His Luna Warrior

Chapter Six: Trouble

Adam

When I turned into the space between the buildings, I saw four figures engaged in a fight. Three of them were men, and they had surrounded the woman I had originally heard.

The woman lashed out with her hands and feet in a series of martial arts movements, landing blows to her assailants with lethal precision. She kicked a blade I hadn’t seen out of one of the men’s hands, and had the other two on their knees.

“Hey!” I yelled at them before anything else could happen, alerting them to my presence. I wasn’t sure what else to do, or of what use I could be but I knew a three-on-one fight wasn’t fair, especially when that one was a woman.

As I started to approach them, the men ran in the opposite direction, disappearing into the night. Well, that had been easier than I thought.

When I was sure they weren’t coming back, I made my way over to the woman who had slowly slid down the side of the building to sit on the ground.

Kneeling before her, I was in for the biggest shock of my life. There was no way I could have mistook her white hair or unique, light green eyes as they warily looked into mine. “Jadea!?” I exclaimed, my hand landing on her shoulder. I noticed her wince and immediately let go. My gaze found the gash and blood seeping from her arm. One of the men had landed at least one devastating cut. “You’re injured! We need to get you to a hospital.”

“No! No hospitals. I’ll be ok. It’s just a scratch,”. She reassured, her head rolling a bit as if she was slowly losing control of her bodily functions. Had they drugged her? “Please,” she begged on a whisper.

Looking her over a bit more closely, the only wound was the one shallow cut on her arm. “But you’ve been drugged. You should see a doctor.”

“Not…” Her words were starting to slur and she was having an even harder time focusing. “Not the first time.”

What did she mean ‘not the first time’!?

Wait… she couldn’t possibly mean this had happened to her before?

“They will… wear off… I’ll… okay,” she stumbled through the sentence. I wasn’t quite as confident as she was.

When she shivered, I took off my jacket. “Here, lean into me,” I encouraged, hooking my arm around her good shoulder and pulling her into me so I could maneuver the jacket around her shoulders. Even though this was definitely crappy circumstances, I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly she fit in my arms.

“I’ll call Garret,” I announced, easing her back against the wall.

She flopped her head in a nodding motion.

Right as I took my phone out to call him, it dinged, indicating my ride was here. I didn’t think twice as I pulled her to her feet, which wasn’t an easy feat seeing as I wasn’t much taller than her and was far weaker than most other male specimens. Plus, I was intoxicated to boot. When I had her up, I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled the other over my shoulders.

I knew she was trying her best to help, but the drugs that had infiltrated her system were in full swing.

As I helped her get into the back seat of the Uber, I wondered if the driver would comment or notice her odd state. I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t worried the driver might even call the police. Which meant I would get blamed for the state she was in, since I was with her, and Jadea wouldn’t come out from under the drug’s influence for several hours to clear my name.

She was turning out to be quite the trouble maker already. Maybe this was what my gut had been so upset about?

Honestly, it wasn’t my reputation, or even the threat of time spent in a cell I was worried about, per se. I was worried because if I failed to keep her out of the hospital like she asked, I was afraid I would lose my job. I presumed she didn’t want to go to the hospital because of the publicity it was sure to draw.

The driver was indeed sharp and, before we ever left the parking lot, looked directly at Jadea and blatantly asked, “Are you alright miss?”

I felt her as she took a deep breath. Smiling, she said in a heavily slurred voice, “yes, just drunk.” Right at the end she hiccuped convincingly and the driver nodded, turning back forward to start the short drive to my house.

We sat in silence, Jadea leaning heavily into my side, her head resting on my shoulder, her breathing even. I was afraid she had fallen asleep. If she had, and she didn’t wake up, I wasn’t sure I would be able to carry here inside the house.

Thankfully, when we arrived, she hadn’t fully succumbed to the drugs. She was able to slide herself out and helped stumble her way in to my apartment. If anyone had witnessed us bobbing and weaving to my front door, they probably would have laughed at the spectacle we made.

I led her straight into my room and I eased her down onto the bed where she promptly passed out. Taking off her shoes, I tucked her under the blanket and made my way out to the living room.

“Adam? If you’re calling to ask about work related things, right now isn’t the best of times,” Garret said a bit distractedly, worry evident in his tone.

“It’s about Jadea.”

“What about her?” He nearly growled on the other line.

“I-uh-I found her,” I faltered. “She was in the alley at the bar I had been at tonight. She had been fighting off three men when I heard the scuffle. One of the men nicked her arm with a blade and she was drugged…”

“Where are you two now?”

“At my apartment. I didn’t like the idea of staying in the alleyway open and exposed.”

“Good call,” he agreed, and some of the tension eased from my chest. “Did she say anything?”

“She didn’t say much other than she didn’t want to go to the hospital, that she was ok and the drugs would eventually wear off. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. I just wanted to get her someplace safe.”

I heard someone, possibly Blade, ask Garret a question. Garret’s response was distant, as if he had moved the phone away from his face. “She’s ok. Adam has her.” There was more muffled voices but I wasn’t able to discern what was said.

“Adam?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think she is going to be ok without medical attention?”

Did I think so? “Yes.” She had seemed cognizant enough and had been adamant about not going to the doctors.

“Is it possible if she could stay there with you tonight? We are all a bit too drunk to drive safely. I’ll come get her in the morning.”

“Yeah! Of course.” This was part of the job description, right?

“And Adam, thank you.” His sincerity caught me off guard again. “If her condition worsens or changes, give me a call.”

When I hung up, I scrubbed my face with the palms of my hands. This was going to be a walk in the park. I could do this, sleep under the same roof as her without making a complete i***t of myself.

Right.

I took a quick shower to wash the smell of alcohol and sweat from my body before going back to my room. I nearly convinced myself to sleep on the couch, but I was afraid I wouldn’t hear her if she had an issue during the night. So, with my heart pounding out a frantic rhythm in my chest, I laid down on top of the covers next to her. Sleep took a while to find, but I welcomed it when it finally came…

***

Sometime during the night, I woke up to Jadea’s soft whimpers and cries. She was having a bad dream.

“Jadea,” I called gently, not wanting to startle her.

“No, please,” she cried softly, her head flailing. “Don’t…I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Her nightmare wasn’t letting up and it didn’t look as if she was going to wake up from it either. I made sure to stay away from her injured shoulder and touched her hip instead. “Jadea, you are ok. You are safe.”

Feverish eyes opened wide, staring dazedly into mine. She wasn’t really awake, just caught in that in between state. “Adam?” She whispered softly.

“I’m here, Jadea.”

“Run, before they get you too,” she whispered before falling back into a deep slumber.

I couldn’t help but feel as if her warning was too late. There was no way I could run from her now. Even though I didn’t know her, she had somehow burrowed deep under my skin without my permission. She had permeated every cell in my body and I didn’t even know if she felt the same way. But, I couldn’t deny my attraction to her.

For someone who had fought so hard against such feelings, what I felt with her was somehow different. And I found myself longing for something more with her.

She rolled into me and, as I drifted back to sleep, I found I rather liked the feeling of having her snuggled up in my embrace. Was it too much to ask the fates for this one woman?