Page 31 of No Promises, No Lies

When she wakes up, I’m going to need those answers.And like it or not, she’sgoingto give them to me.

20

IRISH STEW

RORY

Sunlight streaming in from the wall of windows rips me out of a dreamless sleep.

I go from barely awake to full panic mode when I catch the corner of the white blanket covering me in my field of vision.In an uncoordinated frenzy, I scramble up, forcefully shoving the blanket off, as if it bit me.

I stare at the pooled white knit, now a few feet away.Did I grab it in my sleep?I try to remember…

The sight of the tray of food throws all thoughts about the blanket out the window. I crawl to the tray as my stomach—who’d long since given up on hunger cues—growls menacingly. I’m just about to reach for the wrapped sandwich when an unwelcome thought pops into my head and my hand freezes.

I stare down at the food. The chips and bottles of water are still sealed shut, leaving the sandwich and apple as the most suspicious items on the tray.

Or is that what they’d like me to think?

A thin enough needle could pierce through packaging, and I’d never be able to tell.

Would they drug me?

My ravenous hunger and thirst ultimately win out over my concerns. They might have drugged the food, but not eating it won’t save me. If they wanted to, they could hold me down and force a needle into my neck.

So, bottoms up, I guess…

I practically inhale the sandwich and chips. Polishing off two bottles of water. I grab the apple and stash it into one of the empty drawers for later. Who knows when the next time they’ll feed me will be?

That done, I look around the room, unsure what to do with myself. I listen at the door for any sounds, but all I get is silence. Either the hall door and walls are soundproof, or there’s nothing happening. The garden below the window is empty.

Feeling grimy, I head into the bathroom, eyeing the shower. A hot shower would feel so good right now. My body aches from sleeping on the floor. A second search of the bathroom turns up nothing but a little hand towel by the sink.

The thought of being naked and exposed if Aidan waltzes back in here mid-shower has me out of the bathroom faster than you can say soap.

Back in the room, I avoid the bed, circling back toward the wall of windows. As if ignoring the bed could help me avoid my fate if I were to provoke a certain male…

The words Aidan said to Jimmy back in the office haunt my thoughts. How his eyes scanned my body, the flash of desire,his hand around my throat.

I tuck myself onto the sill of the window, making myself as small as possible. All the locks are sealed shut—I checked.Leaning my head back against the wall, I watch a little sparrow work diligently on her nest in the tree outside for a while.

I must fall asleep because when I startle awake again, the sun is gone. Instead, a gray drizzle soaks the little courtyard garden, the cobblestones slick with rain.

There’s movement by the door. The knob twists, and the sound of a key in the lock has my blood growing cold.Time to face the music. I haven’t seen Aidan since the hockey skate incident. Somehow, the anticipation of his return is worse.My fear of him has only grown as the hours have ticked by.

He must have left the food, or sent someone with it. The thought that someone was in here while I was asleep gives me chills. But the food also means they still want me alive. It would be a shame if his little prisoner died before he willed it.

I’ve worked out Aidan has a problem with killing an innocent.The problem is that he’s almost certain that I’m no innocent.

If I’m going to survive the day, I need to do everything I can to convince Aidan I have nothing to do with the Russian Bratva, The Irish Mob nor Adrik Kostalov.That I’m just Rory Collins from Vancouver, a figure skater and nothing more.

The door swings open.

Aidan’s huge frame fills the opening, as he leans against the door with his arms crossed. A thick white bandage is wrapped around his forearm. Guilt and satisfaction war within my mind.

I don’t move from where I’m perched on the window’s ledge.

“Good Afternoon.”

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