Chapter Five
Haley
“How are you feeling, Miss Austen?”
My eyes opened slowly, hesitant of the sunlight I might face, but the room was dim.
The curtains remained shut in the room Collin put me in three weeks ago.
It was dark—just like him, with warm tones throughout.
The bed was in the far corner of the room, catty-cornered and facing the door.
I had an IV hooked up to my right hand for fluid intake, but the monitors were taken out last week.
Days flew by, and every day, I asked to see Kay.
I knew she was here. I had heard some of the staff talking about her when they came in to check on me or clean.
Usually, I would pretend to be asleep, but I heard every word. They referred to her as “the pretty blonde” or “Boss’s favorite”, but nothing about a man. Nothing about Kevin Matthews, which meant he wasn’t here.
Bella, his house maid, was standing by the bed with a tray in her hands. I nodded. “I’m better. Thank you, Bella.”
She blinked, somewhat shocked that I treated her with basic human dignity. I watched as she stepped forward, placing the tray on the bedside table. Food. My stomach rumbled as the smell greeted me, the first time I had felt hunger in weeks. I tried to sit up, but she stopped me.
“Miss Austen, you must be careful.” She was right, but I wasn’t going to let her know it.
I ignored the pain in my side, a result of Romano’s man kicking me while I was down.
My body was healing quicker than expected.
My mind wanted to drift back to the worst night of my life, but I refused to go there, at least not right now.
Over the last week, I'd learned to hold in my tears in front of strangers, trying to be strong for him.
“Bella, I have to eat,” I argued, keeping my voice soft. She nodded and assisted me. Once I was somewhat upright, she placed additional pillows behind my back and head. “I'm glad you are hungry today, Miss Austen. That’s a sign of healing.”
“You don’t have to call me that. You can just call me Haley,” I reminded her as she brought the table closer to me. She remained silent, stepping away and folding her hands in front of her. Waiting.
Goodness, the mafia had her trained well.
My eyes fell to the food, and my mouth watered. It was soup. I didn’t know what kind, but at this point, I didn’t care.
I was halfway through the meal when the bedroom door opened, and he stepped through. He was dressed in black, as usual. His eyes were alert as he took in the scene before him, keeping one hand in the pocket of his slacks. “Leave us,” he ordered.
Bella nodded her head, her brown eyes shooting to me. “I will return to you later, Miss Austen.”
I continued eating my soup, and when the door closed behind her, Collin spoke. “How are you feeling?” His voice was cold, but there was an underlying hint of concern there that would have been easy to miss if you didn’t know him.
But I did.
“Better,” I answered truthfully.
His jaw jumped under his skin as he held my eyes.
“I promise,” I said softly, assuring him. He averted his gaze after a moment, clearing his throat. He was hiding from me, which was smart, since I read him so well.
Broken recognizes broken.
Those were the words of my favorite barista, Sam. She worked in the coffee shop of my company building in New York. My throat tightened at the heavy realization that, six months ago, my life was somewhat normal. But lonely.
“She wants to see you.”
I dropped my spoon, the metal colliding with the bowl, the sound echoing through the room. My eyes pooled with tears. “You told her?”
He scoffed, “Of course I did.” Because you are better than you think, Collin Stevens.
“Why?”
He ignored me, walking to the curtains and pulling them open. I braced myself for the harsh light, but the day was bleak, and rain fell down the glass. He stood with his back to me. “Thank you,” I whispered, and he turned his head to the side as he clasped his hands behind his back.
“For what?” he asked, as if the situation didn’t matter to him.
“Saving me.”
“I didn’t save you,” he said, his voice harsher than before. “I am just prolonging your death.”
“Then why are you wasting your time? Just get it over with.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Haley. Never have.”
“Tell your boss that then. He sent his goons after me in New York,” I pressed, anger coating my voice. He shook his head as he turned to me, his lip curled up in anger.
“I put that hit out on you,” he all but hissed, and I flinched.
“That’s twice you have tried to kill me. Maybe next time, you won’t strike out, and it'll be a grand slam.”
“I told those men to make it quick—painless,” he explained, his voice strained as his cold eyes flashed. He was waging a war within himself, broken and abandoned, trying to figure out who would accept him more. Heaven or hell?
I sat up, the pain in my side burning and intensifying. My body may be healing but shit that hurt.
“They were going to rape me,” I snapped. He flinched. Collin Stevens flinched. I pressed on. “Your beloved ‘king’ runs sex trafficking rings all over the world, but I bet you knew that already.”
