"Wake up, we have things to do," I groaned as I heard the loud knocking on my door.
I got out of bed, and unlocked the door before heading back to the bed and getting cuddled up into the blankets. I had felt this kind of comfort in over a month and a half.
"Where are we going?" I asked. I had no clue if we were even going anywhere.
"First, we need to solve your whole clothes issue. If you keep rewearing that, you'll stink."
"I hope it hurts your nose."
I looked up at him and he was standing next to my bed, looking down at me and I sat up.
"I don't want to move, it hurts."
"We're stopping by at your apartment."
"No." Sorin raised a brow at me. "I'll go in and get what I need."
"I can't have you alone in there," he said as he ran a hand through his hair. He was clearly frustrated with me. Good.
"Fine." My head hit my pillow and I winced at the pain that shot down my back. "What?" I almost barked out at Sorin. He was staring at me with a bored look on his face.
"A doctor should be here in in twenty minutes. Breakfast should be here for you in a few minutes."
He turned around and left, and I felt myself relax.
The door opened and a man came in with a tray full of food. I sat up straight and the tray was put in my lap before he left.
The tray had a banana with a bowl of oatmeal and a mug with hot black coffee.
Sorin opened the door right as I began to eat.
"Painkillers," he said dropping them onto the tray. "The plan for today is simple. We go to your apartment, and pick up all your clothes and anything else you need."
"I need to contact my landlord." I needed someone to contact him with. "For rent. I need a phone or something."
"When we get to the apartment, you can do it there. How much longer is your lease?" he asked me.
"A couple more months, if you want I can renew it." I said plainly.
"Good. We leave in an hour." He sat on a chair.
"What?" I asked after a few seconds. I was expecting him to leave.
"Can I not sit in my own home?" he responded and I rolled my eyes and continued to eat my breakfast. "You got lucky you know."
"Yea, if it wasn't for the insulin, I'd be dead right now."
"No, you know too much." I almost laughed at that. A part of me I knew I wouldn't be dead, but I was so much pain that all I could think of was survival.
"So, you were waiting for him to almost kill me?" I asked because I deserved to know.
"Yes. With your injuries there was barely any chance of you killing him."
"Is he okay?" I asked. I wanted to know. I had used a random amount on him.
"His glucose levels are okay. He has an infection." It was an old syringe that I had already used. Sterile equipment was a priority, but I didn't have the time to think that through when I thought I was going to die.
There was a knock on the door before I could respond. I looked over at Sorin, who was already out of his seat to go attend to it. He opened the door, and a woman walked in. She had golden brown hair, brown skin, and golden green eyes. Her brown lips extended, and she smiled at me, a professional smile. Her perfect teeth on full show as her eyes glimmered.
"Selene?" she asked me. Her voice was strong. She held herself with pride and spoke with confidence.
Anyone with her education and looks would do so. I merely nodded at her.
"No last name?" she asked.
"No. I don't have one." She nodded as she turned to Sorin. She gave him a pointed look, lifting her left brow as her eyes shifted to the door and back to him. Leave.
He walked out and locked the door behind him.
"I'm Dr. Raina Bhatt, I'm going to be assessing you today." She spent the first fifteen minutes checking vitals and asking routine questions.
"Where are the injuries from?" she asked.
"A fight." I didn't know how else to respond to her.
"Alright, when was your last period? Is it regular?
"Last week, and I had my tubes tied so no. It's almost once a year that I get it." She quirked her brow at my response.
She helped me out of my shirt and sweats as she examined the wounds on my body. I immediately missed the warmth of my clothes. Her face stayed still through her examination, not a speck of emotion.
She worked for Sorin Giovanni, she knew what she was dealing with, she had known that most of these weren't even from the fight, but from being beat, but she worked for Sorin Giovanni. Her job was to tend to the wounds and keep her mouth shut.
I knew that of course. The strain on her face, trying to keep from letting out a centimeter of emotion.
"You should consider yourself lucky that this is a sprained wrist and ankle. I'll get you a wrap along with ointment for the bruises and stronger pain killers. Bed rest for a week, and Selene, if you want to survive here, you rethink every word you say five times. It's how anyone who works for Mr. Giovanni gets by. Everyone has a lot to say, but the less they say, the easier to survive; get by. Listen to every word he has to say, because there's a loophole in every offer." The words were quieter, and hand squeezed mine, one woman to another. Be careful: it's a male dominated environment you're in.
