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Rick catches up to me in a couple of strides, reaching the car before me and opening the door. I give him a nod of thanks, which was a bad move considering the pain the jarring movement causes me, and I climb into the car.
The light from inside the car causes me to wince slightly, but it does allow me to get a better glimpse of Rick as he climbs in beside me.
He turns to look at me, and I get a clearer look at his face. He’s gorgeous, with an angular jawline covered in a dark scruff that frames full lips with a prominent cupid’s bow. But those eyes? They are beautiful. The colour of etched glass with the barest hint of a green hue in them. They captivate me, and I turn away quickly not wanting him to catch me looking. I realise he reminds me of someone, but I brush the errant thought aside, not wanting to think aboutthatsomeone.
Rick begins to drive, and I rest my head back, closing my eyes to try and get some relief from this insistent head pounding.
I keep my eyes closed until we hit the main road and light streams in intermittently from the streetlights. There’s a small tug of resistance as I raise my head, and I lift a hand to the back of my head to feel matted hair and stickiness, obviously blood.
“Looks like you banged your head pretty hard. How are you feeling?” Rick asks, eyeing me from the driver’s seat.
“Like I took a bang to the head, surprisingly enough,” I retort without thought for how much of a bitch I sound. Sorry sits on the tip of my tongue, but I keep it in.
“Fair enough. Shouldn’t be much longer. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about what happened?”
“If I say no, will it stop you from asking?”
Rick looks over at me, and I raise a brow. “No, it won’t. Is there a particular reason, other than the obvious, why you don’t want to talk about it?”
“Are you a cop?” I ask, but already knowing the answer.
He barks out a laugh before asking a question of his own. “Is that a serious question or are you just delaying my other questions?”
“At the risk of sounding like a complete hypocrite, do you always answer a question with a question?”
Rick shakes his head. “No, I’m not a cop, but you knew that, and no, I’m not in the habit of answering a question with a question, only when I have someone making my job difficult. Happy now?”
“Hardly. Go ahead and ask your questions, but I can’t promise I’ll answer them.”
“Okay, fine. Can you tell me what happened the day you were taken?”
I sigh, knowing that there’s no way to avoid all these questions, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Especially, knowing that Lottie’s life is going to be changed forever. I just hope she doesn’t blame me the way her father obviously does.
“It was the same as any other Saturday. Lottie’s diary is pretty hectic, especially on the weekends. We’d just finished an interview with some designer that wanted Lottie to market their new fashion line. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and I’ve attended plenty of similar meetings with her. On the way home she was on her phone, not unusual for her given her job, but after she received a message, she asked the driver to stop at a building just off Soho Square. I wasn’t happy about the unscheduled stop, but she insisted it was important.
“When we arrived, she pushed the intercom, and we were buzzed straight in. The rest of the building seemed to be empty, and the lift was out of order, so we climbed the stairs to the second floor. As soon as we entered the room, I knew something was off, but it was too late. Before I had a chance to react, someone jabbed a needle in my neck, and I was out within seconds.”
“Were you able to get a look at anyone?”
“No. Lottie was ahead of me when we entered the room. Despite my hesitation over the whole thing, she seemed excited and knew where she was going.” I watch and wait for him to question why I let her go ahead of me, but he doesn’t even bat an eye.
“And what about the men who were holding you? You said the man’s name was Raul, but what about the other man in the room, who was he?”
“Jorge. He said his name was Jorge, but I don’t know anything more. Today was the first time I’ve seen him. Your arrival put paid to whatever he wanted to talk to me about.”
Before Rick can ask any more questions, his phone rings as we turn into the road for the hospital.
I watch as he checks the caller ID, then cancels the call before continuing to the car park, where he parks in the closest space available.
Without a word he exits the car, coming round to open the door for me. I wince, my back and head smarting, as I climb from the car.
Rick’s phone begins to ring again, but he ignores it and walks towards the entrance.
Once inside, he bypasses the reception desk and heads for the lift as though he knows exactly where he’s going.
Several heads turn our way as we pass by, and I’m not surprised. The one thing I’m thankful for is the dark clothing of my uniform that hides the abundance of blood I know is splattered all over me. There isn’t much I can do to hide the bloody and matted mess of my hair though.
As we begin the ascent in the lift, I can no longer stand the silence.
