“I’m sorry you got hurt because of me. I tend to do that to people,” she whispers, tangling her fingers together. Then she cups her face with her hands and shakes her head. “My son. I need to get out of here. I need to get my son. He has him! He has him! He isn’t safe there, please. Let me go. I need to find him. I need to get to Aidan before he hurts him.” The words get slower and slower until her eyes start to droop.
I roll off the bed when I see Doc putting something in her IV. “What are ye doing? She was just waking up.”
“She needs more rest. She’s hysterical. She can’t think like that.”
“That wasn’t yer decision to make. She was asking about her son,” I sneer at him. For the first time in my life, I’m questioning his ability to be a good doctor.
“I’m her doctor. It’s my decision. It sure as hell isn’t yours. Go back to bed, and when you have a medical degree, that’s when you can question me.”
He’s right, but still, I don’t have to like it. I push her hair out of her face, feeling more connected with her than I have anyone. Where do I know her from? She’s familiar, but I can’t put my finger on where I could have seen her.
My eyes fall to her lips, and I grin when I remember how sassy they get. They are big, plump, almost too big for her face, but they aren’t injected with that fake shit. No, they look soft, like pillows that I want to lay my mouth across for comfort. I bet they taste like berries, sweet, and with that attitude of hers, I bet she’d leave me with a sour taste in my mouth that I’d want more of.
Yeah, she’s got a set of lips on her, that’s for sure.
And I want them.
Chapter Three
DAWN
You think you can walk all over me? Then let’s see how you do walking home from the desert. Maybe when you’re half dead and walking through the door, you’ll know better. Your ass does what I say; it isn’t the other way around. You’re such a stupid bitch thinking you can tame me. I tame you! You hear me? I own you, and Aidan too.
I sit up with a violent gasp and cough. My chest hurts. It feels like someone hammered nails into the thick bone of my sternum. Cohen did punch me in the chest before he tossed me out of the van; that’s probably why it hurts. I hold my hand to the side of my head as everything starts to swim. I can’t focus on anything around me. It’s dark, cold, but I remember glimpses of unknown faces, and I know I’m safe.
It’s strange. I don’t know why I feel safe, but my gut is telling me I’m okay here. Not that it matters. I need to leave. I need to get my son. Aidan is my everything, and Cohen always uses Aidan against me so I stay in line. It’s the only reason I’m still with him. Cohen will never let me leave unless it’s through death. I’m stuck in his grasp forever.
He controls me no matter where I am, including this room I find myself in.
What is this place? How long have I been here?
I glance to my left to see if the man with the accent is still here, but the bed is empty and the sheets are crumpled. I flip the lamp on the nightstand to be sure I’m alone. When the bulb flicks on, I lift my arm to block the sudden burst of light. Damn, it’s bright. I blink a few times, and different colored spots float in my vision. That’s when I notice the IV in my arm. The needle is pierced in the soft space of my elbow in the vein. I follow the tube to a bag hanging on a metal stand.
Where the hell am I? I’m not in a hospital. It’s too quiet for that. Plus, the room is different than any hospital I’ve ever been in. The walls and floors are made of stainless steel, I think, since the light reflects off it. There’s a room to the left that has a barricaded door, which only makes me curious, but since I don’t know where I am, I won’t get snoopy just yet. For all I know, these people are going to keep me prisoner