“Is she local?” Ace’s question drew him from his intent stare.
“Not that I’ve ever seen,” Nick responds, studying her features a little closer, trying to determine if the bruising is, in fact, hiding a familiar face.
Brushing the hair from the mottled skin around her eyes, he was startled and took a step back as she let out a pain-filled moan, her back arching in her despair. Relief swamped him, not that she was in pain but more at the fact she was moving. Her actions could mean that her head trauma might not be as severe as they feared.
“Grab a couple washcloths and a bowl of warm water,” he instructed his cousin.
Ace’s footsteps raced from the room to do his bidding while Nick slowly began to remove her pants. His anger flared as bruises the size of a large man’s boot were quickly discovered the lower he went. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what type of man would hurt such a fragile creature.
Tossing her bottoms in the general direction of his hamper, Nick went into the bathroom to get a towel to dry her hair after covering her legs with a duvet. When he came back in the room, Ace was there with the items he’d requested and was beginning to stoke a fire to warm her up.
“You think she’ll be okay?” he asked.
Staring at the voluptuous woman in his bed, ice cold, bruised, and broken, he honestly couldn’t say for sure. He wanted her to be; fuck did he ever. He’d like to know her name, find out what color eyes she had, and if they’d be hot with fire or soft with happiness. Nick wanted to know everything he could about the mystery woman.
“Nick?” Ace called him when he didn’t answer his initial question.
“Fuckin’ wish I knew, bro. This woman should be held tight and worsh
ipped, not battered and used.” The words slipped past his lips without thought, and it brought him peace. She could be it, she could be theirs, and there wasn’t a fucking thing they could do until she awoke from her slumber.
The two men kept watch over their guest for the rest of the day. Nick had called a neighbor who, thankfully, was also a doctor to come see if they should be worried about her condition more than they already were. The man was set to be there early the following morning once the snow stopped.
They repeatedly checked in with dispatch to find out if anyone had reported a woman missing. There was nothing, which didn’t surprise Ace too much. In a way, he was glad. It meant they could care for her, maybe even get to know her. Except, if no one was looking for her, then there were so many open questions. The biggest being who hurt her.
“We can’t keep calling her, her,” Ace told Nick as the other man checked her temperature once again. “We have to give her a name or something.”
“Alright,” Nick agreed. “She’s down to one hundred.”
They’d kept her wrapped up in blankets all day with the fireplace blazing. For a while, they’d lain on either side of her to provide her with their body heat. He was happy to note it was working.
Gazing out the window, Ace watched as the snow fell as heavy as a summer rainstorm. It was a complete wall of white, and he knew enough about Canadian winter storms to know it wasn’t stopping anytime soon. They would be snowed in for days.
“What about Snow?” He looked to Nick to see a smile light his face.
“It’s pretty fitting.”
“Snow it is.” He smiled at her.
Snow.
A whimpering sound from the doorway had them both whipping their heads to see Roxie laying there, her eyes intent on Snow, her body vibrating with the need to meet her new mistress.
“Fuckin’ dog,” Nick grumbled patting his leg from his perch on the chair beside his bed. Roxie quickly made her way to him. Looking from Nick to the woman, she jumped on the bed and lay her head on Snow’s chest, nuzzling her and whining faintly.
“What is with her?” Ace wondered aloud.
“Not a clue. Come on, let’s go eat.” Nick stood as Ace followed suit, walking out of the room, leaving Roxie to care for their guest.
Pulling two containers of last night’s leftover stew out of the fridge, Nick handed him one as he walked past to place his own in the microwave. They sat in silence as their meals reheated, neither sure what to do about their guest. Would she even remember what had happened to her? If she did, he was a little afraid that she’d want to leave them. It was ridiculous, but Ace felt connected to her. He didn’t know her name, her eye color, or where she was from. He’d be fucked if he didn’t admit the attraction he felt for her.
“Do you think she’ll remember?” he blurted out, wondering if some type of amnesia could be a problem when she came to.
“What?” Nick looked towards him, a confused light in his dark brown eyes.
“Do you think she’ll know what happened?” he reiterated.
“Are you thinking she might have amnesia?”