Chapter Forty-four
I smooth the hands down the front of my black dress, my hair pulled up in a tight bun and the heels on my feet pinch. The cast on my arm looks out of place with the outfit and I know Daphne will make a comment about appearances though not sure what she wants me to do about a literal broken arm.
My driver will be here in less than five minutes.
I haven’t quite decided about how I feel going to a funeral for a man I don’t remember. It’s clear we knew each other but how far did that go beyond the video? I mean it was only recorded a couple months ago so I highly doubt we formed a solid friendship after that. I don’t know, it’s giving me a gross kind of feeling .
A knock on my door stops my thoughts so I grab my purse and head for it, expecting to see my driver waiting but find Killian instead. I’d told him about the funeral after I’d woken up on his lap and found him asleep too. It hadn’t been for long; he woke shortly after I did and practically jumped to the other side of the room before he demanded to know the details of the funeral and then left. I hadn’t seen him since.
Until now.
“What are you doing here?”
My body warms as his eyes drop down me in a way I’ve never seen him look at me before. It’s heated. Appreciative.
“The funeral,” He cocks a brow.
“I am aware of where I am going but why are you here?”
“Because I am coming with you,” He tells me, matter of fact, “Let’s go.”
“Wait,” I chase after him as he starts to walk to his car. The black SUV of my driver pulls up to the sidewalk just as I catch up to him.
Mark, my usual driver steps out and frowns, “Miss Levine?”
“Just a minute, Mark,” I tell him.
“No need,” Killian glances his way, “She’s riding with me.”
What in the actual fuck is going on ?
“Wait!” I call out.
Killian flicks his eyes to me and quirks a brow, practically begging me to fight him. “Why?” Is all I ask.
“Because I can,” He replies and opens the passenger door.
“Miss Levine?” Mark goes to step closer, but I shake my head.
“It’s fine,” I tell him, “I’m sorry you came out all this way.”
Mark doesn’t seem convinced and glances warily at Killian, “I’ll follow, Miss Levine.”
Killian chuckles softly but remains silent otherwise, waiting for me to get into the car.
“Okay,” I give Mark a smile and climb into the Audi, the door vibrating as Killian slams it shut. I follow him as he rounds the hood and then gets in behind the wheel, the engine roaring to life a moment later.
The SUV follows us as we pull away from the sidewalk and I turn to face Killian who drives the Audi with one hand and rests the other on top of his thigh, fingers curled into his palm. “What are you doing, Killian?” I ask him softly. This is beyond my brother asking him to look after me. This doesn’t seem like that. My brother is absolutely overbearing but this much?
And why Killian?
“Attending a funeral,” He states .
“I need answers.” I snap at him.
His dark eyes slide to me, meeting mine before they drop to the bare leg I have on show where my dress has ridden up. My skin pebbles as if he’s physically touched me.
A flash of images assaults me again, a spine pressed to a wall, hands cupping a jaw as tongues meet and thrash, hair being tugged before things turn softer, a caress, a fleeting whisper of fingers on a cheek, a touch under a table.
Tears prick my eyes.
“What is it?” Killian demands, mood shifting within the small space inside the car.
I shake my head, “I don’t know.”
“Are you in pain?” The car starts to slow.
“No, I’m fine.” I squeeze my eyes closed as I push away the thoughts. They make no sense but feel so real, like they belong to me but in a different lifetime.
“I’ll turn around,” Killian says, flicking his blinker on.
“No!” I lurch forward, grasping his wrist as if I can stop him, “No I’m fine.”
His eyes narrow, “Savannah.”
“I promise.”
I can tell he doesn’t believe me. I don’t believe myself either. But how do I explain it? This intense yearning, this desperate need for something that isn’t mine.
He lets out an aggravated sigh but turns off the blinker and continues on the way to the cemetery, pulling into the lot ten minutes later. There’s cameras and news crews and a whole crowd of people, all waiting at the black iron gates to be let in to watch Adrien be buried.
“You want to leave,” Killian turns to me, “We leave, you hear me?”
I nod mutely.
His dark eyes flick around my face and he opens his mouth to say something else, but then his teeth snap shut and his jaw clenches before he shoves open his door and slams it shut behind him. The man gives me whiplash.
He pauses for a few seconds and then rounds the hood, coming to my door to open it and offer me his hand which I take gratefully.
