Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
W illow
“Leaving is not a good idea, Ms. Winters.”
The doctor was adamant, but so was I. “I’m not staying here for another hour, let alone another night.” I pulled back the covers and the aging doctor looked at me in horror.
“You cannot do that.”
“Yes, I believe I can.” I was insistent, giving the man an evil eye.
“She’ll continue fighting you, Doc. I’d just give in.” The dark, husky voice sent a shiver through me.
I hadn’t noticed Dimitrios had returned from getting coffee, standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. Seeing his Greek-godlike bronzed body was enough to make this girl swoon even though my head still ached. He had a colorful plastic bag around his arm with the hospital’s name written on it. If the man had purchased me a stuffed animal, I’d kick his butt.
I’d seen men parading around in front of the glass window early on until I’d been moved into a private room. Maybe the doctor had decided to drag me out of ICU the moment I started harassing him about going home.
Home.
The word was strange to me now. At some point I’d return to Boston, but I couldn’t imagine stepping foot back inside my parents’ house. It would never be the same. Being at the villa on Corfu had been amazing, allowing me to feel some sense of hope for the future. The lovely surroundings had allowed me to heal in some small way. The memories that had surfaced were sweet and comforting, not haunting as I’d feared.
“Her spleen is not completely healed, Mr. Nomikos. She is a very lucky young woman.” The doctor’s English was good yet his accent made it difficult to understand him. We’d already had a row today, but that was after I’d insisted, finally convincing Dimitrios to get some coffee. I’d hoped that would cure his grouchiness and his determination to keep me locked down once again like a prisoner.
He simply didn’t get that I wasn’t fragile.
Maybe a little bruised around the edges, but I was a tough girl, even more so than a few days before.
“She is extremely lucky and I’ll make certain she does nothing but rest.” The look Dimitrios was giving me was more authoritative than any other I’d seen.
I doubted I’d be able to lift a finger.
Right now, the thought of staying here was more terrifying than the injury to my spleen. I’d continued to replay the return flight in my mind. I knew I’d blacked out for a portion of it, but I remembered the gunfire.
And the sharks.
Several shudders skittered through me. Dimitrios had shot two sharks. Who did that?
A real hero.
In my drug-induced sleep, I’d also dreamt about the three days I’d had at the villa with my parents. I needed to talk to Dimitrios. Alone.
“We do not want her spleen ruptured. She could bleed to death or develop serious infections.” The doctor wasn’t letting go of this. He was hardly paying any attention to me any longer. The dude was the kind of man who preferred talking to the men in the family. Or perhaps he knew all about Dimitrios’ reputation.
Dimitrios walked further into the room, his expression so full of amusement I had to press my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.
“I assure you, Doctor, that I will keep Ms. Winters calm and out of harm’s way. While she’s quite the handful, I’m a firm believer her healing will best be done at home and not inside a cold, bleak hospital.” By the time he finished his statement, he was up close and personal with the doctor.
The scene was particularly amusing since Mr. Greek god himself had argued with me prior to going to get coffee. Maybe the liquid gold had awakened his senses. Or maybe there’d been another threat.
The experience had jolted me as much if not more than seeing the blood inside the villa. When was this nightmare going to end?
The doctor huffed. “Her safety and health then become your responsibility.” He walked from the room, mumbling something under his breath.
I shifted in bed, trying not to visibly wince.
“How’s your arm?” I asked as he continued to stare down at me.
“Just a scrape.”
“You went through broken glass. I hardly think it’s a scrape.”
“You remember that?”
“I do.”
Since I’d awoken he’d been grumpier and he’d sighed more than he had before.
“You shouldn’t need to remember such things. I will do a better job protecting you.”
I inched closer to him, hanging my legs over the side of the bed. “You managed to keep me from getting shot while successfully landing a bullet-ridden plane. You ensured I didn’t drown and for kicks and giggles, you fought off two big sharks. I think that gives you a pass.”
Instantly, I could tell he didn’t understand the American colloquialism. “It means you did a great job and I’m extremely appreciative. No one has ever done anything like that for me before.”
I’ll be damned if he didn’t ignore my statement completely.
“It’s not a good idea for you to leave the hospital,” Dimitrios said in his quiet yet commanding voice as he walked closer.
“I think we’d both feel better if I was locked inside your house.”
He didn’t take the bait by responding. As he returned to the chair he’d been sitting in all night, I noticed how exhausted he seemed.
“You need to hear about something I remembered.”
“We can talk about it later,” he insisted.
“I think it’s important.”
He studied me for a few seconds before nodding. “Okay. What did you remember?”
“Something my father said after he’d tried to contact Shane. I was only half paying attention as we were all out by the pool.”
“Go on.”
“After the call ended, my dad said something to the effect of he would discover the truth. Later, he had his laptop out. It was the only time he’d pulled it out that I’d seen. When I’d walked in, he’d closed the lid. I thought about bugging him about what he was looking at, but decided not to. What do you think it means?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“There’s one more thing. Dad mentioned wanting to see your dad while he was here.”
Dimitrios seemed even more interested. “Did he mention why?”
“No, but it sounded important.”
I could tell he was trying to pass it off to keep me from worrying. “We will likely never know why.”
Something in the back of my mind screamed that it had to do with Shane and whatever he was involved in. As he’d done so many times before, Dimitrios shut down the conversation.
“You’ll be safe at the house,” he assured me.
“I know. What’s in the bag?”
His chuckle held no real amusement as his voice had before. “I didn’t think you wanted to leave here in the clothes you were brought in.”
Especially since they’d been cut off my body. That much I did remember. “Do I want to know what you purchased?”
“They’ll have to do until Eleni gets back from shopping.”
“You sent her shopping for me?”
He rubbed my arm. His expression carried the same forlorn look I’d witnessed when he’d talked about his brother. “She seemed eager to do so.”
“I’ll have to thank her.” I pulled out the items, regretting the moment I laughed. My side started killing me, but I dare not whine about the pain. I hated hospitals. It seemed only tragedies happened in them.
“Life is good?” I asked with a smile on my face. The shirt was clearly a marketing technique for the hospital, but with a rainbow behind a unicorn as the main picture, my feeling was the administrators had been smoking crack when they’d opted for the choice.
“The truth is life isn’t fair.”
“Do me a favor,” I told him.
He narrowed his eyes. “Why do I have a feeling I’ll regret this?”
I pushed his chest playfully. It felt natural. Being comfortable around him was becoming the norm. “Make sure you say thank you. I know they’re your employees, but hearing something as little as two words can mean a lot and garner you respect and loyalty.”
“Miss Philosophical.”
“That means I’m all better.”
At least this time his laugh was more genuine. “Are you certain you want to leave?”
“Absolutely. Let’s get out of here.” At least the drawstring shorts were decent. But the sandals were hospital variety. “Why are you really allowing me to leave?”
“Why?” he repeated.
“I know you, Dimitrios. You had four guards watching me all day while you were here. Also all night. I was awake and watching you. You barely slept. You paced the floor. You muttered to yourself. And you were on the phone at least twice. I can tell when you’re worried.”
“Of course I’m worried. What happened was my fault and it’s not allowed to occur again.”
“Why do you care so much?” Was I fishing for a different answer than I knew to be true? Absolutely.
He planted his hands on either side of me, his lips dangerously close. His breathing was heavy, the heated air wafting across my face. Even though he’d yet to take a shower after being dumped in the ocean, he still smelled heavenly.
“It’s a simple question,” I whispered.
“Then it needs a simple answer. Because you belong to me.”