“Labrador?” Anna snorts, giving me a curious look. “More like a Pitbull, guarding you like his life depended on it.”
A knock on the door interrupts us.
“Come in!” I call, pulling the thin hospital blanket further up my chest. My voice sounds weak even to my own ears. Being drugged really does take it out of you.
The door opens and David steps inside, looking way better than a man who was up all night ought to, in a pair of grey joggers and a fitted black t-shirt. His reappearance here stuns me, but not enough to not notice how good he looks. Here I am looking like death warmed up, and he looks like he had a full eight hours of sleep and is about to step on the set of his own reality TV show.
I ignore Anna’s blatant ogling at the side of my face and say, “Er, hello.” Why does wearing a hospital gown makeyou feel so damn vulnerable? I pull the blanket up even further. “What are you doing back here?”
David steps further inside my room until he’s standing at the foot of my bed, his gaze sliding between Anna and I before settling on me. Strangely, he looks a bit uneasy, facing us both in the light of day. Before I can ponder this further, his mask slips back into place.
“I’m going to take you to speak to the police.”
My eyes widen in surprise.
“You’retaking me?” I hadn’t yet given much thought to the man who did this to me, but of course the police would have to get involved. I just don’t understand why David wants to be the one to bring me. “Surely you’ve done enough?”
Anna clears her throat beside me. “I can take her.”
David’s eyes don’t leave mine.
“I have a friend who is a detective. He will be handling your case as a favour to me.”
“Oh, okay then.” I draw my eyes down to my half-empty cup and pick at the soft styrofoam edge. Why is he doing all of this for me? He’s under no obligation to help me beyond getting me to the hospital. He absolutely didn’t need to stay over night, let alone comebackto take me to make a report. My mind whirrs, but he reads my hesitation as something else.
“You do want to make a report, yes?” He asks carefully, raising a brow as his gaze roams my face. “To make sure this scumbag gets caught.”
I clear my throat. “Yes,” I say with a nod. “Of course. Make sure he doesn’t do it to anyone else.”
David’s eyes narrow on me. “And because he did it toyou,” he says slowly, somehow making the statement sound both like a question and an accusation at the same time.
“Right. Yes,” I agree. “That, too.”
Anna shifts in her seat and I turn to face her. I forgot she was here for a moment.
“Thanks for everything last night, David.” The softness in Anna’s tone gives me pause. David must have really earned some brownie points with Anna because she never speaks softly toanyman. “We would have been fucked if you hadn’t showed up.”
“Yes,” I say quietly, bringing my attention back to David. “I owe you a massive thank you, too.”
The sides of David’s lips twitch. “Not as much as you owe me a dry-cleaning bill.”
My cheeks flame and I palm the cup in my hand, looking anywhere but at David and Anna. I can’t afford a dry-cleaning bill right now.
“I’m joking,” he drawls when I don’t respond, but it somehow doesn’t make me feel better. When will I get my fucking life together? Because vomiting on people and not having two cents to rub together is definitely not it.
“The doctor said you can leave now, bloods came back as expected. I’ll take you home to change first.”
After we’ve droppedAnna home and I’ve assured her that I don’t need a second escort to the police station, we arrive at my apartment. David waits in my tiny living area while I wash the night off me with a scalding hot shower and throw on some clean clothes.
I come out of my bedroom to find him standing with his hands in his pockets, brows drawn, his gaze trained on my bookcase. A flush creeps up my neck. Is he staring at my Harry Potter collection, wondering if his client is an actualchild? Because that’s the conclusion I’ve drawn while the hot water burned my flesh. He’s just going through the motions, making sure I’m okay, because I’m hisclient. And a valued one considering the pay out his firm is going to receive from Daniel in the settlement.
I’m an asset to him.
His gaze flicks to mine like he’s heard the words I’ve spoken in my mind, and then darts down my body like he’s assessing me for any injuries he may have missed. When he’s satisfied I’m fine, his eyes return to mine. “Let’s go.”
We arrive at the police station and it takes no more than half an hour for the detective to take my statement. After I’m finished, I cringe through David’s recount, noting how calm and icy his tone becomes while describing how I took a stranger to the dance floor, then him finding me unresponsive in the man’s arms. As he speaks, small details come filtering back into my memory. David had a blonde woman draped all over him at the club, not that he mentioned her to the detective. I remember the burning sensation that spread through my chest when I saw them together. I also remember that’s the reason I took the stranger to the dance floor.
It’s unnerving hearing someone describe your own actions that you can barely recall yourself, as though David was discussing someone else entirely. When we’re done he offers me a lift and I ask him to drop me to my parents’ house for family lunch because, you know, even being drugged isn’t an excuse to skip it. Not that I’m going to tell my family about it.
