Page 89 of Targeted By Desire
Reluctantly, I left the two of them alone in the back and walked back up to the driver’s seat. I kept one eye on the road and the other on the rearview mirror, sneaking peeks at Maria’s progress on Simone’s leg.
My partner was surprisingly gentle with Simone. She gave Simone a towel to bite whenever the pain was too much, and she offered apologetic glances every time Simone winced.
I almost didn’t know what to expect when I brought the two of them together, but seeing them like this gave me hope they could be friends someday.
By the time we arrived at the closest safe house, Maria had cleaned, stitched and bandaged Simone’s leg wound.
“Thank you,” I heard Simone say as I climbed into the back.
Maria replied with a nod. Turning to me, she started to sign. The other injuries are minor. She got off lucky. This could’ve been much worse.
“I know,” I said. “For some reason, she just won’t die.”
With a roll of her eyes, Simone started pushing herself up. A grimace formed on her face from the little bit of strength the movement took.
“Uh-uh,” I told her, moving closer to scoop her back up. “You can’t push yourself. Your body has been through enough.”
“But I’m fine,” she insisted.
“That’s the adrenaline lingering in your veins. Relax a little and see how you feel then.”
Simone’s plush lips pulled into a pout, but she didn’t fuss. She let me carry her up to the apartment and into the bathroom.
I set her atop the closed toilet seat before moving to the tub to run some hot water. The trickling of the water filled the silence between us as I peeled Simone’s dirty clothes off of her.
Once the bath was ready, I sat her on the edge of the bathtub and set her feet in the water.
She silently watched me as I washed the rest of the grim off of her, the crease between her brows slowly returning.
Simone’s gaze only tore away from me when Maria knocked at the door, a pile of towels topped with fresh undergarments and pajamas in her hands.
Maria gave Simone the tiniest of smiles as she set the pile down atop the toilet like a peace offering.
Simone didn’t return the smile. She only stared as Maria turned on her heel and walked back down the hall.
“Why are you two being so kind to me?” She finally asked the question that’s clearly been on her mind.
I looked away from the spot I was cleaning and up at her face. Her dark brown eyes were riddled with confusion, glowing with questions under the fluorescent lights. “Who did this to you?” I countered.
Her eyes lowered as she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
I grasped her chin and pulled her face back up. “It matters to me.”
Moisture formed in her eyes as they flicked between mine, searching for a reason to put her faith in me. “My godfather,” she whispered after a long moment. “I…I found out that he…he’s a corrupt man.”
“How corrupt?”
“Corrupt enough to kill his best friend in cold blood and lie to his goddaughter about it.”
“Oh shit,” I muttered. “I’m sorry.”
“He’s not the only one who covered it up. Apparently there’s a good chunk of the agency that’s laying in bed with criminals. God only knows what other shit they’ve done. Or how many other innocent people they’ve killed. And because I found out…because he knew I wasn’t going to keep my mouth shut, he killed me.” She blinked and the tears she’d been holding back rolled down her cheeks. “I’ll never see my sister or my friends again…will I?”
“Not if you want to stay dead.”
Nodding, she averted her gaze. Her eyes glossed over as she stared at the wall across from her, no doubt struggling to process the weight of consequences she didn’t deserve.
“If you don’t…if you want to return to your old life, I’ll take care of him - and anyone else who puts a target on your back.”
“No,” she said, her eyes returning to me. The solemnity was gone, replaced by the fire that’d drawn me to her in the first place. This time her flames were hotter, wilder, and hell-bent on destroying everything in their path. “I’m going to kill him.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
