He gently grabs her left hand but before he does anything he says, “I need to look up how to do this. The fingers are broken, I need to set them properly.”

“Alan should have a computer in his bedroom,” Lynell says, pointing him in the right direction. Daniel nods and heads to the bedroom. He’s gone for several long minutes during which Lynell takes deep breaths, trying to prepare herself.

“Alan is shameless,” Daniel says, walking back into the living room. “The things I saw just from the browser already open.” He gives an overdramatic shiver and gently picks up her hand at the wrist. “This will hurt.”

She holds her breath as he touches the two fingers. Thankfully, they're next to each other, so he only has to set them once. They’re both swollen, bruises already forming. “Here, bite down on this. Google said it’ll stimulate nerves to help with the pain since we don’t have any anesthesia,” Daniel says, handing her a folded rag.

She places it between her teeth and as soon as Daniel grabs her middle finger, which is bent at an odd angle, she bites down so hard that her jaw aches. “It looks like it’s broken at the knuckle,” he says. “I’m going to try and pop it back in place. It’s going to hurt badly.” He looks up at her, an apology in his eyes. “Ready?”

She doesn't finish nodding before he pulls hard on the finger. Lynell doesn’t hear the accompanying pop when the knuckle fits back in place. All she hears is the roaring in her ears as she screams, the rag muffling the sound. Her scream still fills the room and her chest heaves with heavy breaths as tears spill from her eyes. Daniel’s lips are moving, but she can’t make out any words. Crushing agony continues to flash through her body while Daniel positions two splints wrapped in gauze on either side of the fingers and one between them. Her screams quiet into a whimper as Daniel starts wrapping the fingers, loose enough to allow for further swelling but tight enough to keep them in place. The pressure lifts from her chest and turns to a thick fog that obscures her vision. She squeezes her eyes shut, floating in the fog until Daniel finishes and lets go of her hand.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

She opens her eyes and lets out a breath, nodding.

Daniel wipes a bead of sweat off her temple and asks, “What happened, baby?”

“I declined his offer,” she says, breathing hard. “To give him what he wanted. To be a part of his family.”

Daniel grinds his teeth together.

Lynell is careful to keep the pain from her voice while explaining. “A few punches and cuts. Waterboarding. Broke my fingers.”

Daniel closes his eyes. Lynell swipes her thumb over the inside of his wrist and he opens his eyes, meeting her gaze. “Who?” he asks.

“Some guy named Reggie.” She pauses and looks away from him. “And Zach.”