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“I’ll get the information,” I said. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.
“Bene.You find him, Deo.”
“I will,Papà. And when I do, he’s going to die a slow and painful death.”
My father made another noise in his throat, but this one was filled with approval.
I hung up the phone, slipped it back into my jacket, and peeled myself off of the seat. Blood had soaked right through my shirt and jacket, making the latter try to stick to the leather.
When I got out of the SUV and opened the rear passenger door, it struck me for the first time how small and fragile the woman looked, her dark lashes fanned out across her porcelain skin, her plump lips just barely parted as another quiet sound slipped out.
The warring urges to protect something so delicate-looking and to tie her up and use her in every deplorable way made my head spin. Or maybe that was a combination of blood loss and hunger. Maybe it was both.
I lifted her up off the seat and into my arms. Even with my back aching like a son of a bitch, her weight was nothing.
I carried her inside the cabin where the hardwood floors gleamed and the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room offered a wide view of the property. No blind spots.
The cabin was cleaned and restocked regularly, but no one had stayed here in quite some time. Years, maybe, since we’d made use of the cabin’s isolated location and the soundproof basement beneath it.
With more care than I thought I had in me, I laid Heidi down on the leather sofa across from the hearth, supporting her head. I stood back and watched as her eyelids fluttered, then finally opened, signaling her return to consciousness.
As she gradually regained her senses, her gaze darted around the unfamiliar surroundings. Confusion etched itself across her face as I could see her trying to piece together the events that had led her here.
Finally, her eyes locked with mine, flaring with heat before her brain fit the last puzzle piece into place.
The heat vanished. A mixture of fear and defiance swirled in her eyes instead. Storm clouds rising in those blue-flecked eyes.
She jerked herself upright, but the moment she did, she winced and grabbed her head like she was trying to hold it together.
“What did you do?” she groaned.
I shrugged, once again donning the “creatively misunderstood” man she’d met back at Bianchi’s apartment. “I solved a problem,” I explained simply.
She glared at me, hands still clamped to the sides of her head. “Is that how you solve all your problems with women? Drug them?”
It was meant to be sarcastic, but I could hear the genuine, fear-filled question in her tone. I imagine part of her was wondering if I brought other women here, maybe hacked them to pieces out on the back deck. I could work with that.
“I prefer handcuffs, but when the situation calls for it…” I said, allowing the thought to dangle out there in the air. I needed her scared.
And I also needed to do something about the damned stab wound in my back.
I grabbed the elaborate medical kit we kept in the coffee table in front of the sofa and tossed it down next to her.
“You’re going to fix this,” I said simply.
A mix of surprise and defiance flashed across her face. I watched as she mustered her snarkiest expression. “And what makes you think I’d help you with a bloody thing, you prat?” she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
I couldn’t help but smirk at her audacity. She was a firecracker, that was for sure. I gestured to the seeping wound on my back, evidence of her failed attempt to defend herself.
“Well, you see, when you so kindly stabbed me in the back—not actually a nice thing to do, by the way—you managed to give me quite the souvenir,” I replied, taking off my jacket and showing her the bleeding proof of her handiwork. “I’dappreciate itif you stitched it up.”
Her eyes flared with satisfaction. “Stitch your own wounds,” she suggested matter-of-factly.
I chuckled, appreciating her stubbornness. “I would if I could reach,” I replied, a mischievous glint in my eyes. “But I’m afraid I’m not much of a contortionist. I saw a show once,” I said, waggling my brows. “The woman really had no use for a man with all the places she could reach.”
Heidi scoffed. “Then I suppose you’ll just have to keep bleeding. Don’t worry; I’m sure it’ll fester quickly.”
She looked very satisfied with that idea.
