The Naughty One

by Michelle Love

  The male nurse smiled at her. “I know. I’ve been taking care of you for a little over a week. It’s good to see you awake. How do you feel on a scale of one to ten?”

  “Um, some things hurt on me. My stomach feels sore, my back is aching, and my throat is sore and dry. Anything we can do about all that?” For a woman in that much pain, she was in good spirits. I was more than a bit surprised.

  “I’ll give you a dose of morphine.” The nurse left to get the drug, and I suddenly recalled the fact the Blyss had been addicted to a lot of things when she was born.

  “Try not to take too many painkillers, baby. You do remember your problem when you were a baby, right?” I ran my hand over her arm and couldn’t help but notice the red whelps that were still on the back of it. My heart stuttered as I tried to hold back my anger at the man who did that to her.

  “Do you think I should tell him not to give me anything? It didn’t occur to me that they don’t know my history. I’m glad you snuck in here. I really could use you here, Troy. I’m so weak, and I’m bored to pieces. Could you bring me some books or something?”

  “I’ll bring you an e-reader in the morning, and you can order all the books you want. I’ll set up an account on it. Maybe if you tell your doctors you need me, they’ll decide to allow me in. But it won’t be for long periods of time. Five minutes in the morning and five in the evening.”

  “That’s it?” She looked sad, and I hated to see that look on her face.

  “It’s okay. It won’t last long. And when you get out of here, I’m taking you home to Napa Valley. My family is dying to meet you and my mother has told me she will be taking care of you until you’re healthy again.”

  “How does your family know about me?”

  “There’s a ton to tell you, baby.”

  The nurse came back with the morphine, and I decided to use my fake position to get some information. “I came across this young lady’s file earlier today. That’s why I’m here tonight. I heard she was taken off the meds and would be waking up. You guys are aware of her history, right?”

  “We have no prior history. What do you have that we don’t?”

  “Um, just a thing her boyfriend gave us. Miss Danner here was born addicted to a lot of different drugs and alcohol. I think staying away from all opioids would be the best thing for her. Don’t you?” I looked at Blyss. “You should most likely tell this nurse about your problems when you were born. That way you won’t end up with bigger problems than you already have.”

  “I should tell you my little tale, I guess. Then you can decide what pain medication is best for me.” Blyss closed her eyes and looked as if she was worn out.

  “I’ll go get a pad of paper. Be right back.” The nurse left us alone, and I felt I had a small window of time to ask her to marry me.

  “Blyss, are you tired, baby?”

  “Very. My head hurts. I could really use that pain medicine. It feels as if I have cuts all over the back of my body.” She looked at me with wide eyes. “Troy, I remember now. I was going to one of those rooms. You were going to punish me.” Her jaw hung open. “Troy, did you do this to me?”

  “God no!” I shouted just as the nurse walked back in.

  “Is everything okay in here?” he said as he looked at me.

  Blyss looked right at the man. “Everything is fine. I want to be left alone. Can you make him leave, please?”

  “Blyss, I didn’t do …”

  The nurse looked at me, then pointed at the door. “Don’t make me call the cops.”

  I stumbled backward as Blyss closed her eyes. “I have to remember it all. Until then, I don’t want you anywhere near me, Troy.”

  “I can tell you …”

  “Get out,” the nurse said. “I have no idea how I missed recognizing you, but I have now. Out or I’ll kick your ass myself.”

  “Tell her the truth. You know the truth. Tell her it wasn’t me. Please!”

  The other two nurses showed up, and I knew I was about to go to jail if I didn’t leave. My heart was aching that she’d think I’d hurt her that way. As I left, I could hear her saying, “He warned me there was a beast inside him. I should’ve listened.”

  Blyss

  It made perfect sense after Troy nearly ran away. He’d turned into that savage he’d said he could become and he’d hurt me. Hurt me so badly, I’d been in a coma for over a week! My heart rate was up, and the nurses heard it on the machine. “It’s okay. Calm down, sweetie,” one of the female nurses said as she patted me on the shoulder.

