Page 11 of Blind Devotion (Letters of Ruin #1)

“Where are the nurses?” This was a new voice, feminine yet firm, almost harsh. And in more French. Heels clacked against the tile. “Adrien, step away from her. She’s our guest. I’m certain even you know what that means.”

That name. I knew that name. How did I know that name?

“Careful of your tone. I’ve cut tongues out for less.”

“Oh, poor me, I’m shivering in my boots.”

“Hmm. Perhaps I should show our guest how serious I am. What I do with little liars.” Each word was more clipped than the last. He was back to being the arrogant, aggressive jerk. Lovely.

“Adrien,” the woman huffed out with exasperation.

His fingers dug into the back of my hair, tugging the strands back, my head with it. I cried out from the pain. This position strained my abdomen.

“I’m not lying,” I said between gritted teeth, my fingernails biting into the skin of his wrist.

“We’ll see. Memories get so easily jogged once I start chopping off bits and pieces.”

“Seems rather stupid to threaten to cut off my tongue when you seem so eager to hear me speak,” I taunted with a burst of courage. Maybe I couldn’t see or remember who I was, but that didn’t make me weak unless I chose to let it.

“I meant fingertips, little survivor.”

Oh, right, that made sense. My courage deflated.

“If that doesn’t work, the knuckles, a hand, maybe two. You’d be at my mercy in no time.”

What was wrong with this guy?

A feminine chuckle broke the tension. “Look at you both. An old bickering married couple in the making.”

Whoever this woman was, she was as crazy as him.

As if burned, he released his grip. My hair slapped against my back, and my chin tapped against my chest. Ouch.

For some reason, I felt bereft from the sudden lack of his hold as I dug my fingers around the cold bedding, which made no sense.

I hated this man. Well, maybe I didn’t quite hate him.

He was cruel and blunt. Uncivilized and snappy.

But unless I’d imagined it, there were bits of compassion there, too, which were messing with my head far worse than any violence could.

“Leave, Alizé. I’m not finished with our… guest .”

“Yes, you are. Oh, calm down.” The woman chuffed. “You’ll have your chance later. Not here. Not now.”

“I give the orders, Alizé.”

“ Mon frangin tout menacant ,” she jeered. My scary buddy? Two thumping pats against rustling clothes followed the dripping condescension.

“Your hand. Off.”

The threat in those words only made her chuckle. I didn’t understand their relationship. “You can fool almost everyone with the bullets armed in your glare, but not me. There’s nothing nefarious about this. I need you to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

The woman whispered the last part, almost as though she were caressing the words around his skin.

It irked me how sensual she sounded. A burning desire to see the looks they sent each other and the touches they exchanged had my fingers twitching to raise the bandage around my eyes. Ahh, why did I care?

“Besides, I’ve already sent word to the press.

It’s only a matter of time before the whole of France knows the De Villiers’ sleeping beauty has awoken.

” Great, and now I was getting talked about as if I weren’t even here.

“We need to control the narrative. The first of which is photos. Your interrogation will have to wait. She needs to be presentable. Unless…your desire is to bring the national police to our doorstep for attempted murder, hmm?”

“This is the last time you ever interfere with my business, Alizé. Is that understood?”

His angered command was obviously meant to have her quaking, but she simply tittered. The dynamic between these two had me reeling. I was amazed he hadn’t killed her with how easily he squeezed my throat earlier for not answering a question.

“My meddling is what will set everything right. Don’t think I’m not aware how often you visited her bedside.”

“I’m right here.” I waved a hand up.

“And no,” Alizé continued as if I’d not spoken, “before you stomp your way down those halls, getting all stabby, I’m the one who saw you. You weren’t exactly discreet.”

“You’ve a day, Alizé. No more.”

“Two. I can’t work miracles.”

“You better start.”

“At your orders, Captain,” her tone mocked. “This will be a good thing. I’m sure of it.”

His answering grunt didn’t sound convinced, and quite frankly, neither was I.

“Lock the door when you leave,” he grumbled. Soon, his footsteps stole away his warmth, menace, and his woodsy cologne.

