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It had been a long time since I had felt this kind of pain. I reached up to touch my throat only to have my hand tapped by the doctor examining me.
“You will experience a significant amount of pain and bruising. We’re giving you a shot to help with that, and I’ll leave you a prescription to take over the next few days while you’re healing.”
I nodded that I understood. Rafe had really known what he was talking about when he predicted that I wouldn’t be able to talk soon. Luckily, he’d called for a doctor as soon as he’d gotten me to safety because my throat had swollen so much I’d feared I wouldn’t be able to breathe.
“Did you have any questions for me?” The doctor held out the notepad we’d been using so I could respond to his questions.
I’d already forgotten his name, but he was handsome with kind eyes. Rafe had mentioned something about a helicopter, so I could only imagine that he’d had to fly him in from somewhere. He hadn’t looked at all surprised when he arrived to find Rafe with a woman who looked like she’d been beaten.
I couldn’t help wondering what his usual patients looked like. Did he only work on shady underworld characters? Just what kind of doctor was he?
After I shook my head that I didn’t have any other questions, the doctor turned away to clean up the syringe he’d used to give me the shot and the gauze he’d used to wipe up the blood.
“How is she doing, Doc?” Rafe appeared in the doorway. He’d changed his shirt since the one he was wearing earlier had blood on it.
Blood from the slice on his neck that he’d gotten saving my life.
I couldn’t imagine why he’d go to so much trouble for me. If things had been reversed and someone had stolen from me and kicked me in the balls, I’d have dropped them off at the nearest emergency room and never looked back. But Rafe didn’t even seem all that angry with me. Maybe seeing me almost get killed had made him sentimental.
Shame swept through me, and I couldn’t even meet his eyes. The whole time he talked to the doctor in soft tones, he kept glancing over at me. I could only imagine what he was thinking, that I was nothing but trouble and probably way more work than I was worth.
Rafe had been so open with me, and the downside of that was I couldn’t pretend not to know how he felt. Rafe had been in the trenches for a long time. The only thing he really wanted was to live a normal life. A safe life. The kind of life where he didn’t have to worry about people trying to kill him and where he could go visit his sister and be an uncle to her baby. Even if he said the right things, I knew the truth.
Rafe didn’t want this headache in his life. I was nothing more than walking, talking baggage. Hunted by my own family and descended from a monster. What could I possibly offer him other than a mess?
After another few minutes, Rafe clapped the doctor on the back. “Thanks for coming so quickly, Dr. Breckner. I appreciate it.”
“Anything for Blake Security. Keep an eye on that bruising.” With a friendly wave for me, the doctor left.
I moved over slightly so Rafe could sit next to me on the bed. His fingers touched my cheek gently. When I tried to kiss his cheek, he turned away. I blinked back tears. I shouldn’t be surprised. Rafe had every reason to be completely over this relationship. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt that he’d gotten over me that fast. He didn’t even want to say goodbye?
“Don’t cry. I don’t like it.” Rafe thumbed away the tears on my cheeks. I tried to wrench my face out of his hands, but his fingers were threaded too tightly into my hair.
He looked me square in the eye. “I know what you’re thinking.” I rolled my eyes, and he laughed. “Your face is an open book. It’s not a rejection. I just don’t want to hurt you.”
I nodded, but it pissed me off that he could read my every thought on my face. There were so many things I could never share with him, mainly for his own safety. It didn’t stop me from wishing things were different though. I could only imagine a world where I could tell him everything and he could do the same. It was a level of trust that I’d never even dreamed of having with a man.
He continued. “I’ll always want you, Diana. But more than that, I want you to trust me. I know there’s so much more that you haven’t told me. Who were those guys? What did they want? How did they find you?”
When I turned my face away, Rafe blew out a breath. “You’re not ready to tell me those things.Yet. But I hope that one day you will. I’m going to show you that you can trust me. But first we need to get you in bed.”
I shook my head violently at the thought of being vulnerable while I slept. There was no way to know where Hans and Jakob were right now. Were they planning another attack? What if they came while we were asleep? All the agitation made my blood pulse, and I instinctively put a hand to my throat.
“Hey, take it easy. No one is going to get to you here. Not on my watch. I’ve got it covered. Unless you anticipate them coming back with an army? You would know better than I would.” He looked at me pointedly.
I shook my head. Hans and Jakob wouldn’t dare involve anyone else. They considered this a personal family matter. They had two objectives: to get me back to marry Boris and to get that diamond. They’d be pissed that I’d slipped them, but they wouldn’t think I’d warrant an army. After all, I was ultimately disposable. Besides, they’d be too afraid their enemies would try to cut a side deal and get the Jewel of the Sea for themselves.
“Good. With the hurting I put on those two, they aren’t mounting any attacks tonight. If they do, this time I won’t hesitate to take them out.”
I shivered at the thought. I should probably feel a little more than apathy at the thought of my brothers being killed, but after the sick things Hans had told me today, I didn’t know what to think. He’d wanted to sell me. And not to any Russian oligarch. To Boris. I’d seen the kinds of horrors Boris partook in. The things he did to women.
That any man could do that to any woman was terrible enough, but the fact that Hans wanted to do that to his own flesh and blood? It was a close call, but my brothers were almost as bad as my father.No. They’re worse. At least my father did it for money. They seemed to get off on the idea.
What kind of monsters had my father raised? And what the hell did that say about me? It wasn’t just for his safety that I didn’t want Rafe to know the men we’d encountered earlier were my brothers. There was a part of me that hated the idea of him thinking I was anything like the rest of my twisted family. Right now I was just Diana, the girl he’d rescued and wanted to protect. If I had my way, he’d never know me as anything else.
The idea took root, and I wondered if it could be that simple. Could this be a new beginning for me? Luckily, I’d been smart enough to start socking my money away in untraceable accounts, something my father had encouraged me to do. But Rafe could help me set up a whole new identity, to disappear for real. This Diana could be my future, if I was brave enough to take a chance.
Rafe lifted me carefully and then set me on my feet in the bathroom. He turned on the shower and then yanked his shirt over his head. I pulled my own shirt off carefully, trying not to make contact with my neck. Once we were both nude, I followed Rafe into the shower and stood, docile as a child, while he washed me.
