Amber allowed her hand to be moved aside, and felt Kelly’s fingertips brush against the skin of her waist. Gently, Kelly pulled the clothes up, over the belly that Amber was now sucking in, over her bra, and now over her head. They caught briefly on her ears, and then they were gone, and Amber’s hair settled back into place as Kelly manoeuvred the clothing off the injured shoulder.

When she was done, Kelly put the clothes to one side and stepped back. “You’re blushing,” she said.

“Well, yeah,” Amber said, laughing a little desperately. “But, y’know, it’s only because I’m standing here without a shirt.”

“Oh,” said Kelly, and without a single hesitation she pulled her own shirt off and dropped it on top of Amber’s. “There,” she said. “That better?”

Amber did her best to look away. “Sure,” she said, her voice strained. “I, uh, I love your tattoos.”

“Thank you,” Kelly said. She turned slightly, tapping her fingers on the image on her left shoulder. “See that? That’s the guy who killed my parents and my sisters.”

“Oh God … I’m so sorry.”

Kelly tapped her bicep. “This one here? A killer clown, man. A frikkin’ killer clown. I hate those bastards. That was my first time as an official member of the gang, though, so I guess he holds a special place in my heart.”

Amber’s eyes drank in the detail of her arms. “And these others? You’ve encountered all of them?”

“My tattoos are my diaries.”

“But … there are so many.”

“I guess there are. Linda and Ronnie would have more, if they had tattoos. And, although he doesn’t talk about it, I have a feeling that Warrick would be covered from head to foot.”

“Why?” Amber asked. “Why do you do it?”

“You know why.”

“I really don’t.”

“Once you’re on the Demon Road, Amber, you can never get off. So you’re either a bad guy, or a good guy. We’re the good guys. Same as you.”

Amber didn’t say anything to that, and Kelly started to work on the dressing. Her fingers were warm. Amber was finding it difficult to know where to look. As she removed the dressing, Kelly pressed against her for a moment.

“You’re healing really fast,” she said. “Like, a fraction of the time it’d take a normal person. Being a lowercase-d demon sure has its perks, doesn’t it?”

Amber nodded. “Definitely perky,” she mumbled.

Kelly wrapped up the used dressing and dumped it, then walked over to the medical bag on the side table. Amber watched the muscles move beneath the skin of her slender back.

“You’re in such great shape,” she said before she realised what she was doing.

Kelly shrugged. “I guess. We do a lot of running. Mostly from horrible people wanting to kill us. Tends to keep you trim, you know?”