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“Nylah?”
Somewhere in the recesses of my brain I heard my name. Stifling a groan, I tried to lift my head, but it was so heavy. My eyes didn’t want to open.
“Nurse Peters?”
Someone gently shook my shoulder as I blinked and opened my eyes, unable to resist a yawn. “James?”
The security guard was staring down at me with concern. “If you want to rest, you should go someplace where you can get some privacy.” He ticked his head toward the other side of the room and I immediately noticed the freaky biker lounging on a nearby couch, his intense gaze focused entirely on me.
Frowning, I wondered how long I’d been watched. That wasn’t creepy or anything.
“Two hours,” the biker responded even though I didn’t ask. “You were sleeping deeply when I came in for coffee and I didn’t want to wake you. I stayed so no one bothered you or accidentally woke you up before you were ready.” He shot a pointed look at James.
“Uh huh.” I doubted anyone would enter the room with him in it. They’d be too scared.
“Your welcome,” he added, not waiting for me to offer my thanks. His hazel eyes seemed to darken with mischief. “I would have let you rest as long as you wanted but James here was a little worried about your safety.”
James spun around, landing a glare on the biker. “Tell Nylah what she needs to know so you can leave. She’s been working for nearly a day without rest until she fell asleep. Cut her some slack, will ya?”
I placed a hand on his arm. “Thank you, James. I appreciate you always looking out for me.”
“Sure, Nylah. I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.” James left but he wasn’t far. I could hear his boots as he paced the corridor.
I stood and stretched, making a new coffee. Once I’d taken a few sips, I made my way toward the biker. He remained on the couch and smirked when I sat across from him, tucking my legs up as I got comfortable. “What’s your name?”
He seemed amused. “That’s your first question?”
“Yes,” I replied with attitude. “I don’t want to keep referring to you as freaky biker dude in my head.”
He chuckled, his humor nearly infectious. “Azrael,” he answered, “but everyone just shortens it to Rael.” Shrugging, Rael lifted his arms on the back of the couch as he leaned against the cushions and ticked his head in my direction. “What you want to know, kitten?”
That was the second time he called me that. Annoying. “Everything from the moment you found her until you arrived.”
“Well, I was sittin’ on my Harley, enjoying a smoke,” he began, and I rolled my eyes. “It was real quiet so close to dawn so it was easy to hear . . .” he paused and shook his head. “Let’s just say I knew someone was in danger. Didn’t sound right and I smelled smoke.” He held up a hand as I opened my mouth to ask a question. “No, it wasn’t from the cigarette. Anyway, I decided to follow the noise and stumbled upon a few college kids that were . . .” he didn’t finish. Rubbing the back of his neck, he seemed hesitant to share the details.
“Go ahead. It’s not like I didn’t already figure it out,” I whispered, swallowing hard.
“They had a bottle of lighter fluid and a zippo. Her right arm was burning when I showed up and prevented something much worse.” His eyes remained locked on mine, never wavering. “I got pissed and made sure the fire was out before I took those three motherfuckers down. Kicked their asses and left them in pain.” A satisfied look spread across his macabre features.
“Are they dead?”
“You want the truth or what I told the cops? Cause it don’t matter to me, honey. I’ll tell you what you want to hear to sleep better at night, but you should know that if you repeat our conversation it’s only hearsay and I’ll deny any culpability.”
Right. I wasn’t going to tell the cops what he did. Personally, I hoped they were thrown into the middle of the desert and left to rot for what they did to my sister. “I honestly don’t care,” I admitted, “but I want to know they suffered for what they did to her.”
“They’re gonna suffer for a long, long time, Nylah.”
I believed him and it should have been shocking, but it wasn’t. I only felt relieved that they couldn’t come back to finish what they started. “Why did random college guys hurt my sister? It doesn’t make sense. They aren’t her usual crowd.” I didn’t elaborate on the drugs and how her life had drastically changed the last few years. I barely knew Naomi anymore.
“I’m not so sure it was random.”
That statement made my skin crawl. “What are you saying?”
“How many college kids get too drunk and rape a girl? It’s disgusting but not unheard of.” I sadly agreed. “But how many light a girl on fire and watch her burn afterward? It wasn’t a drunken crime of passion or a reckless accident. They acted like they were paid to do it.”
Why was he telling me this? “Did you mention that to the cops?”
“I did.”