Immediately, a swarm of journalists rush toward me, shoving mics and cameras in my face.
“Is it true you have lost your memory?” One of them yells.
“Reports show you went on a date with Adrien before he died, is this true? What was your relationship with him?”
“Your injuries were severe; do you still have a career in dance? ”
“Who is your date?”
“Savannah!”
Killian shoves his body in front of mine, his hand coming around to cradle the back of my skull and pull me into his chest as question after question I cannot answer is rapid fired in my direction.
“I’ve got you,” Killian whispers, loud enough only I can hear.
My hands curl into the edges of his jacket. He’s warm and he’s safe and my whole body, hell my fucking soul feels at home here.
“Get the fuck back!” He roars, “If you don’t move that fucking camera, I’ll shove it down your throat, do you hear me? I’ll give you a real intimate interview with your fucking insides.”
His arm tightens around me.
But they don’t move, his threats rolling off them like water. They continue to yell questions at me, but their voices are muffled as I press my ear to Killian’s chest and listen to the steady and strong beat of his heart. It’s a melody, like listening to rain on a tin roof or your favorite song in the dark when no one else is around.
Safe.
I am safe.
“That’s enough!” I hear a yell, “I didn’t approve any questions! ”
Daphne shoves through the crowd of paparazzi, pushing them out of the way, “Savannah, darling, why didn’t you come in through the back?”
Killian releases me but only by a little, “The back?”
“Mark had instructions to bring you in through the private entrance, I knew this would happen.”
“Mark didn’t bring me.”
“Well, why not?” She huffs before her eyes flick to Killian, and she takes him in. My hackles immediately go up when I see she likes what she is looking at.
“Well, who are you?” She gives him a flirty smile.
Killian is tense, his body rigid against mine and I subtly turn my face to see his, noting his expression is less welcoming and more thunderous as he glares at my agent, “To you?” He scoffs, “No one.”
“Well, aren’t you just a bundle of brooding deliciousness,” She flutters her lashes, “The press will eat this up.”
“Eat what up?” I demand.
“This,” She flicks her manicured finger between us, “Whatever this is. Bodyguard romance, am I right? You should have told me you’d hired security, Savannah,” She tuts at me, “Though I’m a little annoyed you didn’t at least give me a heads up.”
“He isn’t my bodyguard,” I snap at her. “He’s a friend.”
“A friend,” She nods and smirks, “Right.”
His arm is still banded around me, “Can we just get this over with?”
“You could have been in and seated right now if you had just followed basic instruction,” Daphne purses her lips, “Come along.”
The ground is shaking under me. Wait no, not the ground, Killian is shaking, and his expression is no longer thunderous, it’s murderous.
Flashes of images suddenly take over, consuming my brain in a way that paralyzes me to the spot.
I came all this way to get what you owe me.
The words are inside my head, but it feels as if they’ve been blasted from the loudest speakers. I’m running, terrified, knowing what is about to happen and he’s chasing me. Adrien is chasing me. He wants me and I’m all alone.
A hand wraps around my ankle, and I hit the ground hard, pain flaring through my body on impact and then I’m being dragged, my body bumping down each step until I reach the bottom. He presses me into the ground, trapping my arms beneath him and even though I thrash and fight, I can’t get him off.
A scream rips from my throat as he tugs at his zipper and my clothes, attempting to take what is not his. My eyes squeeze closed, a wish, a prayer that this isn’t real, this isn’t happening but then the weight is suddenly gone and a loud crash booms through my head .
‘How fucking dare you touch her! I am going to rip you apart!’
“Savannah!” A violent shake releases me from the clutches of the nightmare. My vision swims as I turn my wide eyes to Killian who is cradling my face, his eyes soft and full of concern as his thumbs draw soft circles on my cheeks, “Come back, Tiny Dancer.”
“You killed him,” I breathe the words as I stare up into his devastatingly handsome face.
The truth falls from me, a tidal wave that forces shutters to come down over his face.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he tried to hurt you.” His hands drop, leaving the space they occupied cold.
I have so many questions, so many intense feelings whirling inside of me and yet none of them is fear. I’m not scared of Killian. I know who he is.
I open my mouth to demand answers, but he begins to walk away, “Let’s go, Savannah, the service is about to begin.”