Sebastian Knight

16. Liliana

I didnt look back as I ran, tears streaming down my face. I knew it wasn't right for Sebastian, of course not. No wonder Thomas cheated on me. I drowned out Sebastian's voice as I ran, hitting down a road. I looked back to Sebastian not in sight. Thank God.

Where do I go? I have no family here, no friends. No one. Two minutes later a black Dodge stopped in front of me, the windows were blacked out, and I can't tell who's at the wheel. But as we approach, the driver's door swings open, and a woman clad in black with a black cap pulled low over her face climbs gracefully out of the car.

She moves to the rear of the SUV and opened the side door. "Ahh, the new woman in Sebastian's life. Well dont you look sweet," She has the nerve to smile as if we are off on a friendly jaunt.

"Who are you?" My question is arctic.

The woman laughed as she titled her head, "Oh, he doesn't talk about me?"

"T-tamara?"

Tamara? What the hell? Why is she fixed up on me?

"Your phone, Liliana," she asks, watching me warily. I hand it to her, and she tosses it into a nearby trashcan.

"That will throw the dogs off the scent," she says smugly.

Who is this woman? Tamara slams my door shut and climbs into the driver's seat. I glance anxiously behind me as she pulls out into the traffic.

"You see Liliana, the person I am working with wants the same thing I do?" Tamara spoke looking into the review mirror.

"What?"

My heart was pumping so hard.

"I think Thomas would like to answer that."

My eyes widened.

Thomas. What was here doing here in Chile? Was he following me? s**t! I glare at her stonily in the rearview mirror. She pales and an anxious scowl mars her otherwise lovely face.

"Why are you doing this, Tamara? you dont even know Thomas."

She glances at me again briefly in the mirror, and I see a fleeting look of pain in her eyes.

"Liliana, we'll get along just fine if you keep your mouth shut."

"But you can't do this. This is so wrong."

"Quiet," she says, but I sense her unease.

"Does he have some kind of hold on you?" I ask. Her eyes shoot to mine and she slams on the brakes, throwing me forward so hard I hit my face against the headrest of the front seat.

"I said be quiet," she snarls. "And I suggest you put on your seatbelt."

And in that moment I know that he does. Something so awful that she's prepared to do this for him. I wonder briefly what that could be. Theft from the company? Something from her private life? Something s****l?

I shudder at the thought. Tamara heads away from downtown Seattle and up into the hills to the east. Before long we're driving through residential streets. I catch sight of one of the street signs: SOUTH IRVING STREET. She takes a sharp left onto a deserted street.

With a dilapidated children's playground on one side and a large concrete parking lot flanked by a row of squat, empty brick buildings on the other. Tamara pulls into the parking lot and stops outside the last of the brick units.

She turns to me. "Showtime," she murmurs.

My scalp prickles as fear and adrenaline course through my body. "You don't have to do this," I whisper back.

Her mouth flattens into a grim line, and she climbs out of the car. "Get out," Tamara snaps, yanking the rear passenger door open.

Shit. As I clamber out, my legs are shaking so hard I wonder if I can stand. The cool late-afternoon breeze carries the scent of the coming fall and the chalky, dusty smell of derelict buildings.

"Well, lookee here." Thomas emerges from a small, boarded-up doorway on the left of the building. His hair is short. He's removed his earrings and he's wearing a suit. A suit? He ambles toward me, oozing arrogance and hate. My heart rate spikes.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" He asked as he walked over to me.

I took a step back and shook my head, "Why are you doing this? You cheated on me. You broke my heart. Asshole!"

From nowhere he lashes out, backhanding me hard across the face. The ferocious, unprovoked blow knocks me to the ground, and my head bounces with a sickening thud off the concrete. Pain explodes in my head, my eyes fill with tears, and my vision blurs as the shock of the impact resonates, unleashing agony that pulses through my skull.

I scream a silent cry of suffering and shocked terror. Thomas follows through with a swift, vicious kick to my ribs, and my breath is blasted from my lungs by the force of the blow. Scrunching my eyes tightly, I try to fight the nausea and pain, to fight for a precious breath.