  “He hurt me. He promised he’d never hurt me and he did this to me!” I was in shock that Troy would actually do such a horrible thing. Then it occurred to me that he shouldn’t be walking the streets. “How come he isn’t in jail?”

  “I’m telling her,” the other male nurse said as he crossed his arms.

  “The doctors said not to,” the other male nurse cautioned him.

  “Well, I don’t care. It’s a crime to let her think the man who loves her would do such a terrible thing.” He put his hands on his hips and looked at me. “Another man did this to you. And he is in jail. I don’t know the entire truth, as the media has told so many versions of the story it’s hard to tell which story is true. All I know is that your man did not do this to you. He had no part in it at all. You were locked away from him for a little while, is what was said. Another man got to you, and he’s the animal who did this to you.”

  He was telling me things that had bursts of memory shooting through my aching brain. “He was wearing a mask! It wasn’t Troy! It was another man who said he’d bid on me. I guess he was jealous of Troy. He said things like Troy had ruined me and that he was weak or something like that.” I was happy I finally remembered it all. “Oh, God! Can you get Troy back here for me? Please, I don’t want him thinking I think he hurt me. Please.”

  All three of the nurses shook their heads, then the lady said, “We don’t have his cell number. In the morning, we can get it from admission. He’s been taking care of the hospital bills, so they should have it.”

  “I hate this,” I said as I closed my eyes. “He’s been the one who tried to stop me from doing all this BDSM stuff.”

  “Hold on,” one of the men said. “The guy who won you, your Dom, tried to stop you from doing what?”

  “All of it. I had to beg him to do the things to me that I had signed up for. He kept telling me I was fragile because I had a problematic childhood. I don’t know how I could have ever accuse him of doing such a thing. And about that. What the hell all happened to me? I feel like a truck ran over me.”

  “We’ve already told her too much. Do you see what’s happening to her heart rate?” the lady said.

  I felt odd, my head was pounding, and I wanted only one thing. To let Troy know I didn’t think anything bad about him. “I need him, you guys. I need him more than I need anything else. Please help me talk the doctors into letting him stay with me. I’ll get better much faster. It’s a fact that I will. Please.” I was begging and pleading for a thing that I shouldn’t have had to.

  When did being in the hospital have a person losing their right to be with the person they loved?

  Something was coming over me. My body felt warm, then I felt tired. “A bit of morphine shouldn’t do anything to her. She needs it anyway,” I heard one of the men say.

  “Her blood pressure was rising anyway. We can’t let her get that upset anymore,” the other man said.

  I knew I had to calm down and get better. But as the darkness was taking me over, I saw it all in my head. The man who took advantage of me while I was tied up. The hardness at my back. Had he?

  “Was I …” I could barely speak; the medicine was pulling me under. “Raped. Was … I …”

  A hand ran over my forehead. “No, you weren’t raped, Blyss. Go to sleep. It’s time to rest now.”

  My mind was settled. Troy was still the only man to have touched me that way. I was still pure for him. I don’t know
why that mattered so much to me, but it did. Troy and I could have that storybook life he talked about. He would always be the only man I’d ever given everything to. We could have a pristine life filled with more and more firsts.

  It was then I had my first thought about having his baby. I wanted us to have our first child together. He and I would give his parents their first grandchild. Troy and I would have a baby. I hoped he’d say we could. I began to hum a lullaby as I drifted off to sleep. I could be a mom. With him to help me, I could learn to be a mother, a thing mine must’ve never learned how to be.

  Everything would be fine. He wanted to marry me. He’d said so. He and I would get married, have babies, and live happily ever after. My life could be far different from what it started out being. I wasn’t going to be alone anymore. I had Troy and we’d have a family.

  The sound of a siren had me stirring, then it faded away. I could hear the voices though. My nurses’ voices sounded sad as they talked in hushed tones. I could hardly make out anything they said. Until the name ‘Troy Masterson’ was said, and then I heard another word, ‘critical.’

