31
Nora
“Hey there.”Balancing a tray with tea and sandwiches in my hands, I push open the door to Rosa’s bedroom and approach her bed.
She’s lying on her side, facing away from the door, a blanket wrapped tightly around her.Setting the tray down on the nightstand, I sit down on the edge of her bed and gently touch her shoulder.“Rosa?Are you okay?”
She rolls over to face me, and I almost flinch at the bruising on her face.
“Pretty bad, huh?”she asks, noticing my reaction.Her voice sounds a little scratchy, but she looks remarkably calm, her eyes dry in her swollen face.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s good,” I say carefully.“How are you feeling?”
“Possibly better than you,” she says quietly, looking at me.“I’m so sorry about the baby, Nora.I can’t even imagine what you and Julian must be going through.”
I nod, trying to ignore the stab of agony in my chest.“Thank you.”I force a smile to my lips.“Now, are you hungry?I brought you something to eat.”
Wincing, she sits up and glances dubiously at the tray.“You made this?”
“Of course.You know I’m capable of boiling water and putting cheese on bread, right?I used to do it all the time before Julian kidnapped me and made me live in luxury.”
A ghost of a smile flits across Rosa’s battered lips.“Ah, yes.Those dark times in the past when you had to fend for yourself.”
“Exactly.”I reach for a steaming cup of tea and carefully hand it to Rosa.“Here you go.Chamomile with honey.Should cure all ills, according to Ana.”
Rosa takes a small sip and raises an eyebrow at me.“Impressive.Almost as good as Ana’s.”
“Hey now.”I give her an exaggerated frown.“Almost?And here I thought I had this tea-making thing down.”
Her smile is a shade brighter this time.“You’re very close, I promise.Now let me try one of those sandwiches.I have to say, they look appetizing.”
I give her a plate and watch as she eats her sandwich.“You’re not joining me?”she asks halfway, and I shake my head.
“No, I grabbed a little something in the kitchen earlier,” I explain.
“I shouldn’t be hungry either,” Rosa says after she polishes off most of her sandwich.“Lucas brought me an omelet earlier this morning.”
“He did?”I blink at her in surprise.“I didn’t know he can cook.”
“I didn’t know either.”She takes the last few bites and hands the plate back to me.“That was really good, Nora, thank you.”
“Of course.”I stand up, ignoring the painful stiffness in my back.“Can I get anything else for you?Maybe a book to read?”
“No, that’s okay.”Wincing again, she pushes the blanket off, revealing a long T-shirt, and swings her feet to the floor.“I’m going to get up.I can’t stay in bed all day.”
I frown at her.“Of course you can.You should rest today, take it easy.”
“Like you’re resting?”She gives me a sardonic look and walks over to the dresser on the other side of the room.“I’m done lounging in bed.I want to talk to Lucas and find out what’s being done about the fuckers who attacked us.”
I look at her.“Rosa…” I hesitate, uncertain whether to proceed.
“You want to know what happened last night with those guys, right?”She pulls on a pair of jeans and stops to look at me, her eyes glittering.“You want to know what they did to me before you got there.”
“Only if you want to tell me,” I say quickly.“If you don’t feel comfortable—”
She holds up her hand, silencing me mid-sentence.Then she takes a deep breath and says, “They followed me to the bathroom.”There’s only a hint of brittleness in her voice.“When I came out, they were there, both of them, and the older one, Sean, said there’s a VIP room in the back that they want to show me.You know, like they sometimes have in the movies?”
I nod, feeling a growing lump in my throat.
