by Grant, Livia
“I love watching you come, again and again.”
Oh. So, it’s not just about him.
Danger bells were going off again as she felt the sting of tears welling in her eyes.
I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry.
The splash of the first tear hit the counter as Nolan cried out his own release, shouting her name as he came inside her. Once the last drop of cum left him, Nolan collapsed against her back, crushing her against the hard bathroom counter.
“You’re squishing me,” she squeaked.
“Yeah? Well, we can’t have that, at least not unless I’m trying to as part of a scene at Black Light.”
The mention of the BDSM club jarred Piper out of her sexual haze. Having sex with Nolan in private was one thing, but letting him dominate her in public... her anxiety just couldn’t resist ruining the moment as the reality of their complicated history crowded in until she pressed to separate herself from him before the tears she’d been holding off broke loose.
Unaware of her present state of mind, Nolan grinned back at her in the mirror. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she’d be canceling his Christmas as soon as she could call an Uber. She needed time to think.
“Guess you can brush your teeth now. Take your time. Grab a shower, then come out for breakfast. I’ll have hot coffee ready and make the best eggs and bacon for breakfast.”
“I’d rather have pancakes.” Her request came out before she could stop herself.
His sexy smile as he hugged her against him made her breath hitch.
“Baby, I’m gonna make you the best pancakes you’ve ever had. You’re gonna want to have them every morning from now on.” He placed a quick kiss on her nose, of all places, before turning to retreat.
It was odd, but as Piper watched Nolan grab a robe and leave her alone for the first time in what seemed like days, she had no doubt believing she would enjoy waking up to pancakes with Nolan Boeing every morning.
And that was exactly why she needed to get the hell out of there. Pancakes, among the other amazing things he was offering, were best enjoyed sparingly.
Chapter 21
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The incessant beat of the alarm broke through the fog. Her body felt heavy as if someone were sitting on her chest. Like a defective computer facing the blue screen of death, Nalani worked to reboot her brain. Odd snapshots flashed through her memory as she struggled to hold on to any thought longer than a second.
She didn’t know why, but she knew she was in danger. Run! She needed to escape.
Why wasn’t her body cooperating? Despite sending a clear direction to her eyes to open, her lids wouldn’t obey. The pressure on her chest increased until she was sure when she finally pried her eyes open, she’d find an elephant parked there.
The beeping was getting louder—faster—like the flashes of memories flitting through her consciousness. She was drowning, getting pulled down. Alarmed, she finally succeeded in opening her mouth to take a deep gasp of air. A split second later, her chest exploded in a sharp pain that felt like she’d been stabbed.
“She’s awake! Someone get the doctor!”
It took a few seconds to recognize the voice. Why was Madison shouting?
Through sheer determination, she managed to turn her head toward the sound of footsteps nearby, but the shooting agony as she moved even a few inches insisted she freeze.
The slow return to consciousness was a curse. As the flashes of memories lingered longer, reality seeped in. She recognized the drugged fog like a lost friend, welcoming her back home after a long trip.
The excruciating pain was new.
Nalani started to take an inventory of her body, looking to catalog any part of her that didn’t hurt, coming up empty handed.
“Miss Ione! Nalani! Can you hear me?”
The voice came from directly above her, close enough, she could feel the warmth of the man’s breath against her cheek. When she opened her mouth to answer, her tongue felt like a heavy sheet of sandpaper.
Undeterred by her lack of response, the man above her finally succeeded in forcibly lifting her right eyelid, flashing a bright light directly in and out of her line of vision before repeating on the other side.
“Nurse, do we have the results back yet from her CAT scan?”
“Not yet. I’ll call again.”
“Good. And tell Sarah she’s awake.”
Fast footsteps retreated as the first wave of nausea registered. It was upon her in a flash.
“Sick…”
She had told her brain to say the word, but the voice she heard was not familiar. Nalani didn’t have time to think about that as her mouth filled with bile. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t convince her body to roll. She felt the wetness spilling down her cheek just before something soft patted around her mouth, cleaning her.
“Nalani, I’m Dr. Patel. We’re going to take good care of you. You’re safe now.”
Safe. She knew that was a lie.
From a distance, a deep voice broke through, “…need to interview Miss Ione.”
The doctor next to her raised his voice. “I told you that’s just not possible. You need to…”
“She’s awake. It’s possible.”
Who were all these people, and why were they all shouting? Had she really just imagined hearing Madison’s voice?
“Madison?” Her tongue cooperated long enough to form the word.
“I’m here.” She felt the squeeze on her left hand. “We’re all here.”
So many questions. She started with the most basic.
“Where am I?”
Madison moved closer. Nalani could swear she opened her eyes, but she only saw a sliver of her friend through a slit.
“You’re at the hospital. You’re safe now. What do you remember?”
There it was again—safe.
What did she remember?
Madison helped her. “Do you remember going home from work yesterday?”
