“My doctor is going to take care of you until I finish this. Meet you at the house.”
“Oh, okay.” I wasn’t sure what I expected, but I hoped for something more. Like a passionate kiss, even though the situation didn’t permit it at all. The bodies in the road were still on fire. Constantine had just shattered a dozen bones with just his boot minutes ago. And just because he saved me didn’t mean he wanted to be with me. He’d slept with Isabella and that meant nothing, so maybe this meant nothing too.
Chapter 23
Aurelia
When Constantine said he would meet at the house, I wasn’t sure which house he meant. His or mine.
But when the driver pulled behind a colossal gate and we arrived at a villa I could only describe as a palace, I knew he meant his residence. Security was stationed on the property, on either side of the enormous thirty-foot doorway, near the potted olive trees and along the solid wall that separated his private home from the rest of the bustling city.
The doctor came around the other side and helped me out of the car because I was still weak. I felt like ash was burning in my body. My muscles didn’t respond to commands the same way, and I could never really catch my breath. My lungs’ need for air was simply out of sync with what my body needed.
Security opened the double doors, and I stepped into a whole different world. An entryway guarded by two Egyptian statues of the god Anubis. They were enormous and flanked the short staircase that led to the next part of the house. The expansive room had a long table in the center, which held another sculpture of the Eye of Horus. And the walls were covered in paintings and artwork, and the floor-to-ceiling window on one side showed some kind of garden space.
I didn’t have time to take it all in because the doctor continued forward up the stairs onto the next level, which was another greeting area that branched off to several different spaces, a grand dining room to the left and a sitting area that looked like it was used frequently, despite the fact that it was lavishly decorated.
A man in a black tuxedo appeared, in his early fifties, his dark hair combed back. “His Highness just informed me of the situation.”
His Highness?
The man in the tuxedo approached me and gave a slight bow. “I’m Elio, butler to Constantine and the caretaker of this home. Let me guide you upstairs so you can rest. This way.” He took the lead up a large staircase, and when I said large, I meant five people could walk side by side all the way up. He guided me to the third level of the villa, and every floor had incredibly high ceilings. Statues erected in hallways, artwork on the walls, vases of real flowers.
I felt like I was in the residence of royalty.
Elio escorted me to a private bedroom, one that had a king-size bed, a private living room, and its own bathroom.
Every room in this house probably had its own bathroom.
The doctor guided me to an armchair and then opened his bag to get to work. “How are you feeling?”
“Better ... but still pretty fucking terrible.”
“The drugs they gave you are supposed to make you brain dead.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry, I was able to prevent that from happening. But you’re going to feel unwell for at least several days.” He took my heart rate and other vitals. “I’m going to give you something to put you to sleep. You’re going to need to rest so your body can fight the effects quicker.”
I wanted to talk to Constantine, but I didn’t know when he’d be back. “Okay.”
He grabbed another vial and a needle and gave me a shot. “I can help you get into bed.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got it.” I kicked off my shoes, then moved to the bed, fully prepared to take off my dress and sleep in just my underwear. I already felt the medication start to kick in. He helped me pull the covers back and tucked me inside. “Here’s your phone.” I’d lost track of it, but Con or Rocco must have taken it back from the would-be kidnappers. The doctor set it on the nightstand. “Feel better soon.”
I was asleep before he left the room.
As I woke up, I was aware of the daylight piercing the closed curtains and my eyelids. It took me a moment to stir, to realize I felt well, that the sickly feeling of poison had dissolved from my bloodstream.
I was on my side, and when I cracked my eyes open, I came face-to-face with dark eyes. But not the dark eyes of Constantine. There was fur and a long snout ... and the smell of dog. I blinked several times, watching the German shepherd study me like I was a little mouse they were about to pounce on.
Then I remembered who she was—Medusa.
“Hey, babe ...” My voice was raspy and cracked, and my arm felt weak as I lifted it and petted the side of her cheek. “Nice to meet you.”
She dipped her head and licked my cheek.
I chuckled as I felt the streak of saliva from the swipe of her tongue.
