Page 4 of Hell of a Mess

Three

Luther

They’re more blue than green, I mused, trying to label the exact shade of her eyes as she stared up at me.

I’d known the moment she woke up because I’d been watching her breathe for the past hour. I could tell when it changed from that of a restful slumber.

“Here,” I said, reaching for the fresh glass of ice water that Jayda had fixed her before going upstairs to make dinner. “Drink.”

She started to lean forward, and I shook my head to stop her, but it was too late.

“Ah,” she gasped as she closed her eyes tightly with a pained expression tightening her otherwise plump lips.

“I’ll put the straw in your mouth. You don’t move. Not yet at least. Wait for the doc to get here. He will get you up.”

Her gaze snapped open. “Get me up?” she asked softly.

I nodded. “Yep. You gotta move, but for now, just drink.”

She hesitantly took a small drink, then seemed to realize how thirsty she was and began to drink more.

I knew I should probably stop her, but, hell, she seemed to need it.

When she eased back an agonized grimace touched her face.

Damn, I didn’t like seeing her in pain again.

She rested her head and continued to study me as if I was going to trigger a memory.

No such luck. I was as clueless about her identity as she was.

There was no reason for me to be down here with her, but the longer she stayed without us knowing who she was, the more unsettled Linc grew.

I’d been working by his side long enough to know his tell signs, and I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t send her away before she was ready, just to protect his family.

That wasn’t going to happen. The image of her terrified simper as she had stared at me behind the dumpster was haunting.

I couldn’t shake it, and I’d be damned if Linc went and dropped her off to survive on her own.

She didn’t even know who the fuck she was.

“Do…” She whispered the one word, snapping my attention back to the present. “Do you know who I am?” she asked. There wasn’t concern or trepidation in her gaze. Instead, there was a gleam of hope. She wanted that information as much as we did.

I shook my head. “Not yet. But we’re working on it. Do you remember anything?”

She seemed distressed by my answer, then shook her head. “No.”

I was good at reading a liar, and she wasn’t one.

At least not about this. When her memory returned, I’d most likely know it.

The glint in her eyes would change. One filled with truths she might or might not want to share.

She could have been the victim of random violence, but it was unlikely.

This seemed personal, and the older bruising was telling.

“The footage from the parking lot doesn’t show anything—or at least, that was what Locke was told.”

Linc’s voice surprised me. I’d been so focused on her that I didn’t even notice his footsteps approaching. Damn.

Turning, I looked at him before responding. “There has to be something.” I stated the obvious, and he briefly glanced at the woman behind me.

“Yeah, I know. We’re being lied to. Not their best decision, and we’ll be paying a visit to the owner,” he replied as his gaze hardened as it came back to me. “You’re going with us.”

Why the fuck had he said it like that? His tone insinuated I’d not want to go. We were being fucking lied to about this shit. A woman had been beaten and left in their parking lot. I wanted to go face the bastards.

“When are we going?”

Linc seemed appeased by my response. He’d been braced for an argument. Had he thought I wouldn’t want to leave her? Just because I’d been down here with her, reading to her, didn’t mean I had some fucking attachment. I didn’t know the woman. Hell, she didn’t know herself.

“Bane is setting things up. I’ll let you know.”

I nodded and glanced back at her. Still no sign of anything to tell me she knew something.

Her gaze barely flickered to Linc before coming back to me.

All I could see were questions there. If we had anything to go on to jog her memory, it might help.

But we had nothing. Other than her other bruises, and I doubted Doc would agree that we should go there with her yet.

“Doc’s here,” Linc said, glancing down at his phone. The alert that someone had come through the gates must have just gone off. “Maybe something has come back from her DNA,” he said before turning and heading back toward the elevator.

I should probably go too. I’d been down here longer than I’d anticipated.

But I felt fucking bad for the girl. She didn’t know who she was, she’d been beaten, and she was in a strange place.

Granted, all places would be strange to her right now.

It still bothered me. Reading to her had given me something to do, and she hadn’t been alone.

Admitting that shit to Linc—or any of them for that matter—wasn’t happening though.

“Is she awake?”

The sound of Locke’s voice had my head snapping back around. He’d stepped out of the elevator when it opened for Linc. What the fuck was he doing here?

Linc simply nodded his head once, then stepped into the elevator. I watched as Locke made his way to the room, trying to decide if I cared that he’d come to check on her. He’d helped me bring her here. It shouldn’t bother me.

He glanced my way briefly as he walked past me and into the room. Silently, I watched him. Unsure what I thought about it. I wanted to believe he was down here for concern, but something in his eyes made me think otherwise.

“You’re awake,” he said. “I’ve been down here three other times to find you sleeping. It’s good to see your eyes open. How are you feeling?”

I didn’t like that. The tone in his voice was making me edgy.

“I, uh…” She paused, sounding uncertain.

I tore my glare off his back to see her looking at me for…guidance? Was I reading this wrong? It sure seemed like she was waiting on me for something.

“She’s in pain,” I told him.

She didn’t remember Locke. That much was obvious. The little she’d seen of him before she passed out in my arms hadn’t been enough to make an impression.

“And she doesn’t know who the fuck you are,” I added, feeling a little smug about that. She didn’t remember me from before either, but she preferred me. It was as if she trusted me. Not a role anyone had ever placed me in.

He cut his eyes at me, clearly annoyed with my response, then turned his attention back to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in here and confuse you.”

Why was he using that tone of voice? Like he was trying to charm a female out of her panties?

“I’m Locke,” he told her. “I was with Luther when we found you. I drove the truck.”

Her body seemed to relax the slightest bit. I’d rather her not get comfortable with his presence.

“Oh,” she replied just above a whisper. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t remember.”

“No need to be sorry,” he told her. “You’ve got other things more important to work on remembering.”

The corners of her lips quirked, as if she might smile, and I tensed. Why the fuck did I care? All I needed was for her to remember who the fuck she was so I could go kill the bastard who had hurt her, then send her back to her life. One that would be safer than it had been.

It wasn’t like I planned on doing anything with her or forming any bond.

Hell, I was most likely twice her age. Not that age had been a factor in who I fucked before, but that was fucking.

This woman wasn’t one that you had a good time with, then moved on.

She was the other kind. The type I stayed the hell away from.

Locke would figure that out soon enough. Those eyes of hers and that damn mouth were distracting him, much like they had me. But if he stepped back and saw the entire package, he’d realize she wasn’t what we were looking for in a female.

This didn’t affect me. I sure as shit wasn’t going to get fucking feelings for the woman.

Turning, I walked toward the elevator. Proving to myself that I didn’t care what Locke said to her or how long he visited her.

When we did find out who she was, I had a feeling it was going to come with a load of baggage that we’d have to clean up.

He was too damn young to think beyond the pretty package.

She was a beautiful little wounded bird but the day would come when she could fly again, and I would be happy to let her go.