6. Dahlia
Chapter six
Dahlia
T here were worse ways to spend an afternoon than chatting with a cute not-quite-FBI agent.
Asher and I ended up talking about genetically modified crops for a few hours, before he somehow changed topics and got me talking about the day I’d been abducted.
He did it so seamlessly, I couldn’t even be mad at him, and I found that it was a little easier to talk about it when it was him.
I tried to recall as many details of the day as I could, and whenever I faltered, he was there asking an innocuous question that helped dredge up some forgotten detail.
At some point they brought me food, plain toast and a fruit cup. According to the nurses, my stomach wasn’t ready for anything fancy just yet, so I had to ease my way into normal food again. I inhaled my sad-looking lunch with vigor, happy with anything that wasn’t gray sludge.
The nurses didn’t try to sedate me again, which was a relief. They did insist on giving me something for the pain though, and it made me feel pretty fuzzy. I was not sure when exactly I’d drifted off to sleep, but I woke up sometime in the early morning when it was still dark.
I hated the groggy feeling that the drugs gave me, not to mention the dry mouth. I leaned over to grab my cup of water off the nearby table, but my fingers stopped cooperating, and I ended up knocking it off the table. It clattered to the floor and splashed water everywhere.
“Fuck,” I mumbled and pushed off my blankets, crawling out of bed to grab the cup. Of course, I didn’t see any paper towels or anything, so I just grabbed a handful of tissue paper from a nearby box and tried my best to mop up the mess.
“Everything okay?” Asher asked, and I jumped up from the crouch I’d been in, knocking my head against the table. Hands caught me before I could do something dumber, like slip in the puddle and land on my ass. I rubbed my head and stood up more carefully.
“I was trying to clean up the water,” I explained, and we both looked at the soggy lumps of tissue now piled up on the floor.
“You don’t need to risk opening your stitches over a little water,” he told me, and I bristled at the hint of scolding in his tone.
“I’m not letting some poor nurse slip and injure themselves just because I’m clumsy,” I snapped, wrenching my arm out of his grasp.
He looked a little startled, then smiled apologetically.
“I just meant, you should ask me next time. I don’t mind cleaning up a tiny spill,” he explained, and I felt bad for snapping.
To further emphasize his point, he bent over and started scooping up the tissues.
I looked around to find a trash can for him, and yelped when I saw a face staring at me through the window in the door.
Asher dropped the mess and whirled for the door, stepping in front of me immediately.
I saw a flash of light and flinched instinctively, throwing my hands over my face.
Asher lunged for the door, clearing the space in the span of a heartbeat thanks to his long legs.
I was much slower, due to my fear and the stupid IV I was tethered to.
I shoved the door open and found Asher outside, pinning a man to the nurses’ counter, twisting his arm behind his back.
The man cried out in pain, swearing up a storm, and I saw a deadly look in Asher’s eyes that I didn’t think he had in him. “FBI!” he snapped. “Identify yourself.”
“Press! I’m press!” the guy yelled out. “I was sent to get photos of the Doll Maker’s last doll! I’m just doing my job man!”
The Doll Maker’s last Doll?
My stomach twisted, bile rising up in my throat. The man yelped again, and I saw Asher’s hand jerk his wrist up at an angle.
“I could charge you for interfering with an active investigation,” he explained coldly.
“But I think I’ll just take this into evidence and let you off with a warning.
” He jerked the guy’s camera away from him and shoved him away.
He turned and looked like he would come after his camera, but Asher just rested a hand on his gun, which was visible on his holster.
The guy muttered something under his breath and stormed away, rubbing his injured arm.
I retreated back into my room as Asher stormed back inside, still clutching the camera.
The nerdy doctor had disappeared, replaced by an imposing tower of simmering anger.
I eyed him nervously as he slammed the door and tossed the camera in the nearby trash can.
As soon as his eyes met mine, he softened and the tension melted away from his shoulders.
“I’m really sorry about this, but honestly it’s shocking that it took them this long to find you.
” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ll let Hunter know we need to leave earlier than planned.
