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“I didn’t mean to,” he says in a small voice and Nurse Elaine huffs in annoyance.
“I’ll be fucking myself it appears,” she says as she rolls her eyes, flouncing out of the room. Eric chases her on apology, asking if she’ll ride his face instead, trying to tuck his flaccid dick back into his pants. Ugh, gross.
“I’ll leave you to it, then. You can let yourself out. I do want to caution you, in case you have any ideas about taking her for yourself,” Xav says as he purses his lips, picking up a knife that he was dropping and putting it away. “There’s a kill switch under her skin, so if you try to take her from here, it’ll kill her,” he explains. Xav studiously avoids my eyes and I push, because I need to know if he’s telling the truth right now.
“You’ve poured so much time and energy into her, it would be a shame if there was a fire and someone tried to save her by removing her from the building,” I state, pressing my lips together to hide the bark of unamused laughter threatening to burst out as his eyes fly to mine.
“Well, no. Of course it wouldn’t trigger on the grounds,” Xav sputters, his eyes wide in surprise that I would think like this. But honestly, if he has a kill switch on her, what are the parameters? Can they be changed if he wants to take her out of the hospital? It doesn’t make sense to do this if he wants to turn her into a weapon.
“Lennon is beautiful, and I want to protect my investment. I would rather no one have her if I can’t use her.”
Xav has a tell when he lies. He fists his hand tightly, and makes sure to give perfect eye contact. It’s not someone’s usual tell, which is why it would be so easy to overlook. I’m not just anyone though, and wonder which part of what he said is a lie. I won’t be rescuing Lennon today, but very very soon. I can’t have Xav coming for us, or worse yet, end up wearing her brains because I tried to take her too soon. Derek would never forgive me for it. No, when she leaves, I need to be able to know she’ll be as safe as possible.
Beginning to unstrap Lennon’s legs as if there’s not a cacophony of thoughts racing through my brain, I twist my lips. It’s not quite a smirk, but close. “It makes sense to have a failsafe on the girl. As you said, you’ve worked hard to get her here.”
Untying the bindings to Lennon’s arms, I catch her in my arms as she begins to fall. “Will you show me where the bathroom and her room is before you leave for the night?” I ask politely.
Continuing to brood, I prop her up enough that I won’t hit her head on anything. Xav doesn’t know what to make of me, and I enjoy seeing his discomfort. By the same token, I need to seem to be as much Grant’s man and weapon as possible.
I don’t comment on Lennon’s state of undress because there’s no one to see her, and I’m going straight to bathe her. It’s freezing in this hospital, though, and I don’t remember it being this cold when I first arrived.
“Yes,” he says, pulling himself from his thoughts. “I’ll show you where everything is on this side of the hospital. Nurse Elaine showed you the front area, correct?”
I nod as I follow him out of the room where I imagine Lennon spends a lot of her time in. Where else would she be when everything is so sterile on this side of the hospital? “Yes, I noticed the strategic change in decor between the two sides,” I respond diplomatically and Xav nods.
“There’s no reason to spend money on decor in the clinical research side of this facility,” he explains with a shrug. “These four rooms are all set up exactly like the room we treated Miss Lennon in.” Xav waves at the sterile white rooms, some are password protected and others aren’t. “To the right are the large shared bathrooms, but everyone is tucked into their cells for the night. You won’t be bothered by anyone.”
My brain whirls as I realize it’s common knowledge that Lennon is a prisoner here. No one is hiding anything on this side of the hospital, and I wonder what the requirements to being hired at this facility are.
“Miss Lennon,” Xav continues as we step into the bathroom, “may wake up while you’re bathing her. Here are tools in case you need them.” He waves a cart that sits in the middle of the room. “Nurse Elaine usually forces these pills down her throat so she can’t move or talk, and the ward very much thanks her when I work into the night with Miss Lennon. She’s a fighter, as you saw. There are also tranquilizers, zip ties, and other knick knacks,” he mutters blasely.
“On the second shelf you’ll find wipes, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I have been meaning to do something with this horrid purple hair, so if you wouldn’t mind washing it thoroughly and combing through it, the staff would be appreciative. Any questions?”
The entire time, Xav has a tight smile on his face, but it’s clear he’s ready to get the fuck out of the hospital for the night.
“None, except where her room is? And clothes?” I ask. I’m surprised none of these things occurred to him, but he doesn’t have to deal with the day to day things for “patients”.
“Oh, that,” he mutters. I have to hold in a growl, allowing myself the pleasure of fantasizing about grabbing the scalpel on the tray and seeing how many different ways I can make him scream. “There should be some clothes in that closet over there and straightjackets,” Xav explains with a hurried wave. “And her cell is number five as you walk down the hall. Enter the numbers 01674 and that’ll allow you in and out of it.”
Looking over my shoulder, I make sure I can see him still in the reflection of the mirror. I don’t trust this man at all, no matter how safe I should be while I’m here. Sure enough, I see three closets on the other side of the room. “Great, we should be all set,” I begin to say as I turn around, but Xav is already hurrying from the room, the door slamming soon after.
Sighing, I look down at the gorgeous, strong girl in my arms. “Fuck,” I mutter. “What am I going to do with you now?”
I’ve never bathed anyone before other than myself, so this is going to be an interesting experience, I just couldn’t bring myself to let someone else hurt her anymore. Walking over to the tub, I figure that may be the easiest way to do this. I turn it on by bracing my boot on the side of the tub so I can continue to hold her close to me while doing this. I’ve done enough damage today, the last thing I need to do is drop her or something.
God, how did I get myself into this situation? The tub fills quickly, and I look over my shoulder to where the cart is just out of reach. Lifting her back into my arms, instead of resting her on my leg, I walk over to the cart and push it gently with my knee. Sighing in relief that I didn’t push too hard, I am glad my shirtsleeves are already rolled up.
I should test the water right?Nodding to myself, I reach in and touch it. Hissing because it’s too hot, I switch to cold water. Damn, I’m totally going to maim or drown this woman. The entire time, she sleeps deeply, and I have to ask myself when she was last able to sleep.
If I read between the lines of Xav’s plans for her, he enjoys waking her up with loud music to traumatize her with. “He’s such a bastard,” I whisper as I test the water, humming in approval that it won’t scald Lennon’s skin.
Gently I place her on the shelf seat in the tub, only to catch her as she begins to fall. “God fucking damnit,” I curse. Scooting over, I trap her between my thighs so she won’t topple over or under. Cursing under my breath at how silly this must look for a few moments, I become more engrossed in cleaning every single cut and scratch on her body. Lennon is still passed out to the world, her heartbeat even.
Why would she sleep so soundly when she’s spent weeks being traumatized?Unless… I am carefully washing her hair, laying her on a long bench that is above the water, when I stop and stare. Tracing her face, she leans into my touch. She doesn’t jump in terror, or move away screaming.
Why? I wish I understood people better. I also should have utilized this bench sooner, but I didn’t realize I could use it this way. Soon, Lennon is completely clean, and I bite my lip. Again, I didn’t plan well, and I have to leave her to go to the closet. What if she rolls off and into the water. “Fuck me,” I whisper. This is so much harder than I thought it would be.
Pulling the plug on the water in the tub, I whisper, “Please don’t move.” Turning quickly, I run for the closets, opening and looking at the contents. The first closet is filled with scrubs, the second is filled with tiny shorts, T-shirts, and panties, and the third is towels and what looks like shirts with ties. Are those the straightjackets she has to wear? Fuck no, she’s not wearing the tiny pathetic excuse for clothing I found in the second closet.