Home. It felt far away. Flashes of her childhood home distracted her. She hadn’t thought of that house of horrors in so long. Why did it feel like she’d just been there? She rejected the memories. That was no longer home, yet she struggled to picture her new home.
Runway. That felt like home. But no, that was where she worked, where Madison worked.
The vision of Shane Covington smiling at her with a sexy look on his face flit through her head, and she fought hard to hold on to the dream. Was it just a dream? The explosion of love in her chest as she thought of him was a hint it was more than that.
“Shane…”
“Yes! He’s here. So is Jaxson. It’s just that…” Madison’s voice trailed off.
Nalani whispered, “What?”
“They’re talking with the detectives right now.”
Detectives. None of this was making sense. Was this just a crazy dream she would be waking up from and laugh about in the morning? She was pretty sure the fact she thought that meant it wasn’t a dream.
“Ms. Ione. If you feel up to it, it is critical my partner and I ask you some important questions.”
Nalani tried to turn her head in the direction of the voice on the other side of her and became aware of the neck brace holding her head immobile.
Her violent reaction to realizing she was being held immobile surprised her.
Escape. Danger.
Agitated, she finally got her arms moving, flailing to try to get the brace off her neck. The beeping in the room raced as Madison and the unseen woman next to her grabbed her arms to stop her thrashing about.
“Like, you need to lay still. You’re gonna pull out the IV, and you could do more damage,” Madison warned. Her boss’s next statement was directed at the other woman holding her down. “You are upsetting her. You need to leave.”
“We just need a few minutes. This is a high-profile case, and every minute is of the utmos
t essence. You wouldn’t want her attacker to get away, would you?”
Attacker. Her brain may be only working at half capacity, but it heard that word and wouldn’t let go.
She’d been attacked. At Runway.
No.
Like a wave at the ocean’s shore, the vision of Henry Ainsworth bursting into her apartment and raping her crashed over Nalani, dragging her down into the dangerous undertow of memories.
She was back in her apartment, fighting… flailing.
“What’s the meaning of this? I told you to wait outside in the waiting room.”
Who the hell were all these people? A new female’s voice joined the chorus of people around her bed.
“Nalani… My name is Sarah. I’m your nurse. You’re safe now.”
If one more person tried to tell her that, she would scream.
“Never safe…” she managed to get out.
“That’s not true. You’ve been through a horrific event, but I can promise you, life will get back to normal one day.”
What the hell was normal?
The woman named Sarah kept talking. Nalani didn’t hear much of what she said, but the woman’s composed and steady voice calmed her, nonetheless.
“… completed a rape kit and have sent the results off to the lab. I know it’s difficult, but the police and I would like to ask you some important questions if you feel up to it.”
Nalani didn’t feel up to breathing, let alone talking.
“We just want to get the facts from you, so the person who did this to you doesn’t get away with it,” the nurse tacked on.
She took her time, forcing out her one-word reply out, “Okay.”
Sarah, the nurse, was leaning over her, coming into the sliver of line-of-sight she had. The older woman’s small smile and kind eyes comforted her.
“I know you can’t see them, but there are two detectives from the Beverly Hills Sex Crimes unit in the room with us. They’d like to listen in to our discussion. Is that okay with you?”
“Madison?”
“I’m still here. I’m not going to leave you. I promise.” Her friend's voice was farther away, out of sight.
Knowing her friend was there helped Nalani tamp down her anxiety enough to answer. “Okay.”
“Thank you for that. I know this is going to be difficult, but we’re all on your side. We just want to help find the facts of who did this to you.” When Nalani didn’t answer, Sarah continued. “Do you know the name of your attacker?”
An ugly face contorted in anger filled her vision. The nurse gave her the time she needed to answer.
“Ainsworth.”
“Henry Ainsworth? Are you sure?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, that’s good. You’re being so brave. Next question. Do you remember what he did to you?”
She didn’t want to, but memories invaded—so many horrible things. She summed it up with one ugly word.
“Rape.”
“Yes. I know this will upset you, but we’ve completed several tests while you were unconscious. Would you like to know more about your injuries?”
Would she want to know more?
“Not sure.”
“Fair enough. I’ll just share that you’re being treated for two cracked ribs and a torn labia and anus. You had dozens of open wounds on your torso and thighs that look like shallow knife wounds.”
“Whip.”
“Excuse me?”
“It was a whip.”
“Okay. That will help. It’s difficult to get DNA off an implement like that.” She paused before continuing, “We’ve tested you for STD’s and administered Plan B, a drug used to prevent unwanted pregnancy.”
“On pill.”
“Understood, but we don’t take any chances. I’m sure you’re feeling disoriented. That would be understandable under the circumstances, but your condition is being complicated by the fact you were injected with a dangerous dose of methamphetamine. It’s going to take some time to cleanse it from your bloodstream.”
That was an understatement. Nalani knew on some level, meth would be with her always, the ugly shadow of her past that would flare up when she least expected it. Even now, she recognized the seductive temptation of shooting up again, just to make the pain stop.
