Page 64 of Villainous Intent

One second, his weight was a crushing reality on top of me, his heat searing through my clothes. The next, the pressure vanished. The air where he had been shimmered like a heat mirage, then settled into nothingness.

“Annie!” Dawn threw the door open and rushed to the bed.

I sat up, gasping. The room listed dangerously to the left. Warmth slid down my temple, tracking over my cheekbone and dripping off my jaw. I touched it and my hand came away wet and crimson.

“Oh my god,” Dawn breathed, her eyes wide with horror.

“I fell,” I choked out. “Hit the dresser.”

Dawn vanished into the bathroom and returned in seconds with a hand towel. She pressed it to my head and the white fabric turned red instantly.

“Stitches,” she said. Her voice was tight. “Hospital. Now.”

“No.” I pushed her hand away, wincing as the movement sent a fresh spike of agony through my skull. “It looks worse than it is. Head wounds bleed a lot.”

“It’s gushing, Annie.” She grabbed my phone from the nightstand. “I’m calling Havoc.”

The last thing I needed was Havoc storming over here, especially if Cipher was still lurking somewhere nearby.

I scrambled off the bed and the floor tilted.

“Mr. Havoc? It’s Dawn. Annie’s hurt, she’s got a huge gash on her forehead...”

I lunged and snatched the phone from her hand.

“Havoc. Stop.”

“Report,” Havoc barked. “Dawn says you’re bleeding.”

“Minor laceration. Controlled bleeding.” I kept my voice flat. Professional. I pressed the towel harder against my skull until the pain sharpened into clarity. “I’m fine.”

“I’m five minutes out.”

“Do not come here.” I gripped the phone harder. “If you come here for a cut, I quit. I am a grown woman, Havoc. I will call if I need you. I don’t need you.”

After several more minutes of back-and-forth, I finally convinced Havoc to stay put, promising to call him if the bleeding didn’t stop or if I felt dizzy.

I hung up before he could change his mind.

Dawn stared at me like I had grown a second head. “You’re insane. You need stitches.”

“I’m fine, really,” I insisted, not sure who I was trying to convince, her or myself. My head was throbbing, and blood still seeped through the towel.

Dawn glanced at her watch and bit her lip. “I have to go to work, but I can’t leave you like this. Please just let Havoc come help.”

“No. This doesn’t require Havoc,” I insisted. “Go to work, Dawn. If it gets worse, I promise I’ll either go to the hospital or call Havoc.”

Dawn’s eyes narrowed as she looked me up and down. I recognized that expression. It was the same one she’d worn when I tried to convince her I could still work after catching the flu last winter.

“You’re staying home and resting all day,” she declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. “And I mean actual rest, not paperwork.”

“Fine,” I sighed, knowing it was pointless to resist. Besides, my head hurt too much to think about work right now. “I promise I’ll rest.”

Dawn leaned against my dresser. She stood inches from where the air rippled slightly, like a disturbance in the dust motes. She stood next to a monster and she didn’t even know it.

“You’re coming out with me tonight,” she said, crossing her arms.

“That’s not resting,” I protested.