"I'm fine," she assured, murmuring the words into the woman's shoulder as she was hugged. James recognized the embrace for what it was, not so much affection as a gratefulness that they were both okay. James' tone was steady, even if the words were meaningless. They were just a reassurance to Ella, because James was obviously not fine. While she seemed calm and able, when James took Ella's hand, her's was shaking.
"Do you need to go to the hospital?" She asked, glancing out of the mouth of the alley and finding the sidewalk empty. Stepping out, she hailed a cab a second later, and it pulled up to the curb. The driver seemed oblivious, and if he noticed that they were bleeding, he didn't say anything. Just continued to smoke his import cigarette and listen to Polish radio when they climbed into the backseat.