  What the hell had happened?

  Part 3

  Troy

  My head was fuzzy as I left the hospital. As hard as I was trying to think about what I could do about Blyss, I couldn’t come up with anything. I had to hope the nurses would decide to tell her the truth, even if the doctors had said not to tell her a thing about why she was in the ICU ward of the hospital.

  As I got to my Jeep, I was about to get in the car when I heard the sound of metal crunching, tires squealing, and people screaming. It was coming from down the street that ran in front of the hospital. I just started running toward the commotion. What I found were three cars piled up, and one wrapped around a light pole. Several people stood outside of the cars, but it was obvious that people were trapped in the car that had turned into a horseshoe.

  Making my way to the more distressed car, I found a little girl in the back seat. A man was driving and his head was resting on the steering wheel. A woman was in the passenger seat, and she was laid back, a line of blood was running from her forehead, and her eyes were closed.

  The little, dark-haired girl opened her eyes and they locked with mine. “You’re okay. I’m going to get you out.”

  Even though she looked thoroughly confused, she nodded, which was a good sign she didn’t have any head trauma. Turning back to find something to break out the window with, I didn’t see anything, then my hand moved to my belt buckle.

  I looked back at the little girl. “Take off your seatbelt and move as far away as you can from the window. Turn your head and cover your face. I’m going to break the window and get you out of there, okay, pumpkin?”

  She nodded again and did as I’d told her to do. I gave another glance to the people in the front seat and found they were still knocked out. I tossed the blanket I had on the ground. Pulling my belt off, I wrapped it around my hand so the brass buckle was covering my knuckles and the leather protected the rest of my hand.

  One punch did nothing but jar my entire body. The next made small cracks that radiated from the center. One more, and I had the window smashed. I pulled the safety glass out easily after that, and in no time, I had the kid in my arms.

  Her body was shaking as she clung to me and put her head on my shoulder. “Are my mommy and daddy going to be okay, mister?”

  The sounds of sirens moved in and around us as the first ambulance arrived. I ran my hand over the child’s little head. “I’m sure they’ll be just fine. The doctors take really good care of the people who go to the hospital, and I’ll stay with you until they wake up, okay?”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise you I will keep you right with me until one of your family members comes for you. What’s your name, precious?”

  She pulled her head up to look at me. Her dark green eyes drooped with sadness. “Veronica. My name’s Veronica Snyder and I’m seven.”

  “My name is Troy Masterson. Nice to meet you, Veronica.” I leaned down to pick up the soft, pink blanket I’d originally bought for Blyss. The little girl needed it a lot more than she did. Wrapping it around her, I gently pushed her to lie her head back on my shoulder. “You rest. I’ve got you, pumpkin.”

  The paramedics who showed up first just happened to be the same guys who picked up Blyss that night at the club. We instantly recognized each other as they came to the car. “Hey, Masterson, who do you have there?”

  “I have Veronica Snyder. Her parents are in the car.” I patted her back and felt her nuzzling my neck. “I’ll be taking care of her until we figure out how they are.”

  He nodded, and I stepped back to get out of their way as a fire truck came up to help get the others out of the bent car. It took no time to get everyone out, and then they were heading to the hospital. I took the girl and got into the ambulance that took her mother back to where I’d just left.

  While one of the men looked after her mother, the other took over, giving Veronica an exam, checking her vitals, and giving me a thumbs up. “She’s good to go.”

  The paramedics hooked her mom up to an IV, and in just a few minutes, her eyes opened. Relief washed over her as she found her daughter safe in my arms. “Veronica, are you okay?”

  The little girl lifted her head and looked at her mother. “Yes, mommy.” Then she began to cry. “Mommy, you’re bleeding!”

  Her mother reached out and touched her daughter’s outstretched hand. “Mommy will be fine. Who has you, honey?”

