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I think she was trying to comfort me, but I still hadn’t processed I was here – wherever here was – because of Asher.
Asher was a name I had wiped from my existence. My staff wasn’t allowed to say his name. The fact that this woman said it so casually meant she had no idea what that man had done to me.
“No fever,” she reported.
I smiled weakly. “That’s great.”
I had a thousand questions for her. How had I ended up here? What did Asher have to do with it? Where did this raging headache come from? And could I please just get up and go pee?
But as she finished up her basic examination, the air shifted.
I didn’t have to hear his voice to know he was in the room. My body knew. I’d always had an uncanny Asher radar under my skin.
“Why didn’t you page me?” he asked the nurse. There was a darkness in his voice that made me shiver.
“She’s only been awake a few minutes, sir,” she answered.
They spoke as if I weren’t here between them.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. I didn’t want to see him. I didn’t want to look in his eyes. I didn’t want to hear his voice. I closed my eyes, praying the nurse would stay as a buffer between us. I didn’t know her, but I was willing to throw myself on her to keep her from leaving.
“You may leave us, Agnes,” he dismissed her casually. “I’d like to talk to Miss Tessier. Alone.”
No!
“Whatever you need, sir. I’ll be in my room checking supplies and updating Miss Tessier’s records.” She reached for a canvas bag and walked out. As soon as Agnes was gone, I knew I was trapped. I couldn’t run. I could barely prop myself up. What in the hell was happening?
“How are you feeling?” Asher asked, as if this was somehow normal. As if we were normal. He walked closer.
“Terrible,” I answered truthfully. Was it terrible because we were in the same room together? Terrible because I was confused? Terrible because my entire body felt foreign to me?
“Are you in pain? I have every medication you were prescribed. I can get you anything you want,” he offered. “Possibly more. Just say the word. Agnes is the best. The absolute best at pain management.”
I shook my head. “No more pain meds,” I responded. “That’s not necessary.”
“That’s a positive sign.”
“Sign of what?”
He rubbed the scruff along his jaw. It looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. I was afraid to study his face any closer. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to gaze into his eyes. Oh no. Not happening.
“That your recovery is going well,” he answered.
“Right. My recovery.” I glanced over the mound of blankets to where my toes wiggled at the foot of the bed. Agnes had layered several quilts on top of me.
I hated being in this position. He knew something I didn’t. It seemed he knew everything about this situation. He understood the circumstances and what had happened. He knew the nurse and knew this bedroom. My fingers curled around the soft comforter in frustration. I hated being at a disadvantage, especially in front of Asher. I still didn’t understand what was happening. The worst part was I had to depend on him for answers.
“I think I’m better now,” I lied. “I’ll get out of your hair and let you do whatever it is you do now.”
I didn’t know if it was possible to walk out of this room, but I wanted to try. I wanted to get as far away from Asher Westbrook as I could before we exchanged anymore small talk. Before he asked question. Before he told me something about himself. Some tiny anecdote that I wouldn’t be able to forget. I had to get out of here before any of that happened.
Asher towered over the side of the bed. “Journey, don’t you remember what happened to you?”
I bit the inside of my cheek.
“Of course I do.”
“Journey.” His voice was stern and controlling.
