Broken Silence

Kane didn't let go of Malina's hand as they walked, even though he knew that he probably should. She seemed lost in thought, a far away look in her eyes and a slight frown on her face.

"Are you all right?" Kane asked quietly, bumping her shoulder lightly. "I'm not going to press you to talk about anything you don't want to, but you seem awfully shaken up."

"I'm sorry," Malina sighed. "My family is very protective of each other. It's sort of a sensitive topic for me."

Kane nodded. "I can understand that."

"Did you take a hit tonight?" she asked, reaching up with her free hand to gently touch a bruise that was forming next to his eye.

"It keeps me humble," Kane said, shooting her a confident grin. "I do wish they would aim away from my face though."

"You're still handsome," Malina said, then immediately turned red and lowered her eyes.

"Ah so the truth comes out," Kane teased. "I was wondering why the lovely Malina was willing to spend time with a lowly street rat like myself."

"You're not a street rat," Malina said firmly. "It's very brave of you to go through all of this for your sister."

"It's what I have to do," Kane said with a shrug. "My sister and I look out for each other." He squeezed her hand. "You should get to work before you're late."

"Are you coming in for a drink?" She looked up at him hopefully and Kane couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"I just finished a fight so naturally I have to buy a drink from the prettiest girl in town." He winked.

"You should wait a few minutes and come in after me," Malina said, looking embarrassed. "The owner and his wife are my aunt and uncle. They can be a bit...protective."

Kane arched an eyebrow. "So that's why he's always watching me with that weird look on his face," he chuckled. "I'll be in in a few minutes, then. I don't need to make any more enemies or make trouble for you."

He lifted her hand and planted a light kiss across her knuckles before letting her go. She stepped back, looking a little flustered, and disappeared inside the tavern. Kane leaned against the outer wall to wait several minutes before following her inside. He took a seat at a shadowy far corner, wanting to avoid attention. From everyone other than Malina, anyway. She took a few other orders before approaching his table, though her eyes kept flicking to him. He wasn't in hurry; content to sit still after his fight. The cold, dingy little room he was staying in combined with all the fights and his constant worry over Camille was starting to wear on him. Malina was the one shimmer of brightness in his otherwise bleak situation.

He smiled as she finally came over to ask what he wanted. Kane lingered over his drink far longer than he needed to, but thought if he stayed too long sitting with one drink that Malina's uncle would grow suspicious. But he caught her eye before he left, nodding his head slightly toward the door to indicate that he would wait outside for her until she got off. He stepped outside into the crisp air. Winter would be setting in full force soon.

A group of men came walking up the street, talking in low voices. Kane moved to take a step back out of their way, stumbling and cursing as one of them suddenly sucker punched him as they walked by. Then two of them seized his arms and drug him toward the narrow alleyway.

"If you're planning to rob me, you should know I'm broke," Kane said calmly as they shoved him into the alley. He stumbled but regained his footing quickly.

"We know you have whatever share Gleason gave you tonight," one of them said, flicking a blade out of his sleeve. "Our benefactor feels that money belongs to him."

"Ah. So you're some of Tommy Boler's goons. I suppose I should have expected something like this eventually."

Tommy Boler was another man who ran illegal rackets and betting schemes. Kane had fought a few of his fighters and beaten them all. Clearly, he wanted to level the playing field a little. The man weirding the knife made a move and Kane caught his wrist, twisting it hard and a loud snap split the air. The man screamed, dropping the knife. Another of the four men lunged forward and punched Kane in the head. Everything became a blur of fists and curses.

Kane saw another knife coming toward his face and flung his arm up to block it, the blade slicing his forearm before he kicked the man hard in the knee and shoved him back. The other two rushed in to take his place, trying to hold him in place while he punched Kane in the gut. Kane wrenched one arm free, ramming his fist into the man's nose. He seized another by the collar and slammed his head into the wall. The last man seized his arm and yanked him back with such force that he felt his shoulder dislocate with a sickening pop. Kane gritted his teeth against the pain, slamming the elbow of his good arm into the man's jaw and then hitting him in the throat. He limped out of the alley with a grimace.

"Kane!"

He looked up at the sound of Malina's horrified gasp. She hurried toward him, her hair coming undone from its ribbon again.

"Are you all right?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Some of Boler's hired muscle," Kane said, straightening up and trying not to flinch. His shoulder was throbbing, his arm and nose were bleeding, and his torso was bound to be riddled with bruises to match the one on his jaw.

"You should come inside and get cleaned up," Malina said worriedly. He shook his head.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said valiantly. "I'll just go back to my room and take care of it."

Malina bit her lip. "I can help," she said slowly. "My brothers have been in plenty of fights, I'm a pretty decent nurse."

"You don't need to do that," Kane replied, thinking of the drab little room. But Malina was insistent. She put an arm around him and tried to help him limp along. Kane was touched by her efforts but was careful not to lean his weight on her. His room was small and drafty but he kept it clean, so at least there wasn't a mess. Malina instructed him to sit on the edge of the bed while she bustled into the teeny washroom and returned with some damp rags to wash the blood off his face.

"I can help you with the shoulder," she said quietly, gently dabbing at his bloody nose. Her eyes glanced around the room, landing on a book of poems on his nightstand.

"Wordsworth?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"It's Cami's favorite. I've read it I don't even know how many times."

Finished with cleaning his face, Malina carefully took his arm. "You may want something to bite down on," she warned. "This isn't going to feel good."

"It's not my first time," Kane assured her. "Go for it."

With surprising speed and accuracy, Malina popped his shoulder back into place and he drew in a sharp breath. Malina set to work on the gash on his arm next, cleaning it and wrapping a clean rag around it.

"It's not a very deep cut," she said. "You're not going to be able to fight for a while now, are you?" she added softly.

"I don't have a choice."

"But you'll hurt yourself more." Malina frowned.

"I can't risk losing the money. I don't have my order from Lionel yet, and I can't break into-" He stopped, snapping his mouth shut as Malina's eyes went wide as saucers.

"You're breaking in somewhere?" she squeaked.

"Yeah," Kane sighed. "I know how bad that sounds, but I swear to you I'm not some scummy criminal. Camille is being held somewhere, against her will. And the only person authorized to get her out is the person who sent her there, so the only way I can rescue her is to break in."

"Where is she?" Malina looked curious, horrified and baffled all at once. Kane hesitated. But he figured at this point there was no harm in telling her.

"The Blackbird Institute," he said wearily. Malina gasped.

"She's in the mental hospital? Who would send her there?"

"Our uncle," Kane replied bitterly. "He claimed that she attacked him with a knife out of the blue."

"What really happened?"

Kane tensed, anger bubbling up in his chest all over again. "He cornered her alone in our kitchen and attacked her. So she sliced him with a carving knife. And he sent her to Blackbird to shut her up."