  “Hi, my name’s Troy Masterson. My fiancé is in the ICU ward at the hospital we’re heading to. I’ll be more than happy to keep your daughter safe with me in the waiting room at the emergency room while you’re seen, Mrs. Snyder.”

  She blinked a few times, looking confused. “How do you know my name?”

  “Your daughter told me.”

  A weak smile curved her pale lips. “Oh. Thank you, Mr. Masterson. I’d be thankful for your help with her while things get taken care of. I don’t feel that badly. My head hurts a little, but I think I’ll be fine.”

  Veronica smiled and wiped her eyes. “Good, Mommy.”

  The woman’s body began to tremble and her eyes went wide. Then she began to convulse. The little girl screamed, and I pulled her head back to my shoulder so she didn’t have to see what was happening to her mother.

  “She’s going into shock,” one of the paramedics said as we pulled up to a stop at the emergency room.

  “Shh. It’s going to be okay, Veronica. They’ll help her. We’re at the hospital now.” Her mother was taken out of the ambulance as the poor girl cried hysterically. I got out of the ambulance and followed them inside.

  “Mommy!” The paramedic gave me a look that said screaming children inside the emergency area that was about to be overrun with the accident victims was a terrible idea. I nodded in silent understanding and took her around to the outside waiting area. I had to calm her down before we went inside. Taking a seat on the bench, I rocked her and shushed her until she was quiet. She’d fallen asleep, and I couldn’t have been happier.

  Going inside, I went to the nurse at the check-in area, told her who I was, and said that I had the Snyder’s daughter. I told her I’d be waiting right there with her and to please keep me updated on their status. She assured me she would, and I took a seat at the far end of the waiting area as I knew it was about to get packed in there.

  Holding that little girl had me feeling the oddest thing in the world. Normal! She felt at home in my arms. It had me thinking about Blyss and how I’d love nothing more than to start a family as soon as she was able to. I knew she would have healing to do before that happened, but I couldn’t wait to see if she would be up for it.

  As I was lost in thought and Veronica was lost in dreamland, asleep on my shoulder, I leaned my chin against her little head. One of the nurses came to me. “Mr. Snyder is in surgery for two broken legs. One of them is very bad and amputation is being c
onsidered. Mrs. Snyder has bleeding on the brain. She’ll be taken into surgery as soon as the neurosurgeon arrives, which should be very soon. She’s already prepped. I’m afraid neither of them has been conscious enough to tell us if there is anyone to take care of their daughter. I can have social services pick her up.”

  “No way in hell,” I whispered as sternly as I could. “I talked to her mother. She knows I have her daughter. You can ask the paramedics that brought her in if you have to. They overheard us talking. I’ll stay here at the hospital as long as I need to. Don’t worry about me and don’t call social services to come get this little girl, or they’ll have a fight on their hands. Got me?”

  “I got you, Mr. Masterson.” She turned to walk away, then turned back around. “You know, a lot of nasty things have been said about you since Blyss Danner was brought in last week. You have a supporter in me now. No one better say a bad word about you when I’m around. You let me know if you need anything. I’ve got your back.”

  “Good to know.” I nodded at her. “And thank you. There’s a lot to the story that no one’s been told. I love Blyss more than anything. I’d never hurt her. No matter what anyone thinks.”

  She left me with a smile as she went back to dealing with the throngs of people who were converging on the emergency room that night. And she left me feeling a bit better about things. One by one, I could get people to see me as the man I was, not the one the media had made me out to be.

  That room began to fill up to more than capacity, and I went to tell the nurse where I’d be taking Veronica. “Hey, since her parents are up in surgery, I’m going to a waiting room up there. I’ll check in with the nurses’ station up there, okay?”

  She was so busy all she could do was nod, and I took off. I had to pass the ICU ward as I made my way to the bank of elevators that would take me upstairs. Hesitating for a moment, I found one of the nurses walking out. She stopped and looked at me. “You’ve acquired a little girl, Mr. Masterson. And word has spread like wildfire through this hospital about you.”