Chapter 3 - A Suspicious Savior

Adrian’s POV

I blinked in irritation at the bright light scraping against my eyeballs and made a mental note to tell my secretary to change the lamps. The thought of my secretary caused all the memories of the day's events to flash through my mind. I sat up abruptly and let out a string of curses as pain lanced through my stomach. I clutched at my side and frowned at the bandaging I found there. I was still wearing my shirt, although it was unbuttoned. I glanced around the unfamiliar room in confusion, wondering where I was and how I’d gotten here.

I couldn’t remember anything clearly after escaping into the alley. No, wait…there had been a girl…I remembered a pair of guileless green eyes looking up at me with worry. Distrust rolled through me at the memory. I had initially thought she had been a part of my kidnapping attempt, but she hadn’t tried to alert the men when they’d chased me into the alley.

Had she helped me? Had she somehow gotten me to this room and bandaged my wound? Why?

Calling it a room was a bit of a stretch, though. The single bed I was lying on was thin and lumpy. My eyes landed on a single suitcase in one corner, and a tiny desk squished into the opposite corner, atop the remnants of a first aid kit. My jacket was strewn over the back of a chair, and my shoes were tucked neatly by the door. There was a single bedside table where the ridiculously bright lamp sat. And that was it. Those were the only items in the room, and the space still felt clustered.

There was no sign of the strange girl. As if my thoughts had summoned her, the door to the room was pushed open, and she hurried inside with a plastic bag in her hand. I watched as she tried to shrug out of her sweater and take off her sneakers at the same time, her slender limbs waving about as if she were performing some ritualistic dance. I marveled at how she managed to do both without tumbling over.

She finally turned around and let out a sharp scream when she saw me. I winced at the sound. Had she forgotten I was here?

“You’re awake!” she exclaimed, almost immediately forgetting her fright as she approached me. My eyes flickered over her assessingly as the bedside lamp illuminated her features. Her pale, milky skin was unmarred, besides a slight flush to her cheeks. She had a delicate nose, plump lips, and moss-green eyes that seemed almost too big for her face.

Aside from her slender arms, the rest of her body was covered in an oversized t-shirt and equally baggy jeans. She was young—almost too young to be living on her own if the suitcase in the corner belonged to her. Definitely too young to be helping strange men back to her room. She was either too foolish for her own good or had some ulterior motive.

I stiffened in surprise when she leaned over and pressed the back of her hand against my forehead.

“Oh, good. I was worried you might have a fever, but your temperature seems fine. How do you feel?”

“Who are you?” I queried stiffly instead of responding to her question.

“Letisha,” she answered simply. “Who are you?”

“Don’t you know that already?” I retorted, unsure why I was upset. The likelihood of her recognizing me was slim, but why else would she have helped me? “Do you make a habit of bringing strangers back to your room? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

Her head tilted curiously as she watched me silently for a moment. “No. This is my first time,” she answered. “Do you make a habit of passing out at strangers' feet while almost bleeding to death?”

My eyes narrowed in suspicion, “How did I get here?”

Given her slight frame, it was unlikely she’d managed to carry me here on her own.

“Well, sir, you’ll have to thank my experience working on a farm one summer. I’m a lot stronger than I look,” she declared, lifting a hand to flex jokingly.

At least, I thought she was joking since I could span her arm with one hand.

“Also, you might have woken up and helped me a little. But I definitely did ninety percent of the work, much to the inn owner’s dismay. I had to tell her you were drunk. I’m pretty sure she believes I’m a woman of loose morals and is thinking of a way to kick me out without refunding me. She pretended not to hear me when I asked if the kitchens had any soup. Thankfully, I found a shop nearby.”

My head was starting to hurt, and I was having difficulty keeping up with her chatter.

“What do you want?” I interrupted with a growl of frustration.

Her brows wrinkled as if confused by my question.

“I doubt you’re helping me out of the kindness of your heart,” I explained. It might sound rude, but in my experience, people always have an ulterior motive. I’d much rather get to the point than spend time beating around the bush. “So, what do you want from me?”