"That's for leaving me, you f*****g b***h!" Thomas screams.

I pull my legs up, huddling into a ball and anticipating the next blow. No. No. No.

"Thomas!" Tamara screeches. "Not here. Not in broad daylight for f**k's sake!"

He pauses. "The b***h deserves it!" he gloats to Tamara.

And it gives me one precious second to reach around and pull the gun from the waistband of my skirt. Shakily, I aim at him, squeeze the trigger, and fire. The bullet hits him just above the knee, and he collapses in front of me, crying out in agony, clutching his thigh as his fingers redden with his blood.

"f**k!" Thomas bellows.

I turn to face Tamara, and she's gaping at me in horror and raising her hands above her head. She blurs . . . darkness closes in. s**t . . . She's at the end of a tunnel. Darkness consuming her. Consuming me. From far away, all hell breaks loose. Cars screeching, brakes, doors, shouting, running, footsteps. The gun drops from my hand.

"Liliana" Sebestian's voice, his antagonised voice. "Lily!"

Darkness and better yet peace.

****

There is only pain. My head, my chest . . . burning pain. My side, my arm. Pain. Pain and hushed words in the gloom. Where am I? Though I try, I cannot open my eyes. The whispered words become clearer, a beacon in the darkness.

"Her ribs are bruised, Mr. Knight, and she has a hairline fracture to her skull, but her vital signs are stable and strong."

"Why is she still unconscious?"

"Mr Knight has had a major contusion to her head. But her brain activity is normal, and she has no cerebral swelling. She'll wake when she's ready. Just give her some time."

I relax, and unconsciousness claims me once more, stealing me away from the pain. Everything is heavy and aching: limbs, head, eyelids, nothing will move. My eyes and mouth are resolutely shut, unwilling to open, leaving me blind and mute and aching. As I surface from the fog, consciousness hovers, a seductive siren just out of reach. Sounds become voices.

"I'm not leaving her."

Sebastian! He's here . . . I will myself to wake-his voice is strained, an agonized whisper.

"Sebastian, you should sleep."

"No, Papi. I want to be here when she wakes up."

"I'll sit with her. You need to sleep Sebestian. She is family."

Family! Am I really family to them? I have a pressing need to pee. I open my eyes. I'm in the clean, sterile environment of a hospital room. It's dark except for a sidelight, and all is quiet. My head and my chest ache, but more than that, my bladder is bursting. I need to pee.

I test my limbs. My right arm smarts, and I notice the IV attached to it on the inside of my elbow. I shut my eyes quickly. Turning my head-I'm pleased that it responds to my will-I open my eyes again. Sebastian is asleep, sitting beside me and leaning on my bed with his head on his folded arms. I reach out, grateful once more that my body responds, and run my fingers through his soft hair.

He startles awake, raising his head so suddenly my hand falls weakly back onto the bed.

"Hi," I croak.

"Oh, Liliana." His voice is choked and relieved. He grasps my hand, squeezing it tightly and holding it up against his rough, stubbled cheek.

"I need to use the bathroom," I whisper.

He gapes then frowns at me for a moment. "Okay."

I struggle to sit up.

"Lily, stay still. I'll call a nurse." He quickly stands, alarmed, and reaches for a buzzer on the bedside.

"Please," I whisper. Why do I ache everywhere? "I need to get up." Jeez, I feel so weak.

"Will you do as you're told for once?" he snaps, exasperated.

"I really need to pee," I rasp. My throat and mouth are so dry.

A nurse bustles into the room. She must be in her fifties, though her hair is jet black. She wears overlarge pearl earrings.

"Mrs. Torres welcome back. I'll let Dr. Bartley know you're awake." She makes her way to my bedside. "My name is Bianca. Do you know where you are?"

"Yes. Hospital. I need to pee."

"You have a catheter."

What? Oh this is gross. I glance anxiously at sebestian then back to the nurse.

"Please. I want to get up."

"Mrs. Torres."

"Please."

"Lily," Sebastian warns.

I struggle to sit up once more.

