Chapter 3 #2
“She needs to stay awake,” another male voice said. There was a bit of Boston in his accent.
She turned her head. Pain radiated through her entire body. “Fuck me.”
The other man leaned down. Damn, another hot guy. She didn’t know him. Green eyes that were the shade she’d seen in some stupid crystal and blonde hair. He looked a little bit like that superhero with the hammer.
“Boston,” she murmured.
His eyebrows rose up. “Not many people can hear that.”
“Then they’re dumb.”
He stepped aside and light seared her eyes.
“What the bloody hell?” she yelled. “Who turned on the sun?”
“Sensitivity to light is a concussion symptom.”
Boston was yammering on. Of course the sun hurt her eyes. She’d been banged on the head. Her brain felt like it had been battered. He really needed to shut his mouth.
“Can we close the blinds or turn off the lights? I’ll keep my eyes opened for Mix if you do that.”
She barely heard the click of the switch, but she sensed that it was darker. Still, she took her time squinting before opening her eyes.
“Sam,” Ian said. She turned her head much more slowly this time. “Who did this to you?”
Her first thought was fear. It shot through her, pushing her adrenaline back out of control, but she gulped down air. She needed to remember what happened. It was the only way she was going to figure out how they’d found her. She must have done something to tip off the asshole after her.
“Not sure. He was hired by someone. He mentioned a boss. Was he at the house?”
“What house? We found you off the walking trail.”
His eyes were narrowed, not in anger, but in worry.
For her? Weird. Her stomach did that somersault thing again.
She wasn’t used that. It had been over a decade since she’d had anyone show concern for her.
Her grandmother cared, but it went against her nature to show feelings.
Lila understood why her grandmother was like that.
Emotions got in the way and made it hard to deal with the life. At least her life.
“It’s at the start of the trail. Little house. Asshole came in and tried to kill me. He might have stabbed me, but I kicked his ass. I bashed his head with a lamp. Then he didn’t get back up. Do I have to stay awake forever?”
“No,” Boston said. “I just wanted to talk to you. We’ll have to wake you up every now and then.”
“Thank the sweet Baby Jesus.” Then she realized she wasn’t wearing the same clothes as earlier. “Where are my clothes?”
“They had blood all over them.”
She looked down at the shirt. It was old, soft, and smelled of sandalwood.
“Wait, who undressed me?”
There was a beat of silence. “Ian undressed you.”
Great. Just what she needed was a man who was a walking sex dream see her all bloody, underweight, and naked.
“That wasn’t cool, Mix.”
He rolled his eyes. “The clothes were bloody, although I remember your shorts from earlier in the day.”
She opened her mouth to explain that she wasn’t really following him, but he shook his head.
“Let it go. You need to rest. Jenner had to clean your wound and give you a few stitches from the knife wound.”
“I can’t believe I slept through that.”
“You didn’t. You called Jenner a bunch of names when he gave you a local to ease your pain.”
“We need to keep an eye on the wound and make sure she doesn’t get an infection,” Boston said.
“She is right here and can take care of a wound. It isn’t my first one.”
That caught Ian’s attention, those electric blue eyes zeroing in on her. Every thought she had in her head seemed to dissolve when he looked at her. How did he do that? It was probably some stupid spy shit he’d learned. Like…he was a Jedi or something.
Jeez, her ADHD was off the charts today.
“We’ll deal with all of that later. You need some rest.”
She sighed, letting her body relax. Truth was she needed to get out of there, because it wasn’t safe for anyone to be near her. She brought bad things to the people she cared about, but for the time being, she was going to rest. Once she was recharged, she would get out of there.
Her eyes started to close. They were so heavy and she couldn’t keep them open.
“Ian,” she whispered, taking his hand. “Thank you.”
It was simple and did not express how much she had needed him.
“No worries,” he said, brushing her hair off her forehead. “I sort of owe you.”
“Not really, but it is understandable. It’s in your nature.”
