Page 39 of Darkest Desire

“Was it…” He glances at Nico.

“It wasn’t me,” Nico snaps. “I saved her from the asshole doing that to her.”

“Right.” He presses down onto my stomach and I let out a yelp. “I’ll need to inspect your body. Can you please take off your dress?”

“Not with him here,” I mutter, nodding at Nico.

“I’m staying.” Nico smirks. “And besides, I’ll see you naked soon enough.”

With an eye roll, I slip my dress down but I keep my underwear and bra in place. My stomach is already bruising.

The doctor inspects it for a long moment, making my heart pound, before he grabs an ultrasound machine and checks for any internal bleeding. “Everything looks good inside. It’s just surface level bruising. You’ll heal within a few days, though it may be hard to inhale fully for a while just because of the pain. I can give you some medication to help with it.”

“No medicine,” I grit out.

“May I ask why?”

I look at Nico. “I don’t want to be drugged.”

“Meaning, she doesn’t trust me,” Nico says. “She wants to be sober, I take it.”

“Exactly,” I snap.

“Well, all right then,” Elio says. “But keep it easy for the next few days. Rest. Re-gain your strength. The pain should go away and if it doesn’t, come back to see me.”

“Ok.” I try to put my dress back on but it hurts too much. Nico steps forward and slips it on over my head, his hands lingering on my waist. I shoot him a look and he only smirks.

“Let’s get you back home, Sasha.”

“One moment.” I turn to the doctor. “Can I use your restroom?”

“Of course. I’ll show you where it is.” Elio walks me out of the exam room and down a hallway to his bathroom. Nico isn’t with us.

I take this moment to grab Elio’s arm, making him look at me with raised eyebrows. “Can I trust you?”

“I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“How loyal are you to Nico?”

“Loyal. He pays me well to work for him.”

“So if I ever came to you for help, would you tell Nico?”

Elio extracts his arm away. “I would. He would kill me if I tried to harbor you, I’m afraid. But if he ever beats you, you can come to me and I’ll fix you right up.” He pats my arm before walking away. So much for the help.

Nico has a vice on this city and I won’t receive any help here.

An idea hits me.

I sneak further down the hallway and inspect every room until I find the doctor’s office. The door isn’t locked so I can walk right on it. He has a landline phone in it. Thank god.

It takes me a moment to figure out how to make a call on it from Italy to New York but I manage and soon, I’m dialing Natalya’s number.

She answers right away. “Hello?”

“It’s Sasha,” I whisper, glancing at the door.

“Sasha. Oh my god. Are you ok?”