Letting that sink in, I peered down at the bed, feeling the soft sheets on my skin. The clean scent was warm and inviting. I couldn’t remember the last time I slept in a decent bed.
However, what caught my attention the most was that I was only wearing a shirt that didn’t belong to me, and before I could give that any more thought, I noticed my cuts were all bandaged up. My fingers instinctively skimmed my eyebrow, and that too was covered in a dressing.
Did Julius fix me up?
I sat there until I pushed through the lightheadedness, and I was able to set my feet on the cold wooden floor. Slowly, I stood while still holding the bed frame as I tried to make my way to the window to open the curtains and allow some light in.
I must have been out for a while since the light felt extremely aggressive on my eyes. Blinking away the spots, I didn’t recognize the neighborhood or house I was in, but I wasn’t scared.
Did I feel safe?
It was such a foreign emotion that I found it difficult to even move. I was content where I stood, letting the sun soak into my skin. I shut my eyes for a few seconds, comfortable in the silence, savoring the moment for as long as I could.
No yelling.
No belittling.
No fear.
Is this their house? Julius’s bedroom?
It was such a silly question. I could smell him everywhere, and taking comfort in that was easy. In the blink of an eye, thememory of Mr. Bates and what happened snatched my refuge. Why was I there in the first place?
I grabbed the new bottle of water off the nightstand and chugged it down. It was refreshing, helping me drown out the worry. I knew it wouldn’t last. I’d have to face this.
On my way to the door, I caught my reflection in the mirror and stopped dead in my tracks. Turning my head side to side, I prepared for the worst, and to my surprise, there were only a few light bruises on my face, neck, and chest. My lip was pretty banged up, along with my forehead, but I expected that.
Though I wish I could say the same about my body when I lifted the shirt. It was a wreck all on its own with a mixture of angry black, blue, and purple bruises. I wanted to cover them, so I pulled out my ponytail. Long red hair cascaded down to my lower back. I instantly felt at ease, hiding behind a shield that protected me from the reality of the outside world.
I ran my hands through it, noticing I was paler than usual, but a bit of color was forming around my freckled cheeks. At that point, I might have been stalling, waiting for I didn’t know what.
Once again, I steadied my breath before I ripped the IV out of my arm.
It was now or never.
Ready to face the music, I had to get away. I opened the door and collided with what felt like a brick wall.
Not expecting to see…
The pianist.
CHAPTER
SIX
ISLA
A whirlwindof emotions slapped me in the face as his arm snaked across my lower back, keeping me from falling over. I lightly gasped when he drew me closer to him, holding me firm against his chest. Our eyes stayed locked. His eyes weren’t Caribbean blue this time. They were dark, murky water, boring deep into mine, silently warning me to back off.
On cue, a train’s roar tore through the walls, breaking through our silence. It was the first time I had heard it, making me realize I must have been knocked out, as it was so loud.
However, I recognized his expression, having encountered it often with the kids in group homes. Kraven’s guard was up, and the tension between us was so thick you could choke on it.
His intense regard shifted from me to the shirt I was wearing, and he quickly removed his arm. “You just got stitched up,” he declared while moving around me, walking towards the bed. “I don’t need you bleeding all over the place again.”
He grabbed the cloth off the nightstand, tossing it at my chest. I caught it, lowering my gaze. When he lost sight of my eyes, with his finger under my chin, he lifted my face to look at him. His touchwas cold, and his glare was a mask of grim determination to get me the hell out of there.
“You don’t belong here,” he stated all in one breath. “You’re just evidence.”
