Tough Love

Chapter Seventy-Three

As I'm contemplating this, there's a knock on the door frame. My vision clears and I snap my head to the door. I groan in pain; that kind of sudden movement is definitely not a good idea.

“Hey darlin'.”

Ash sends me a dazzling smile and he asks, “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” I give him a small smile, but I don't know if it looks more like a grimace. I'm still not used to this smiling lark.

“How you doing?”

“Ok. You?”

“I'll be better when you're out of here. Can we talk?”

I nod, not liking the sound of that.

“There's two detectives outside who want to interview you. They're investigating this case and they need to get your statement...”

My eyes widen in fear. I might be on some serious drugs, but they do nothing to mask the fear this time. I have no idea what they're going to ask me and I don't know how much detail they want from me. I don't want to give them my past. That's something that belongs to me and I shouldn't have to reveal that, especially to people Eli works with. They'll never look at him or me the same way if I speak those words.

Ash seems to read my fear, because he quickly says, “I'm going to be right here. Eli can't be here, for obvious reasons, so he asked me to sit in with you. Is that ok?”

I nod, not trusting my voice to actually say anything.

“You just have to tell them about the day you were attacked for the moment. They're not here to investigate anything else, ok?”

I let out a deep breath and now that's cleared up, I can find my voice again.

“Yes sir.”

“Ok, good. I'm going to show them in, but I'll be right here. I'll just sit at the end of the bed if you need me.”

I take a deep breath and whisper, “Ash?”

“Yes, doll?”

I can't believe I'm actually going to utter these words, but I quickly ask before I change my mind. “Do you mind to sit next to me please?”

He smiles warmly at me and nods, “Sure thing darlin'. I'll be right back.”

As he leaves the room, he shoots me a wink, but it's not a flirtatious or perverted kind of wink. It's a gesture that is sending a message to a friend. He understands my fear and he's glad I'm asking for his help. I don't know how I know that's what he means; I just do.

Once the two detectives are in my room, I feel like the space has drastically reduced and my breathing changes. Ash frowns at me and whispers in Spanish, “Calm down, darlin'. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I know I'm not Eli, but I will take care of you...”

I'm shocked that he knows Spanish and that throws the thoughts and fears from my mind for a few seconds. He chuckles, reading my mind, and says, “I spent a lot of time at Eli's when I was a kid. I picked up the language from them.”

I nod and glance at the detectives before returning my gaze to my bed sheets.

“Good morning Miss Romanov. My name is Detective Baker and this is Detective Jones. We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your attack. Are you ok to answer some questions?”

I whisper, “Yes sir.”

“Ok, good. Can you tell us what happened leading up to the morning of December 26th?”