"Let me remove your catheter. Mr. Knight I am sure Mrs. Torres would like would like some privacy." She looks pointedly at Christian, dismissing him.

"I'm not going anywhere." He glares back at her.

"Sebastian, please," I whisper, reaching out and grasping his hand. Briefly he squeezes my hand then gives me an exasperated look. "Please," I beg.

"Fine!" he snaps and runs his hand through his hair. "You have two minutes," he hisses at the nurse, and he leans down and kisses my forehead before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Sebastian bursts back into the room two minutes later as Nurse Bianca is helping me out of bed. I'm dressed in a thin hospital gown. I don't remember being stripped.

"Let me take her," he says and strides toward us. God he was so impatient.

Rolling my eyes.

"Mr. Knight, I can manage." Nurse Bianca scolds him.

He gives her a hostile glare. "Dammit, she's mine. I'll take her." He snarls through gritted teeth as he moves the IV stand out of his way.

"Mr. Knight!" she protests.

He ignores her, leans down, and gently lifts me off the bed. I wrap my arms around his neck, my body complaining. Jeez, I ache everywhere. He carries me to the en suite bathroom while Nurse Bianca followed us, pushing the IV stand.

"Mrs. Torres, you're too light," he mutters disapprovingly as he sets me gently on my feet. I sway.

My legs feel like Jell-O. Sebastian flips the light switch, and I'm momentarily blinded by the fluorescent lamp that pings and flickers to life.

"Sit before you fall," he snaps, still holding me.

Tentatively, I sit down on the toilet. "Go." I try to wave him out.

"No. Just pee, Lily."

Could this be any more embarrassing? "I can't, not with you here."

"You might fall."

"Mr. Knight!"

We both ignore nurse Bianca.

"Please," I beg.

He raises his hands in defeat. "I'll stand outside, door open." He takes a couple of paces back until he's standing just outside the door with the angry nurse.

"Turn around, please," I ask.

Why do I feel so ridiculously shy with this man? He rolls his eyes but complies. And when his back is turned and I let go, and savor the relief.

I take stock of my injuries. My head hurts, my chest aches where Thomas kicked me, and my side throbs where he pushed me to the ground. Plus I'm thirsty and hungry. Jeez, really hungry. I finish up, thankful that I don't have to get up to wash my hands, as the sink is close. I just don't have the strength to stand.

"I'm done," I call, drying my hands on the towel.

Sebastian turned and came back in and before I know it, I'm in his arms again.I have missed these arms. He pauses and buries his nose in my hair.

"Oh, I've missed you, Mrs. Torres," he whispers, and with Nurse Bianca fussing behind him, he lays me back on the bed and releases me-reluctantly, I think.

"If you've quite finished, Mr. Knight, I'd like to check over Mrs. Torres now."

Nurse Bianca is mad.

He stands back. "She's all yours," he says in a more measured tone.

She huffs at him then turns her attention back to me. Exasperating isn't he?

"How do you feel?" she asks me her voice laced with sympathy and a trace of irritation, which I suspect is for Sebastian's benefit.

"Sore and thirsty. Very thirsty," I whisper.

"I'll fetch you some water once I've checked your vitals and Dr. Bartley has examined you."

She reaches for a blood pressure cuff and wraps it around my upper arm. I glance anxiously up at Sebastian. He looks dreadful-haunted, even-as if he hasn't slept for days. His hair is a mess, he hasn't shaved for a long time, and his shirt is badly wrinkled. I frown.

"How are you feeling?" Ignoring the nurse, he sits down on the bed out of arm's reach.

"Confused. Achy. Hungry."

"Hungry?" He blinks in surprise.

I nod.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Anything. Soup."

"Mr. Knight, you'll need the doctor's approval before Mrs. Torres can eat."

Nurse Bianca handed me a glass of water which I sipped carefully. My empty stomach convulses, tears prick my eyes, and a deep shudder runs through me.

"Hey." Sebastian scoots forward, his voice filled with concern. Taking the glass from my hand, he tenderly folds me into his arms. "You're safe now," he murmurs against my hair, his voice hoarse.