Of Warlords and Children (Trafalgar Law Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Killer

He found her on the deck. 

After the whole issue with Kid in the galley she had rushed out of the room without another word. Nobody had been able to find her for quite a few hours. Heat and Wire had been taking bets on whether she had disappeared or not. 

Rayne was sitting on one of the banisters, her back against the main part of the ship that met the banister. Her legs were curled up with her arms around them and her chin resting on top. A small ring of bruising dotted around the bottom part of her neck. He winced from behind his mask, that was a bad move on Kid's part. If he really wanted her to be a part of their crew then choking her wasn't a great idea. 

"Are you thinking of jumping overboard?" He settled for trying to make a joke. 

Rayne turned to look at him and frowned, "No."

So much for that. 

He scratched at the back of his neck wondering just what to say to the woman. Even if he didn't really like her way back when she was first abducted onto the crew she soon grew on him. Anyone who could make such delicious food was someone Killer wanted to keep on the good side of. Besides she was a genuinely nice person, when she was around the right people. 

"How is your neck?"

"Fine."

So, one word answers was how it was going to be. "Rayne, you knew what you sighed up for when you asked to be a part of this crew."

"I know." Two words now, that was an improvement, sort of. 

Killer sighed in annoyance. He was so tired of having to be the mediator between the two. Their crew was ruthless, that was how they had gotten so far; it was who they were and that wasn't going to change. It was frustrating when he was constantly reiterating the same point. 

"What do you want Killer?" She finally asked. 

"I'm just checking up on you." He said. 

"Well, as you can see I'm fine."

"You're not." He reached over and cupped her face. 

Rayne's eyes widened and she tried to jerk away from him but it was no good. His grip held tight as he made her look at him. She looked worse for wear. The bruising around her neck was actually worse than he first thought. The skin was a mottle of green, blue, purple, and a sickly green color. Her eyes were bloodshot, from crying no doubt and her complexion was rather pale. 

No, something was definitely not right with her. 

"Rayne?" He questioned again but she didn't answer. 

He reached out to grab her when she started to fall off the banister. Killer caught her around the waist before she hit the floor. Something was definitely wrong as her breathing became labored and a small sheen of sweat started to appear on her skin. Killer slid his arm underneath her legs and hauled her up into his arms. 

Vein would know what to do. 

–x–

"You've been pushing her too hard." Vein said finally. "She's been so stressed that she finally dropped."

Killer stopped his pacing, how was he the one to blame? He took their training sections easier than that day she grabbed his mask off. Though it was possible that he had been pushing her past her limits and Rayne, being Rayne, she was too stubborn to admit that she was tired. Miscommunication was the bane of his existence, that was how people got killed.