He stared. Did that mean…?
“Those men were telling me how they were going to bend me over and—”
“Stop,” he bellowed, his voice dark but his eyes. Those cold eyes held…shock and anger. Did he know? He couldn’t have.
He didn’t want to hear this, but he needed to. He needed to hear everything.
I tried to swing my leg over the bed, needing to stand up for this conversation. I'd been bed ridden for weeks, and I hated it. It was a form of damnation, and my body wasn’t willing to cooperate. Pain, Blinding pain.
I whimpered, grabbing at my side. Suddenly, he was there, beside me, gently gripping my wrist to keep it away from me. I looked up at him through my tears, and he held my eyes.
“Say yes,” he said. Consent. He was asking for consent to touch me.
“Yes,” I croaked, and then he kneeled, his eyes snapping to my mid-section as he pulled down the blankets.
I was dressed in a hospital gown, and gently, ever so gently, he pulled the green fabric up, revealing my bruised and scarred skin.
My abdomen was still blue, but the outer rim of the wound was turning a greenish color—a good sign.
“You need to be careful,” he said, his tone harsh.
I ignored him. “Did you really not know about the trafficking?” A man who values consent this much wouldn’t run rape rings, right?
He was silent, his eyes snapping up to mine for a moment before dropping back down to the bruise as his fingers pressed into the skin around it. “Tender anywhere?”
“Just the bruise. Answer the question,” I pressed.
“Maybe I should kill you,” he grumbled.
“Then tell James I love him before he kills you,” I hissed, tears falling down my face. “You don’t scare me, Collin. Answer the fucking question. James has proof of them! I've seen the file, the photos, the reports from survivors—all of it.”
He ignored me.
“Goddammit, Collin—"
“I’ll send Karina in here. I’m sure you two are due for a fucking tea party,” he said coolly, cutting me off as he gently lifted my leg back up onto the mattress before he walked away.
He didn’t know. He knew nothing. My chest caved in. The revelation settled around me as I began to feel lightheaded. I was right and that meant…
Collin didn’t know Ray Romano was his father.
****
“Haley! Oh God, Haley!”
My eyes fluttered open to reveal a blonde angel standing above me. Kay.
In an instant, my body was ready to move. I reached for her, and she met me halfway, sitting on the bed beside me. Her arms wrapped around me, her palm caressing the back of my head, stroking my hair.
My best friend was here—with me, whole. She smelled of vanilla, causing my stomach to flip because I knew in my soul that was Collin’s doing.
“Kay,” I breathed, squeezing her tighter in contrast to her gentle hold on me. She whispered apologies in my ear, over and over, her voice cracking more with each one. I shook my head and pulled away, finally looking into her baby blues.
“What are you apologizing for?” Her beauty struck me.
She was dressed in normal—wait, designer clothes, and she looked healthy.
She was wearing dark jeans, a black silk tank with a baby blue cardigan.
My eyes dropped down to the brace on her wrist, and I pointed to it, raising a brow. “What the hell is that?”
She shook her head and gestured to me. “This is all my fault; I should have never sent that letter to you. I made you a target.”
“No, Kay. That isn’t why I'm here.”
She tilted her head in confusion, her silky blonde hair falling over her shoulder. Karina Jones had some of the prettiest hair I had ever seen. I had always been jealous of it. Unable to help myself, I reached for a few strands. “You didn’t get the letter? Col must have gotten to it…”
I smiled at his nickname. She was the only one who got away with calling him that. I remembered once when Kevin—
“I got it. We all read it. Kay, no offense, but that was a stupid plan. Did you really think that we wouldn’t come for you?” I asked, pinning her with my stare. “You sent a letter to me telling me to keep everyone away so you could get through to him.”
She looked back at the door, and my eyes followed, surprised to find the room empty. “Hals, I know it sounds crazy, but there is good in him,” she said in a rush as she turned back to face me, her features melting a little.
“You're still in love with him, aren’t you?” I whispered as she took my hands in hers, holding my eyes.
She nodded. “I don’t think I ever stopped.
I tried—believe me. After seeing Kevin get beaten, I was in denial, but when he stabbed my brother…
I needed to hate him. I tried to. God, I did everything I could think of Haley. ”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I get it,” I said softly, running my fingers through her hair.
“How did you get here, Hals?” she whispered.
My brows came together. “He didn’t tell you?”