Some of the warmth seeped from her eyes as she seemed to consider my words. I felt a stirring of regret in my chest but waited silently for her answer.

She reached out and poked a finger at the bandage. I winced as pain lanced through my side.

“Sorry, my hand slipped,” she deadpanned.

I sent her a glare of disbelief.

“See? When you do something wrong, you apologize. And when someone saves your life, you say thank you. At the very least, not ‘What do you want from me?’ Now, while you’re thinking about how to utter those difficult words, you can drink this.”

She lifted the bag in her hands as she spoke and opened it to pull out a container. I eyed the thing suspiciously.

“What is that?”

“Date soup. The lady at the shop said it’s good for blood replenishment and energy. I have no idea how it tastes, but I think you need both of those things right now.”

An uneasy feeling stirred in my chest as I watched her blowing on the soup before bringing the spoon to my lips.

I sealed them stubbornly and wondered who the hell this girl was. She’d carried me—a complete stranger twice her size—to her room, bandaged my wounds, and went out to get me soup to replenish my energy? Now, she was trying to feed me? And all she wanted was for me to say thank you? It was too hard to believe. Did she hope to disarm me with her innocent act? Once I lost my vigilance, she would surely strike.

“My my, are you so suspicious by nature, or is it just the circumstances?” she asked when I rejected her offer.

She sighed and reached for the lid before she poured some of the soup and brought it to her lips.

“See? I wouldn’t go so far as to drink poison, would I? Will you try it now? I bought you some painkillers, and the pharmacist said you can't take them on an empty stomach. Have some, please.”

Guilt stirred uncomfortably in my gut, and this time, when she offered me, I opened my lips. I grimaced at the odd melding of bitter and sweet, but the warmth of it felt pleasant as it slid down my throat.

She continued to feed me silently before she spoke again. “Are your arms injured as well?”

I raised a curious brow, “No. Why?”

“So, you’re capable of feeding yourself?” she asked without censure.

I coughed in embarrassment at her query and reached for the bowl in her hand. She released it with a poorly concealed smile.

Brat.

She reached for the bag again and pulled out bottled water and what I assumed were painkillers.

“You can take these once you finish eating. And actually…there is something I want.”

I ignored the stirring of disappointment I felt at her words and convinced myself I should be grateful she decided to show her true colors early on. Usually, that meant money could settle things. I wondered how much she’d ask for. I would give it to her, whatever the cost. Whatever her motives, she had still saved my life, after all. I waited for her demands.

“After you take this medicine, I want you to take a good rest so you can recover as soon as possible.” She looked away uncomfortably. “I know it’s wrong to kick you out while you’re still injured, but the Innkeeper said I wasn’t allowed to have anyone else stay overnight, or I’d have to pay for double occupancy. Isn’t that insane? There’s only one bed in here!”

“That’s what you want…?” I asked incredulously.

“Yup!” she stood from her perch. “Once you have a good rest, I can—Oh, one second,” she said as she pulled a cell phone from her pocket.

She looked down at the screen, and her face lit up at whatever she’d seen.

I refused to acknowledge the tight feeling in my chest as jealousy. It made absolutely no sense that I’d feel jealous that something other than myself had made her happy. She was a stranger, for heaven’s sake.

“I’m going to go out for a while. You have a good rest, okay?” she said suddenly, heading to the door.

She hurriedly pulled on her sweater and shoes as haphazardly as she’d taken them off.

“I’ll be back soon, okay?” she called and disappeared before waiting for my answer. Not that I could have formulated one amid that whirlwind.

Who the hell was this girl?

She’d said her name was Letisha, but a first name only wasn’t very helpful at the moment.

I glanced over the suitcase in the corner. It would be rude to go through her things. Even if she was suspicious, she hadn’t been anything but kind.

And you still haven’t thanked her yet, Adrian.

I sighed tiredly as my head pounded in tandem with the wound at my side. I reached over and swallowed a few of the painkillers before settling back onto the lumpy mattress. After a good rest, I could figure out what to do next.

Both about who had attempted to take my life and about my suspicious savior.