She left him lying there on the bed. The heat of the street filtering through the window made him feel heavy and lifeless. The throb in his side was not bad. He just wanted to sleep.
How long he slept, he never knew. It might have been a few minutes, or a few hours, but he woke suddenly, his brain clear and full of strange urgent alarms. He raised his head and looked round the room, then over to the window. When his eyes reached the square of glass, he knew why he had awakened.
Joe and the little guy were standing on the fire escape, watching him. Even as he saw them, Joe pushed up the window, and stepped into the room. He said in a low voice, “We saw the bus, so we just dropped in.”
The little guy sat on the sill. He nodded at Duffy. “We’ve been looking for you,” he said.
Duffy turned his eyes to the door. “You wouldn’t hurt her?”
Joe showed his teeth. “Not if she stays out,” he said, keeping his voice down, “but if she comes in, she’ll get a surprise.”
Duffy dropped his head back on the pillow. He said, “Lock the door.”
The little guy said, “Leave it, Joe. He won’t squawk if she can get in easily.” He smiled at Duffy, a tight little smile.
Joe wandered over to the bed and jerked off the blanket. His brutish face lit up when he saw the strapping. “You hurt?” he said. “Ain’t that too bad.”
Duffy said nothing; he just fixed joe with hot, burning eyes. Whatever Joe did to him, he mustn’t let Alice hear.