AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is Henrick, the construction worker you’ve been seeing, with you when you fall asleep?” I can barely hold back the venom in my voice.
She gives a slight nod. “I’ve already asked him. Henrick says I’m a wild sleeper and go to the bathroom a few times during the night and how I knock into walls sleepwalking. He mentioned he woke up a few times because of the loud banging. Like I said. I should go see a doc, right?”
I look at Sonnet but she holds the same anger I share and I’m not liking Ramona’s thin voice. She’s one of the strongest females I know and to see her like this alerts all my spider senses.
“Ramona,” I carefully start. “In all the years we’ve known you, fell asleep in the same room or on the couch while many of us are awake…we would have noticed something. This doesn’t sound like you at all. And to suddenly start to sleepwalk and knock into walls and shit? I think you should swing by the clinic all right, but you need to have your bloodwork done. Make sure they test for any type of drugs as well.”
Her eyes go wide. “What? I don’t do drugs, never have, never will.”
“I think what our VP is trying to say, and I fully agree, is that you might be drugged right before you go to sleep,” Sonnet carefully states.
Fear overtakes her face and she falls back into her chair. She slaps her hands over her face and mutters, “I’ve been waking up sore but I just thought…oh, shit. Oh, fuck. Oh…oh, no. My God…no.”
I gently wrap my fingers around her wrists and stroke my thumbs along her pulse. “Sonnet, would you mind calling the doctor and have her swing by to take her blood to speed things up? I think it’s better than swinging by the clinic.”
Sonnet shoves her chair back, grabs her phone and walks to the other side of the room while I stand to get closer to Ramona and squat down next to her chair.
“Look at me, Mona,” I order.
Her hands fall from her face.
“Playtime with Henrick ends now. I’m going to make sure one of us stays with you during the night so he won’t get to you. Whatever is going on we’re going to end it, okay?”
Fuck. The lifeless stare she gives me is unlike Ramona.
“Can’t we install a camera?” she suddenly blurts. “Why didn’t I think of this sooner? Can we do it? He’s coming over tonight. I can catch him on video and see what he does. I need to know, Medley. I need to see what happens when I’m…I need–” She falls silent but I know exactly what she means by those words.
“Doc is on her way,” Sonnet announces. “And I hate to say it…but I agree with Ramona. We have to catch the fucker in the act. Who knows what he does, how he does it, and for how long he’s been doing it.”
“Make it happen but do it quick.” I glance at my watch. “What time does Henrick usually swing by your room?”
“Ten,” Ramona says, her voice holding a slight tremor.
Sonnet meets my gaze. “I think Zoanne still has that bear with the camera inside its belly. It has a recording mechanism which only allows to record for four hours. I guess it will have to do.”
“Handle it,” I order and wait till Sonnet slips out of the room to focus on Ramona and talk to her some more.
My beer is long forgotten and a new goal has overtaken my sore muscles and tired brain. I won’t rest until I’ve found out exactly what’s going on with Ramona. Fucking hell, right under our own damn roof.
I shove my anger down and focus on the woman who needs support and understanding, along with a load of strength to pull through. For a second, I hope there’s another logical explanation but deep down I know the truth; Henrick is taking advantage of her while she sleeps.
CHAPTER TWO
Three days later
– IVAR –
I park my bike and hit the kickstand as I glance around. Even after all these years–since the incident that caused the loss of eighty percent of my hearing–I miss the sounds of nature when I take in my surroundings.
Something as simple as background noise is taken for granted when you’re not confronted by the loss of it. I guess I should feel lucky I’m still able to hear a small fragment when someone places his mouth right next to my ear and speaks directly into it.
Hearing aids aren’t an option for me. I fucking hated them and they also caused skin irritation. Besides, I’ve always been observant, it’s not that hard to interpret the look on someone’s face. And catching a word or a short phrase by watching the movement of the lips is something I’m familiar with when you have to stay quiet in life or death situations.
Over the years I’ve learned to expand my abilities and adjust because really; when you take another road life hands you there is no other choice but to move on. Which basically means I learned how to flawlessly read lips and people’s expression along with body language to make it easier to fit right in and hear in a different way.
Well, maybe not flawlessly because a lot of it depends on perception and it’s a bit lacking if people move, turn their head or speak when they’re not facing me. So, yeah, there’s nothing flawless about it but I manage.
Swinging my leg off, I unbuckle my helmet and place it on my bike. Another reason why hearing aids are not for me because of the helmet. Though they are made very tiny these days, but like I said, I manage to live my life just fine. During business meetings I usually go for a limousine but I won’t give up riding my bike for anything; it might just be the only thing my stepfather and I had in common; the love for riding a motorcycle.
