Chapter 318: Sedated-2

Ian was amused by Zane's question. Although his friend had not implicitly said it, it was evident from the man's tone that he was worried Mina would wake up, and Ian would somehow take advantage of the situation. Half of Ian was annoyed, but another half was surprised that Zane knew him well enough to guess what he wanted to do.

Ian was not an angel, and if Mina woke up while he was placing an ice pack on her face, he planned to ask her all the questions he had been holding back. He wanted to know what she was hiding from him, and what she had lied to him about, but most importantly, he wanted to know how she felt about Cylus. Before the nurse could respond to Zane's question, Ian dismissed her.

"You can go." The nurse bowed her head and scurried out of the room. "And you can wipe that look off your face,' Ian said addressing Zane.

"What look?" Zane shot back, but he knew the look Ian meant. It was a look he had been giving his friend often since Mina's arrival.

"I won't intentionally hurt or touch Mina inappropriately," Ian replied. "But if she wakes up, I will ask her to clarify some things I am confused about," he admitted

"That's kind of crossing the line. Don't you think?" Zane asked.

"Don't pretend you don't want to know what she meant about Luna being just like her sister." Zane was caught. He had wanted to ask immediately after Mina had said it, but he knew she would not tell him in front of a crowd.

"Why not just let me ask her when she wakes?" Zane responded.

"I want to hear it from her directly. Dom once told me that Mina had an unhealthy sense of guilt toward her family. I want to know what she went through for, and because of them," Ian said. He sat beside Mina and affectionately brushed the hair out of her face, which looked painful. Mina was beautiful to him, even with the bruising, and he hated to see her hurt.

The only reason Ian had not already flown off the hinges was because Kace Anders' men had already killed the people who had snatched Mina. It was sloppy work, and the men left no one alive for questioning. The only thing Ian could do was wait until Mina was in the clear before he went to question Dom. He had already been notified by Dom's tending physician that the man had woken up searching for Mina, and out of cruelty Ian had instructed the Doctor to tell Dom that Mina was still missing.

Ian felt that Dom deserved to stew in agony for a while. He had been no more than thirty yards away from Mina, and he somehow allowed her to be snatched. Even if nothing else had happened, Ian was still angry that Dom allowed Mina to walk off with a hostile party. He also allowed another hostile party to distract him. Ian had not ignored his sister's actions, but he felt as though she was already getting exactly what she deserved.

When Dr. Bell had asked Mina for a meeting, Ian agreed to allow her to go, not because he trusted the doctors, but because he wanted to see if Luna was having Mina followed. It was completely by chance that Lisa happened to be visiting that same coffee shop.

Ian's thoughts paused, he backtracked over Luna statements and the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Lisa would have visited a cafe in that part of town.

Not wanting to read too deeply into the situation, Ian asked Zane his opinion on the matter, and like him, Zane had trouble imagining Lisa going all the way to a relatively low-income district for an inexpensive cup of coffee.

Before the men could spiral down the road of conspiracies, the nurse that had previously been excused, returned with two ice packs. Each one was big enough to cover Mina's face.

"Should I put them both on her face?" Ian asked. He did not want to shock the woman with something cold while she was in a deep sleep.

"One is for her leg." Ian jumped off the bed and flipped the covers off Mina's lap. He had been so concerned with Mina's facial injuries that he had not asked the doctors about anything else. He knew Mina had a concussion, but no one had mentioned anything about her leg.

"Damn, Ian, wait. I'm still in here," Zane called out. He knew that Ian was not acting rationally, but he also did not want to have to face the wall like a child on punishment.

"Then get out," Ian said, as he angled his body in a way that obscured Zane's view. Mina was wearing shorts, so there was not much for either man to look at.

When Ian saw the bruise on Mina's leg, he had to fight back the urge to wake her up. Then he had to convince himself not to call Lisa and ask her what had happened. The bruise was huge, and when he brushed his hand over the area, it felt hard under his touch.

"What happens if I wake her up now?" Ian asked the nurse.

"Sir, I wouldn't advise it, but if you're worried, she already had a kit done."

"A kit? What kit?" Zane's face turned grave. He knew what the nurse meant, and he knew that it was a slap in the face to Ian, who had made sure Mina was the one to take off her own clothes.

"Should I bring you her chart?" The nurse asked. She realized too late that she had said something she should not have. In her mind, she was helping the young woman who had questionable injuries.

----

Cylus told Olivia that an overzealous fan had come after Mina and injured her face. Olivia, who was familiar with Mina's commercial, believed the story. She had heard the way Connor spoke about Mina, and she was sure that he was not the only man to feel that way.

Although Olivia was worried for Mina, once she heard that Mina's injuries were not serious, she felt relieved. Cylus felt guilty for lying to his little cousin, who always took his words as facts, but he did not want her involved in whatever little game the Lee's were playing with Mina.

Wanting to change the subject, Cylus brought up CEO Zane. He updated Olivia on how many people had already taken back their words, and he took the opportunity to probe her about what had occurred between herself and Peter in his absence.

Cylus was surprised with how much maturity and wisdom Olivia showed in her handling of the man. She did not shout or even get angry, she simply turned Peter's own words against him, and left him unable to defend himself. Cylus knew how hard it was to do what Olivia had done. Even he was unsure if he could have done what she did so shortly after Lisa left him.

"Can you let him rest now?" Olivia asked. "I don't want him to keep pestering me; looking for a way to save his career." Cylus nodded.

"As long as he stays away from you, I will leave him alone. Besides, I like President Lee's punishment better," Cylus replied.