“Is there anything you can tell us that will help the detectives put the facts of the case together?” When Nalani remained silent, Sarah asked a more pointed question. “Do you remember how Ainsworth got into your apartment?”
Memories of her door crashing in on her came back in flashes. She didn’t want to think about them.
“Can’t do this…”
It was Madison who answered Sarah’s question.
“Yesterday afternoon, Ainsworth assaulted Nalani while at Runway. Our security team has videotape of the encounter. They called the police, and Ainsworth was arrested.”
“Why not in jail?” Nalani asked.
“He posted bond and got a judge to release him,” a voice from behind Sarah answered.
“You’re safe here,” Sarah reassured her. “I promise you, he can’t get to you here.”
“Maybe Ainsworth can’t, but you need to get the media under control,” Madison snapped. “I had to go through a throng of cameras to get into the hospital.”
Her friend’s words confused her. Why would the media be interested in what happened to a nobody housekeeper?
Her brain grasped onto a memory.
“Shane?”
Madison squeezed her hand.
“He found you. Thank goodness he woke Jaxson up when he couldn’t reach you and made him go to your apartment to check up on you in the middle of the night. I shudder to think what would have happened if they hadn’t found you when they did.”
“Nalani!”
It was his voice, shouting from far away. Unable to see through her swollen eyes, she relied on her hearing to tell her he was running as he burst into her already crowded hospital room.
Even without seeing him, she knew the second he was beside her, her body collapsing like a popped balloon. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been with anxiety until she let it go.
For the first time since she’d woke up, she believed she was safe when she caught her first whiff of Shane’s scent as he pushed in beside her.
“Oh God, baby, I’m so damn sorry.”
Why was he sorry? He hadn’t done this to her.
“Not your fault,” she forced out.
“I should have taken it more seriously when you had that altercation with that fucker the day we met.”
Why did that feel like a lifetime ago?
She forced her eyes to open enough to get her first glimpse of the man she loved. Nalani knew she must look like she’d been in a boxing match, but she wasn’t expecting to see Shane’s right eye swollen, the hint of a bruise forming.
“Did he do that to your face?” she whispered.
“No,” Jaxson asserted from behind Shane. “I did.”
Why the hell would Jaxson hit Shane?
Her “Why?” was all she could force out.
“Cause he couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut, that’s why.”
“Fuck that shit. I meant every damn word.”
“Oh, I’m sure you did. I even agree with you, but that doesn’t mean you need to run off at the mouth about it.”
She was so confused. What were the men talking about?
“Confused.”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about, kitten. I was just informing the detectives they’d better find and arrest Ainsworth before I get my hands on him, or they’ll have a homicide to investigate as well as sexual assault.”
“Will you shut the fuck up? That kind of talk is going to get you arrested right alongside the asshole.”
“Fine by me. Put us in the same cell, and I’ll be happy to do to him what he did to Nalani, right before I end him.”
“This isn’t helping Nalani,” Sarah broke in. “If you can’t refrain fro
m upsetting her, I’ll ask the police to remove you.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” Jaxson didn’t back down. “We’ll be removing ourselves along with Nalani as soon as the transport ambulance I hired arrives.”
“What are you talking about?” the nurse pressed.
“I mean, we can’t keep her safe here. We’re moving her to our house where we can go on lockdown.”
“There’s no way Ainsworth is stupid enough to come here,” the detective on the sideline threw out.
“It’s not Ainsworth we’re worried about. The paparazzi are on a feeding frenzy out there,” Jaxson replied.
“I assure you that Cedar-Sinai has dealt with this sort of thing before,” Sarah retorted. “We have protocols for handing celebrity cases like this.”
It was as if everyone in the room had forgotten she was there, talking about her as if she was some kind of a celebrity, which was insane. She was just a housekeeper.
“Don’t understand.”
“Shane and Jaxson brought you here,” Madison answered, still holding her hand. “Shane carried you in. People in the waiting room recognized him and called the press. There are dozens of reporters who were in town to cover the Academy Awards, who are now trying to learn more about the woman Shane carried into the ER.”
Oh no, this was her worst nightmare. She’d stayed home from the Oscars to avoid this very thing. Now, not only would the press dig into her past, they’d learn about the things Ainsworth had done to her. They’d pick her and Shane apart until there was nothing good left.
A commotion in the hall outside of her room drew everyone’s attention. She could hear someone shouting Shane’s name and others yelling for Jaxson to give a statement. The only thing that kept Nalani from melting down was Shane leaning down to put himself between any cameras and Nalani, protecting her from unwanted exposure.
“It’s settled,” Jaxson said when the shouting died down from the hall. “I talked with Dr. Patel. While he doesn’t recommend moving Nalani, he doesn’t forbid it either. Sarah, I’d like to hire you to come with us.”
“That’s crazy. She just suffered through a massive trauma. She has cracked ribs. We need to watch for signs of internal bleeding.”
“Agreed, but we can do that at our house as well as here.”