Page 8 of Queen of Ruin

Unable to make a noise because I’m too pained to breathe, only a grunt escapes me when the stranger steps closer, scoops me up into his strong arms, and sets me gently back down on the bed. A buzz of noise reaches me, but I can’t decipher anything about it through the drum of my own heartbeat and the static in my mind.

“What?” I croak out eventually after a few seconds of lying back on the bed gives my pain a chance to ease and air to filter back into my lungs.

“I said,” the man repeats, distancing himself to the bottom of the bed, “you need to be careful. You’re pretty badly injured.”

My vision fogs with a shimmer of red. Placing one hand on my abdomen, I tense my palm, as if pressure can ease how soupy my guts feel, and force myself into a seated position.

“Who…” Dryness scrapes my throat and my words dissolve into coughing, coughing that rattles my bones and sends sharp stabs of agony to every corner of my soul. “Who are you?”

No sooner have the words left me than the man vanishes and an empty room stares back at me. Did I dream him? I didn’t see him move, didn’t hear him leave, either, but he’s gone and I’m alone.

In the next sluggish blink, he’s back and standing closer to the bed with a glass of water in one hand.

“Drink,” he says in a deep voice, one that’s soft but a little rough around his Rs. “Slowly.”

Refusing isn’t an option, given the barb sensation caught in my throat, so I grit my teeth and lift my arm, then freeze. Dark bruises dot my forearm down to a ring of bruising around my wrist.

“That wasn’t me,” the man says immediately. “I swear.”

With buzzing in my ears and pain racking me with every breath, I momentarily ignore him and take the glass of water. My first mouthful tastes like bitter copper and I screw up my face, instantly regretting it when blinding-sharp pain lances through my temple. Once I’ve started drinking, though, I don’t stop until I empty the glass with a wet gasp and the man catches it when it slips from my weak fingers.

“Who are you?” I gasp again with words much stronger than before.

“My name is Diego,” he replies, setting the glass aside. “Kind of insane that you’re only asking me that now, but I suppose we haven’t really had much of a chance to talk.”

Diego.

Nothing familiar resonates in my mind at that name.

“How—” I press my lips together and swallow hard. “How did I get here?”

“I drove.” Diego moves back to the edge of the bed and crosses his thick arms over his broad chest. Muscle bulges out from the hem of his T-shirt as he sighs deeply. “Don’t worry. I got rid of the car.”

“The car?” Each blink is painfully slow and a knot forms in my chest as I gaze up at him. “What car?”

“The car. Their car. You saw what happened to mine. There’s no way it was driving again.” A shadow passes over his face and he shakes his head. “Someone’s probably found mine by now, though.”

“I don’t… what?” Why are we talking about cars? How is that relevant to… to… wait. Something isn’t right.

Diego squints at me, then the corner of his mouth pulls in slightly. “What’s your name?”

Our eyes meet. His striking emerald eyes stand out like glittering gems from his warm, bronzed skin. A shadow of dark stubble hugs his square jaw, caressing around his plump lips, while medium-length, dark curls drift across his forehead and rest atop his ears.

He’s very handsome, but nothing about his face is familiar.

“My name?” I repeat softly. “M-My… my name…”

It’s not there.

There’s nothing there.

Only static that hums a little louder the harder I try to recall my name. The knot within my chest tightens and I screw up my eyes, wading through sluggish, half-finished thoughts for any kind of information. Unfortunately, everything slips away from my focus like curls of smoke as if I’m chasing the remnants of a dream.

“You don’t know your name?” Diego’s tone sharpens. “Do you remember how we met?”

Slowly, I lift my gaze from where it drifted down to his T-shirt and meet those vibrant eyes again. “I… no. I don’t… I don’t know.”

“Shit.” He straightens up suddenly. “That’s it. I’m taking you to the hospital.”