” He began dialing as he spoke, wandering over to the corner to talk in a quiet, rushed voice.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, my stomach still rolling from what that man had said.
The door swung open and I flinched, but it was only the nurse from last night.
She looked concerned and shot Asher an irate glance before focusing back on me.
“Are you alright? You should get back into bed,” she told me, coming over to my side.
“Change of plans actually, Ms. Porter needs to be discharged immediately,” Asher announced, walking up to us. “Someone leaked her presence to the press, and I’m sure it’ll be absolute chaos here soon. For the sake of her safety and the safety of your other patients, we need to get her out of here.”
The nurse pursed her lips together, bristling at his tone.
Asher seemed to annoy a lot of people with that no-nonsense tone of his, which did sound quite cold and indifferent if you didn’t know any better.
I looked down at my bare feet and cringed.
“I don’t have any clothes or shoes,” I murmured, and they both looked at me.
“Oh damn, we got some things for you, but Hunter has them.” Asher winced, looking around the room. “Maybe you could borrow my shirt?” he offered, starting to unbutton the shirt he was wearing immediately. I bit back a laugh; his shirt was white and definitely wouldn’t cover much of anything.
“She can’t walk around in that, it’ll draw even more attention,” the nurse snapped and rolled her eyes. “Let me handle that, I’ll send my coworker in to take out your IV,” she told me gently. She looked at Asher and shook her head as she walked out, and he sheepishly buttoned his shirt back up.
“I swear, we had this planned better. We didn’t think they’d find you so quickly.
” He sighed, and grabbed his bag off the floor, digging through it while muttering to himself.
Another nurse came in, and she helped to take my IV out, bandaging my hand with care.
She also checked my bandages on my back, making sure that nothing had torn from when I was moving around.
My original nurse came in just as she was finishing up, a set of scrubs in her hands, as well as a pair of green slip-on shoes I’d seen a lot of the nurses wearing.
“Here we go, this should do you for now. Don’t worry, they’re clean.
” She smiled and pulled the curtain closed around us, leaving Asher on the other side.
Carefully, she helped me out of the hospital gown and slipped the scrub top over my head.
I didn’t have full range of movement yet, not with my back all stitched up, so it took a minute to get my arms through.
The pants were easier, and she helped me cinch up the draw string so they wouldn’t slip down while I walked.
“You need some meat on you girl,” she tutted, and I blushed.
I used to have hips, but eating one meal a day for months had carved away at them, I felt uncomfortably bony now.
“Alright, that should get you out the door at least, and they shouldn’t recognize you dressed as one of us.
” She smiled, and I slipped on the shoes, which were surprisingly comfortable.
She ripped open the curtain, startling Asher, who was waiting with his back to us, staring at the door.
“You, on the other hand, still look like a fed.” She sighed and pulled at his shirt, startling him further.
I tried not to laugh as she manhandled him, untucking his shirt and undoing a couple buttons to make him look a little more casual.
Asher, to his credit, said nothing, and let her roll up his sleeves, exposing his toned forearms. “Here, I snagged this from the gift shop,” she told him, setting a ball cap with the logo of a football team on it.
The hat made Asher look oddly adorable, and it was impossible to reconcile this man with the one I had just witnessed nearly breaking a guy’s arm in the hallway.
“Here are some pain meds. Your back is still healing, so please take it easy, sitting and laying down whenever possible,” she instructed, holding out a pill bottle.
“You need to stay hydrated and eat. Regularly. And not just snacks either, actual meals.” She shot Asher a glance over her shoulder, and he nodded quickly.
“Take it slow, nothing too rich at first, or you’ll get sick.
” She turned back and smiled at me, touching my arm softly.
“You are a survivor,” she told me, and I felt my eyes prickle with tears.
I gave her a small smile in return, trying not to cry in front of this nice lady.
“You can take the back way out, using the service elevators. It’ll let you out through the ambulance bay so you can bypass the main doors,” she explained to Asher.
“I’ll show you where they are.” She gestured for us to follow, and Asher grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, obscuring his gun and badge from view.