“Nice to meet you too,” I yelled after him in French. The door slammed shut. “Asshole.”

My new companion chuckled. I should have rejoiced that he was gone, and yet I didn’t know what to think. A woman was less of a threat, at least I hoped so.

“Men. Think they know so much when they know so little. They charge. They defend. They battle. But ask them more than that, and they blunder. Mother Nature gave them brawn and testosterone, but she forgot to add a dose of good sense.”

I frowned, not quite sure what to make of the easy way she spoke to me. Was it a good thing?

“I’m sorry. Do we know each other?”

Footsteps clicked around the bed, stopping to my right. A weight settled onto the mattress and tugged the blanket taut above my thighs.

“Alizé De Villier, that big oaf’s older sister.” That made him her brother. Frangin for brother, not buddy. Tension in my shoulders relaxed with that distinction, even as I questioned my reaction. Why did it matter? “ Oh ma chère ,” Oh my dear, “did you really think I was competition?”

“I…”

“He’s family. Not that that always means much. But even if he weren’t…” Her body shuddered with a groan of disgust. “He’s all yours.”

“What?”

“Well, you know. Family is not always a blessing.”

Whatever that meant. “No, I mean…I…I don’t understand.”

“You will, ma belle . Give it time.” Her weight on the bed shifted.

“Now, I spoke to Margaux. She suspects some retrograde amnesia from the few questions you answered. She’ll come back for further evaluation when my brother isn’t huffing over her shoulder like a deranged dragon.

Don’t you worry. We’ll have you back to who you were in no time.

Minus your eyes. How we’re going to get that photo-worthy will be interesting. I do love a challenge.”

“I think you have the wrong person.” How batshit crazy was this lady?

Her manicured fingernails gently grazed the back of my fingers.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. No one is perfect. Even us De Villiers, much to my brother’s chagrin,” she admitted, her tone softened. “Or maybe you are exactly what I hope you are.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. I ignored the jerk of pain along the healing scar on my forehead and the burn around my right eye the movement caused. Something about her words sounded off, strange.

“What’s that?” I asked cautiously.

“A way forward. A lifeline, if you will.”

My head snapped in the direction of her voice. She spoke with an accent. Wait, that had been Italian, not French. I knew Italian? How did she know I spoke Italian?

“Are you testing me?” I pushed myself up to sit straighter, disregarding the strain.

“ Si .” She laughed softly. “It is good you have not forgotten everything.”

And that was heavily accented English. My head was spinning. I knew at least three languages.

“How did you know?” I trembled with nerves.

“The doctor is a…let’s say a family friend.”

“I meant about the languages.”

“Why do you think I vouched for you?”

I had no idea what she meant by vouched for me, but one thing stuck out. “You know me?”

“I do hope so.”

I could scarcely breathe. Excitement, fear. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. “Who…who am I?”

Silence greeted me. If it wasn’t for her spiced, fruity perfume, the sound of her licking and smacking her lips between my heavy inhales, and the indentation of her weight on the bed, I would have thought she had left.

“Please.” I tried not to sound too desperate.

“Tessa,” she finally answered. “Your name is Tessa.”

“Tessa,” I repeated, getting a feel for the name. I nodded. It sounded no worse or better than any other name. “Tessa, okay. Right, sure.”

Alizé tittered. “Don’t go wild on my account.”

I settled back against the pillow that had lumped down to my neck and upper back.

None of this made sense. How could she know me when her brother didn’t?

And trusting her? My skin was crawling against that.

She didn’t sound mercenary or hostile. In fact, I liked how strong she was and how she had handled her brother, but if she knew me, why hadn’t she told him?

“This just seems…”

“Unreal?”

“Yeah. How did I end up here? How do we know each other? Where exactly are we?”

“Let’s start with what you remember.”

I bit my lip, then decided what the heck.

It didn’t do me any good to hide what little I knew.

Alizé listened as I spilled my debacle on the boat.

She gave me time as I hesitated on certain points and squeezed my hand when I droned on about almost giving up floating at sea until I heard the voices from Adrien’s yacht and climbed aboard.