“Is that a fact?” Humor deepened his voice. She curled her toes.
“Like father, like son.”
Then, her world went to black once again.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Jenner asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ian kept his gaze locked on her face. He couldn’t seem to look away from her. There was just something about her that drew his gaze. Maybe it was because it was the first time he had actually seen her. Or at least, it was the first time he realized he was looking at her.
“I’m not sure.”
“We have to check out that house.”
He tore his attention away from her. “We’ll need help.”
“Yeah, I got that. How long have you known this woman?”
“I don’t really know her. This is the first time I’ve laid eyes on her. Well, at least that I knew about.”
“What does that mean?”
He brushed her hair off her face once again. Ian wasn’t sure why he felt the need to comfort her, to take care of her. Was it because no one else seemed to be doing it? Maybe. But every time he touched her, he felt a connection.
“I think I ran into her today. She used a very good Russian accent on me and wore mirrored glasses.”
Eyes like hers would be too noticeable.
“But she knew you. So she has seen you.”
He sighed. “We can figure out all that shit later. Right now, we need to find that house and see if there’s a body in there.”
Jenner already had his phone out. “El is on island.”
Elwood Carlisle, another Dillon Security Agent and Eden’s twin brother.
“If it’s that little house by the trail, your ride is parked right in front of it.”
Jenner nodded as Ian rose. For a second, her hand squeezed tighter on his. It was as if she needed the connection also. He pulled out his keys and tossed them at Jenner.
“Got it.”
Then his phone was buzzing again. He pulled it out, not easy since Sam had her hand clamped on his. Funny, he had never been someone who wanted to hold hands with a woman. He wasn’t particularly romantic. Now though, his chest felt tight. He didn’t want to let go. Ever.
Pushing that alarming thought aside, he looked down at the screen on his phone.
Dad: About to take off.
Bloody hell, his father was on his way over. Ian had been looking forward to spending time with his father working on his house. Now with this clusterfuck of a situation, he didn’t want his father anywhere near this.
He clicked on his father’s face to call.
“What’s up?”
“We had an incident.” He tried to keep his voice down, while keeping his gaze on Sam’s face.
“We? Dillon?”
“It’s that woman who has been saving my ass these last few months. I found her off a walking trail stabbed and with a concussion.”
“I’ll get a rental when I arrive. Be there soon.”
Then he hung up. Dammit. He wanted his father as far away from this as possible.
He’d had a transplant less than two years ago, and he was supposed to keep out of the business.
This situation with Sam had intrigue and danger written all over it.
While he knew his father could handle himself, Ian did not want him tangled up in whatever was going on around Sam.
“Your father is on his way over?”
Ian nodded.
“He didn’t ask a lot of questions.”
He looked at Jenner. “My father is former MI-6 also.”
The other man rolled his eyes. “I’m surrounded by spies.”
There, he heard the Boston accent in his voice. Ian had never really clocked it. With a concussion and after being stabbed, Sam heard it.
“Keep an eye out. We have no idea who attacked her or if they are still there.”
“Got it.”
Jenner headed out. Ian sat down beside the bed.
Her breathing was even as she seemed to drift into a deeper sleep.
From the bruising beneath her eyes, he knew that she hadn’t had much sleep as of late.
How many times had he come that close to her?
He would have remembered her face, he thought, as his gaze roamed over it.
And her hair was a riot of auburn curls, but that face…
it was unforgettable. High cheekbones, a turned-up nose, all within the frame of a heart-shaped structure.
She even had a cute, cupid’s bow mouth. It had intrigued him when he had seen her at the burger place earlier today.
The blonde hadn’t looked right. He much preferred the auburn curls.
Still, had she been this close all this time, or just these last few weeks? She seemed to be intent on keeping an eye on him…but lately, it was something else. It was as if she knew there was a threat to him and she had been protecting him.
Was that why she was attacked? Had she gotten too close to him and someone had to take her out?
What the hell happened and just what did she mean about his father?