Page 17 of His to Bedevil

“Don’t even think about it, Irma.” My gaze snaps to his, and my heart stills. He called me Irma. He knows my name. He said my name. His eyes narrow slightly at me. “You wouldn’t be able to take me even on your best day. Now, be a good girl, and I’ll have a hot meal prepared for you as soon as the doctor says it’s okay.”

Still reeling from the shock of him saying my name, I lie there frozen with anxiety. With his eyes locked on mine, he slips his phone from his pocket and presses a button and brings it to his ear. “Send the doctor up. Tell him she’s awake.”

Hanging up, he slips the phone back in his pocket, and I can’t help but think about how I can get my hands on it. I could quickly dial Matches’s secure line and quickly hang up. He’d be able to use the call to track me and then… then what? What can Matches do for me now? We’d need a small army to go up against Alejandro. Men we don’t have, because Matches and I work alone. Plus, it’s always been our rule. If we get in a pinch, we’re on our own. It’s just part of the job.

Alejandro’s lips twitch, and he cocks his head to the side. “Care to share? Who is it that you would call if you got ahold of my phone?”

Am I that fucking obvious? Or can he read minds?“How do you know my name?” I blurt out instead of answering his question.

This time he allows his lips to curve into a smirk. “You don’t remember,Irma? You told me.”

Facing forward, I try again to conjure up any recent memories. No matter how hard I think back, I don’t remember ever telling him. He visited me several times, always asking for my name, and every time I refused him.

“Irma Rosa Ramirez,” he states, and my heart pounds inside of my chest. “Born to Benita Rosa Ramirez and Nathaniel Thomas O’Connor on September sixteenth.” Closing my eyes, I prepare myself for what else he now knows about me. But Matches is good. He deleted everything from my past. At least, I thought he did.

My eyes open and my head snaps in the direction of the sound of knocking on the door. “Come in,” Alejandro calls out, and a man accompanied by Alberto enters the room.

I watch cautiously as the two men approach my bedside. Alberto’s facial features are stony and passive, whereas the man next to him has a warm smile on his face. “Ms. Ramirez, how are you feeling?” Unlike Alejandro and his men, this man is Caucasian and lacks the same athletic build.

I remain silent and watch him pull out a stethoscope from his bag and come toward me. Clutching the blanket in my fists, I pull it up to my neck. I feel cornered like a wounded animal. “I’m Dr. Bernard. I’m just going to check your vitals. See if we can take you off this IV and start you on some bland food and maybe some water.”

My eyes search out Alejandro’s. He’s staring at me with concern, and for some reason, I’m seeking out his reassurance. He nods his head subtly, and I release the blanket to let the doctor check my vitals.

“Alejo.” Alberto catches Alejandro’s attention. The guard jerks his head to the side as if asking for a moment with him. Alejandro gives me another look of reluctance before following him over to the other side of the room.

“So, how do you feel, Ms. Ramirez?” The doctor gains my full attention. He seems kind, but how can he be when he works for a man like Alejandro Martinez?

“I feel okay, I guess,” I murmur.

“Señor Martinez said you were able to go to the bathroom?” He continues assessing me, and I nod in response. Giving me a warm smile, he covers me back up with the blanket. “That’s good. And how about your stomach? Do you think you could try and eat something?” My stomach isn’t nearly as starved as it was when I was locked inside that room, but it’s definitely begging for me to fill it with something solid. I nod my head, trying not to seem too eager. “Okay, I’ll let Señor Martinez know what he can have sent up for you. It’s best to stick with bland meals and small portions for a few days. Your stomach has shrunk, so you don’t want to stuff it too fast too soon. Now, let’s remove this IV of yours.” He reaches for the needle that’s under my skin then stops. “Please don’t try anything reckless, Ms. Ramirez.” He holds my gaze for a solid moment, and I come to the conclusion that the kind doctor does in fact work for Alejandro and he will not be an ally.

The doctor finishes up and tells me he’ll be back tomorrow to check on me, then goes to speak with Alejandro. Before he joins them, Alejandro snaps something in rapid Spanish at Alberto, and Alberto just nods his head once then exits the room. Alejandro gives the doctor his attention with his arms crossed and stance wide as he listens to the doctor talk. His dark eyebrows are pinched together with a tense look on his face, and he gives a head nod here and there.

Once the doctor leaves the room, he comes back to my bedside. “Some food will be sent up here shortly,” he says. “Would you like to eat outside?”

I just stare up at him in bewilderment. I don’t get what is going on right now. Is this some new tactic he’s trying with me? He’s going to pamper me and get me back to my stronger self so he can torture me all over again? To get me to let my guard down? It’s kind of brilliant.

“Eat. Outside,” I repeat dryly, and he nods. “What is this?”

He tilts his head down in all seriousness. “You haven’t been out in the sun for almost five weeks. I thought maybe you would like to eat out on the terrace.” He gestures to my other side, and I follow his motion.

Along the wall are some large floor-to-ceiling windows and a set of French doors leading out to what looks like a large balcony. Then my gaze snaps back to his as I remember what he just said. “Five weeks?” I sit up quickly, and it makes me feel light-headed, but I ignore it. “I’ve been here for five weeks?”

“You have.” He closes the gap between us, and I flinch when he reaches out his hands. His lips twitch some as he gathers all the pillows and props them up behind me then leans me back against them.

“It wasn’t a dream,” I whisper, staring up at him. “You… you took care of me.” He really did bathe me and wash my hair and gently brush my teeth. I should be embarrassed about how horrible I must’ve smelled and the fact that he saw me naked, but I’m too stunned at how tender he really was with me. How he showed me the kind of affection and nurturing I haven’t had since I was a small child. “Why?”

He continues to stare at me apathetically. “Would you like to eat outside,mi amor?”

“Um.” I swallow hard. “I would.”

Alejandro

Itake Irma to the bathroom again, and this time she doesn’t fight me at all. I set her on her feet right in front of the toilet and turn my back. When she’s done, she asks if she could have some mouthwash or a toothbrush.

I retrieve the toothbrush and paste for her, and when I try to brush her teeth, she takes a swing at me. I easily catch her tiny wrist in my hand then grasp the other when she tries to swing at me with her other arm. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to brush your teeth like you asked.”

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