pulling the blankets free, tucked her underneath, and covered her back up again. She murmured gently in her sleep but didn’t wake up.
Back in the kitchen he put on another pot of coffee. Just as he was thinking about food for himself, his cell phone rang. He picked it up, but there was only static. “Hello?”
No answer. Frowning, he ended the call and placed the phone on the counter beside him. He had a thawed steak in his fridge. He popped it into a frying pan and added a couple eggs. When the time was right, he took it off. Just as he sat down to eat breakfast, his cell phone rang again. He glanced at it, but it didn’t show a number. “Hello?”
Again static, nothing else. He tossed it down on the table. Obviously somebody was having trouble getting through to him. He shook his head. It was just one more of the many odd things going on right now. He dug into his steak, and his cell rang again. He picked it up. This time it displayed Gray’s number. “What’s up?”
“You could give me an update,” Gray said testily. “I know you like to be alone, but the least you could do for an old man is let me know if she’s alive or dead.”
“She’s alive. She’s in bed and improving.”
“That’s it?”
“I know this sounds bizarre, but she really wanted a bath.” He wasn’t sure what made him add that part except, to him, it was a sign of progress.
“So, she’s conscious? Who the hell is she? What the hell happened to her?” Gray exploded. “Jesus, man, you could’ve at least told me that she woke up.”
Eagle pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, Gray. I’ve been a little busy.”
“I get that,” Gray said quietly. “But a little common courtesy for somebody who is part of this would help.”
“Sorry,” Eagle repeated, knowing his friend was right. There’d been time to call, but he hadn’t thought to.
“Whatever. If she is doing better, can I come by? If not today, maybe tomorrow? Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m fine and yes you can come by.” Gray hung up, and Eagle studied his phone. At least his phone worked this time. But if Gray had been upset that Eagle hadn’t updated him, he could just imagine how Annie felt, and she was even tougher with Eagle. He took another bite of steak, chewing while he dialed Annie’s number.