“My father has had a nasty fall, and I’ll have to take over his care,” she informs me, fussing as if she plans to take over from Roman, but he doesn’t let go, instead, he helps to lead me down the walkway and back to that fucking chair. “So the agency is sending a replacement this afternoon. I’m sorry, dear.”
“Tha–that’s fine,” I respond, trying to work out what this means. Roman gives my waist a little squeeze, and I think he means to assure me that this, too, is linked back to my guys.
We make it back to the chair, which waits innocently in a patch of sunlight, unknowing that it now represents everything that is wrong with my situation.I wouldn’t fucking need it if my uncle wasn’t drugging me!
Roman supports me as I get settled into it, and I grudgingly admit to myself that I’m feeling drained, both emotionally and physically, so it’s a welcome relief to finally sit down. Jacky takes hold of the handles and starts pushing me back towards the house, unaware of the maelstrom of my thoughts and the swirling storm of my emotions.
Two weeks.
Fourteen days and I’ll be in their arms again.
I just need to hold on.
CHAPTERFOUR
LILLY
I’m left alone in my room for a couple of hours after that, the new agency nurse is not able to arrive for a little while. It’s the first time I’ve spent in my own company for almost a month, and it’s nice not having eyes on me the whole time, watching my every move. Although the feeling of being observed doesn’t disappear completely and I glance around the room warily, wondering if there are hidden cameras in here. I wouldn’t put anything past Adrian at the moment, and just because I haven’t seen him yet, doesn’t mean that he’s not keeping tabs on me.
The plate of food that I arrived back to sits on the small table in front of the window, uneaten. I know it’s going against what Ash commanded; that I keep eating. But I just can’t force myself to, knowing that it’s more than likely drugged by my wankstain of an uncle, and may be harmful to my unborn child. I’m not sure how soon Ash will be able to make good on his promise and ensure that it’s not drugged, so for now, I’ll hold off as long as I can. My stomach grumbles, reminding me that I’ve not eaten since breakfast, so I take a sip of water from the glass that I’d filled up from the bathroom tap—I can’t trust the water given to me either.
What I can’t seem to work out is why he would go to such lengths to keep me placid, unaware, and compliant. It’s not as if I can escape from here anyway, being in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and with my shit sense of direction I’d get lost or picked up even if I did try to run. And I don’t have any way to contact the guys. Well, I didn’t up until this point. Especially as I thought them to be a figment of my imagination.
The warmth that covered me when I was talking to my Knights fills me again, my entire being aching to be with them once more, to be ensconced in their arms, surrounded by their loving embrace. I burrow into the feeling, wrapping my blanket tighter around myself as I watch the rain of a sudden shower hit the window panes with a tinkling sound. The rain and birdsong are the only music I get to listen to now.
The sun begins to lower in the sky when I hear the lock of my door turning with a click, and I twist in my chair to see the door opening and a woman younger than Jacky but older than me step into the room, the door closing softly behind her. Her wheat blonde hair is in a neat ponytail, and her slight frame is covered by a pastel pink scrubs uniform. It’s her laughing brown eyes that give me pause, plus the tray that she’s holding in her hands.
“Hi, Lilly. I’m Mai and I’ve bought you something to eat,” she tells me, carefully stepping towards me, and placing the tray on the table while making sure not to knock the plate already there off. “I made it myself, and no one else has touched it,” she divulges, looking me straight in the eye with a frank and open look on her face.She knows about the drugs, right?
“T–thanks,” I reply, looking down to see a bowl of steaming soup. It looks like chicken and vegetable, and my stomach growls loud enough to be heard over the drizzle outside.Yum!
I hesitate for just a moment, unsure if she is someone my guys have sent or another of one of my uncle’s minions. She leans in closer, her light, floral perfume fresh rather than cloying.
“Ash told me to tell you ‘rubber duck’ if you had any concerns,” she whispers in my ear, my eyes widening at the phrase. Only Ash and I know about it, no one else. My pulse spikes thinking about when he was meant to use it, if he was feeling the urge to cut, and worry floods my veins at the thought that he may have self-harmed and I’ve not been there to help.
Worry about that later, Lilly. Just get through this first.
Not taking my eyes off the bowl—just in case someoneiswatching us—I take the spoon, dip it in, and bring it to my mouth. The soup is delicious, clearly homemade, and full of warm comforting flavour. There’s a bread roll to go with it, and before I realise it, the bowl is empty and I’m feeling full but clearheaded. A contrast to how I’ve felt after most meals I’ve had here.
“Thanks, that was amazing,” I say with a sigh, seeing the corner of her eyes crinkle with a wide smile. “Have we met? Your eyes remind me of someone.”
“The twins are my cousins, bloody reprobates,” she answers, laughing as she hands me a bottle of water, then sits in the chair opposite me. That makes sense; she has Roman’s eyes. “So, what do you usually do around here?” she asks me, another sigh leaving my lips as I play with the tassels on the blanket.
“Nothing really, mostly I sleep after eating,” I confess, seeing the laughter leave her eyes as her jaw clenches, and a flush stains her cheeks.
“Well, how about a game of Go Fish?” she finally questions, pulling out a pack of cards from her pocket, along with a chocolate bar which makes my mouth water. “Winner gets this,” she tells me, eyes alight with challenge.
“You’re on!” I tell her, beaming as she moves the trays to the floor next to us, then deals the cards. “But fair warning, I was a champion back in Primary school. I even won Sally Weston’s favourite, pink sparkly headband, which pissed her off no end.”
She lets out a peal of laughter, and suddenly the room feels brighter, the grey day less dismal as we begin to play.
* * *
I lie down, the sweet taste of victory still on my tongue as I savour the last cube of chocolate melting on my tongue. Mai left after dinner, telling me she’ll be back tomorrow at breakfast, and it feels so nice to finally have an ally here. Three if you count the twins, which I think that I can, considering Willow and the guys know them.
I shut my eyes, waiting for the familiar blackness of sleep to descend, but it eludes me tonight. Maybe it was the conversation with my guys earlier, their voices echoing inside my head like a shout in a cave. Even now I can hear them, and for the first time in weeks, it feels as though I’m close to them once more.
It’s the middle of the night, and the room is in complete darkness before I start to drift off, only to be startled awake when I hear the soft click of what sounds like the lock on my door. A shadow fills the doorway briefly before it’s closed again, the lock sounding once more. My heart thuds painfully in my chest, my body freezing up as the figure approaches the bed. It pauses briefly in front of me before moving towards the bottom of the bed, out of my line of sight.