“Nothing else?” she asked, reverting back to French. I gently shook my head. “ Bon, pas de problème .” Alright, not a problem. “That will make this easier.”

“You’ve lost me. How?”

The sheets rustled as Alizé’s weight shifted on the bed. Then her nails were gently sifting through my hair not trapped in my eye bandages. I flinched away, but she wasn’t discouraged. Her fingers trailed down my face and bandages, her nails marking their passage.

“You’re here for my brother.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

I balked. “Yeah, no. Having amnesia and being blind doesn’t make me stupid and na?ve. I’m not a toy.”

Her laugh was hearty and almost devilish. “No, you aren’t. We’d both lose respect for you if you were.”

“I don’t think your brother respects me as it is.” I could still feel the lingering touch of his rough palms against my neck.

“Adrien is a powerful man who does not trust easily. He can’t in his position.”

“And you want me to what? Befriend him? Seduce him? You do realize I might be into women for all I know.”

“With the chemistry that was zinging between you two earlier? Doubtful.”

My cheeks heated. I opened my mouth to argue, but a sharp pinch to the top of my hand cut me off.

“Certain opinions are best left unsaid. My point is you remind me of someone. Whether or not you are her is irrelevant. He needs someone, a woman, a softer touch, let’s say, and I think you’d be a good fit.”

What, like a shoe?

“Though I didn’t think you were quite this incapacitated. Can’t you try and get up?”

“Not a toy,” I muttered with aggravation.

She sighed heavily. “You will have to do.”

And wasn’t that just a ringing endorsement. I wanted to scream to the high heavens. This was all so confusing.

“So I could be anyone, and it wouldn’t matter? You just need someone to fill a role? What the hell is wrong with all of you? Am I even Tessa or not?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. Like I said, I hope you are, but if not, you are already here. Make the best of it. Squeeze this circumstance for all its worth. Lemons, lemonade, and everything.”

“I’m not going to pretend to be someone I’m not.”

“How would you know you’re not?” I flinched at that truth.

“Look, ma chère , you’re being afforded the best healthcare with around-the-clock care from doctors renowned the world over and a luxurious bedroom suite within a beautiful mansion.

That bullet wound is on its way to being closed up.

Your eyes set to be fixed. All because you’re here.

You might even be able to see again. All you need to do is play along and give my brother a worthy distraction that’ll loosen him up a bit. ”

“And if I don’t?”

“Well, let’s just say you’re healthy enough now to travel on foot and figure out your own path.”

Meaning I would be on my own—bandaged, injured, blind, and penniless.

“Even if you do know me?”

“Even then. You are not family, and Tessa and I were never friends.”

I bit my lip and twisted my hand over her wrist to press my fingers into her pulse points.

Feeling that thump thump thump beat against my thumb soothed me.

Her pulse was steady, a little accelerated, but nothing alarming.

She meant what she said. Instinctively, I knew that. Follow her terms or else.

“Why?” I asked.

“I love my brother. Is there any better reason?”

“Can I think on it?”

“What is there to think on?”

I clenched my jaw, my teeth on full display.

She chuckled. “Fine, fine. I’ll give you a week. After that…”

“Yeah, I get it. You’ll give me the boot.”

“See that you do, and we will get along famously.”

They were all flipping nuts in this family. “And your brother?”

“Ten minutes alone with you and your hands were all over each other. I doubt it’ll be long before he’s wrapped around your finger. Call it sisterly intuition.”

“You do realize that if I’m not this Tessa, he’ll get pissed you conned him.”

“How adorable you are. However this plays out, it will not be me he blames. And my brother, when angry, is quick to deal out punishment. So my advice: best play your part well.”

Lips pressed against my cheek and then the other, just below my eye bandages. Then finally, she was pulling away. Heels clipped their way across the room.

“Don’t forget. Your first appointment with a physical therapist starts this afternoon after your photoshoot,” she said, her voice carrying across the room. “I like this new you, Tessa. If all goes well, you and I will be great friends.”

“Un-freaking-likely,” I muttered as the door clicked shut behind her. Rock, meet hard place.