She was right of course, to be careful, and it was good advice for until I was healed, even though she meant it as a long term compromise.
I wasn't expecting to not have broken a bone, but I guess I didn't. The pain in my body was so strong, it was almost numb.
I nodded at her words of advice, with little reason to take it the way she meant. After all, it's my choice to be here, I knew what I was getting into the second I walked into that club.
Raina called Sorin back in after helping me put my clothes back on, she pulled the cover over me as the knob rattled.
"It's locked," he said. Raina rolled her eyes as she went and opened it.
"I have the medication for her. She needs lots of rest and ice for the next two weeks.
Not happening.There's the event we're going to soon, but my external bruises should be clear then. As the woman Sorin Giovanni was seen with at the restaurant, anything else can be blamed on rough sex.
A whole minute had passed since Dr. Bhatt left the room.
"Let's go." His arms went under mine lifting me out of the bed, and I swallowed back the noise from the pain. I stood up straight and nodded at him as I walked to the door. Maybe, I could get him to pity my current state. If he had a soft spot for me, it would be easier to get information from him, he would let himself show his more vulnerable side.
I could kill him smarter and easier. If I could, I would draw it out and make him beg for death. But it's probably not a smart idea. I'll get caught.
I walked down the stairs, in more pain than the night before. The soreness from the fight invaded me whole as the adrenaline from it wore off. My steps were slow, but every step had to look perfect. Not a single sign of pain should show.
No matter what you're doing, there's always time for self improvement, and to hold myself high with injuries and walk with grace was something that earned attention and even respect. It was similar to the game I had played in the club with Damen. I put myself into a personal center of attention. This attention is like a wildfire, it spreads fast and more and more people notice.
Not people; men.
Men want everything they can't have. They pine after the things out of their reach. They go for things too good for them. Men expect submission, as if it's their birthright because they were born with a dick. The tricky part is putting on the shoe of a woman who is too good, but submissive, show them what they want to see so at the end of the day, you feel the happiness as you kill them.
The trip to my apartment was fairly quick. I packed every last bit of clothing in there. I brought textbooks with me, and left everything else in there as if it didn't exist. I put the rent money for the next two months somewhere that could be seen, and left a note next to it.
I spent twenty five minutes getting my clothes and by the time I had walked out to my living room, the tension between Keir and Sorin was high as a mountain.
"What's wrong?" I asked them.
"Nothing, something was taken that's it, and he just reported it to me."
"I hadn't seen you all morning! I looked for you too!" Jasper argued.
"What was taken?" I question, hoping they would answer.
"A file." I didn't push him to explain what was in the file, because I knew better than to ask questions I was getting no answer too, plus I didn't want to seem suspicious, especially since it wasn't me.
"You and I will question everyone today." Sorin's voice was firm and cold; each word seemed to increase his stress levels. His face was zoned out, as if he was looking at absolutely nothing as he stared at a wall, and thought about something.
Whatever was in that file, I had to know, but there was no knowing, until they knew. "I've gotten everything done, we can leave now."
I walked out of the apartment, not waiting for a response from them. The car ride come was as quiet as the empty streets in the dead of the night. It made me scared to breathe, as if one of them would explode at the slightest noise.
Sorin followed me into my room.
"The Bishop's event is next week, it's a business casual. It's a gathering for their recent success in opening in new locations in this past year. Tell me everything you know about them."
I looked up at him. There were only two words that would come out of my mouth. They Bishop's had no drama like the Windsor's, but what they did, was absolutely terrifying.
"Sex trafficking."
Sorin's eyes widened in surprise.
"They opened new locations because they had the money. They had the money because they're involved in trafficking. They got involved because two years ago, they were nearing bankruptcy." I didn't look at him while I spoke. I didn't look at him after I finished. I didn't care to see his reaction because I knew his reaction would either enrage me or lead me to believe he was better than them for looking disgusted at the thought.
I didn't care to know the people I murdered. I might end up feeling bad. I didn't want to know because I wanted to kill him for the job and for the money; not for my emotional well being.