Before You Knew Me

Chapter 7-The Safe House

3rd person

"What is this place?" she whispered as he helped her out. Her legs almost gave way.

"It's a safe house," he explained, leading her away from the car. "It looks abandoned," she spoke matter-of-factly. "That's the point," he said sarcastically.

He led her through a side entrance. Behind a false wall was a modern security door. He entered a code.

They entered an elevator. No buttons for floors above ground. Only one. B3.

"You said abandoned," she was confused.

"It is," he sighed.

"Then why is there an elevator?" she asked with so many questions he was starting to feel irritated.

"Because the abandoned part is a cover." he pinched the rim of his nose

"ok sorry Mr it's normal to take someone they just kidn*pped to as abandoned safe house" she spoke in a stupid man voice

The doors opened onto B3 and her eyes widened. Clean. Modern. Functional. Bedrooms. A kitchen. A lounge. Medical supplies. Communication equipment. Generators. Security monitors.

Elara slowly turned in a circle.

"This has been here the whole time?" She was amazed.

"Yes."

She sat on the couch, hands trembling.

Daniel pulled a blanket from a cupboard and placed it gently over her shoulders.

"You're safe."

She looked up. "Am I?" she asked in a cocky tone.

"Yes." His eyes studied her. "Doesn't seem like it, seems I have been shot at, kidn*pped and for what reason I don't know," she raised her voice.

She pulled the blanket closer. It smelled faintly like clean laundry and something distinctly masculine. She immediately pushed the thought away.

Daniel opened a first-aid kit, trying to clean his own injuries.

Elara frowned. "That's not how you do it. Give me that," she said, grabbing the cotton swabs from his hand.

Their fingers brushed. A strange little jolt she ignored.

She opened the kit and stopped. Sutures. Local anaesthetic. Sterile instruments.

"This isn't a normal first-aid kit," she gasped.

"No."

"What exactly do you do?" she asked, curious.

"Security."

"This is not security," she said obviously.

He almost smiled. "You'd be surprised."

She took the gauze and antiseptic, "This is going to hurt," she said as she took some numbing solution and injected it into his head, she soaked the gauze in it. She placed it to his eye and he hissed in pain. She took out the suture kit and started stitching his eyebrow while he jolted in pain, less pain because of the numbing solution but more pressure.

She cleaned his cuts and scrapes forgetting that she probably had a few of those as well and maybe some bruises from being thrown around, pushed to the floor, rolled on by a hug giant, and then tossed into a car, no seat belt.

Then she noticed his hand move toward his side.

"What's there?" she asked.

"Nothing." He hid it.

"Daniel," she scoffed.

"I'm fine."

"Take your shirt off," she ordered.

His eyebrows lifted. "Excuse me?"

"You have blood pooling under you. Are you sure it's nothing or are you injured and being very annoying?" she scoffed

He pulled his blood-covered shirt over his head. Broad shoulders, strong arms, defined chest, several scars old and new.

Elara stared for half a second too long. Daniel noticed.

"See something you like?" he grinned.

"No. Sit down," she ordered.

She found the deep cut below his ribs.

"Daniel. This needs stitches."

She worked quickly injected — cleaning, injecting, stitching — and patched up while he watched her steady hands, like she was painting a Picasso

"You don't shake," he said

"I'm concentrating," she said, pinching the needle between her teeth and fingers to get a better grip.

"Most people would be terrified," he spoke as he winced when she stitched.

"I'm not most people," she looked at him. "I've Seen worse"

"I've noticed, how do you know all of this?" he asked softly.

She pulled a stuck he hissed "I took a course in first aid and EMT training. I am a qualified paremedic " she said

He was so shocked. "she cooks, she bakes, she smart, she beautiful, and shes a paremedic" he said realizing he had called her beautiful hher cheeks went a little red. "I should have known that" he said

She brushed it off "you should have" she scoffed "your right you have been staking me for over 6 years, not creepy at all" she cuts the last string but hard he hissed she felt a small bit of pleasure from that knowing she hurt him.

"Enough chit chat," she sat down and glared at him. "Explain," she ordered.

"Bossy much?" he asked, hissing as he sat straight.

"I made a promise to your dad I would protect you," he spoke.

"My dad?" she was confused.

"Yes, your dad Gabriel," he hissed in pain when he moved.

"Why? Who was he to you? That was a long story for another day," Daniel spoke.

"My partner, we have worked at a secret agency for years, gathering intel, witness protection program, safe houses," he slowed, "and when he found out someone was going to hack the system and take the data he took action, removed it all and hid the data," he said.

"So you're telling me all of this," she waved her arms around the house they were now in, "was the real world my dad was in," she sighed. Her whole life shattered. He lied to her. They never lied to each other and even if he wasn't there this felt like the biggest betrayal.

"Yes," Daniel spoke. "And you?" she asked.

"It's my world too, after your dad died I left the agency and started new," he spoke. "Cross Security," she shook her head, the deception just kept coming.

"You came into my bakery almost every day," she sighed.

"I liked the view," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. She was not having any of it.

"The view!!" she spat.

"Of the bakery," he smiled.

Elara raised an eyebrow. "Right. Stop joking around, you realize my dad lied to me, you lied to me and now who do I trust," she was irritated and on the verge of screaming.

"You watched me," she said. "You were in my world," she raised her arms, "and it was just a job, I was a job," she spat, frustrated.

"Yes. Because I needed to know you were safe," he spoke.

She scoffed, "Cut the s**t!!" She was not impressed no matter how hard he tried to lighten the mood.

His smile faded and he realized he was making it worse.

"What do they want from me anyways?" She stood and paced. "I don't know anything, I don't have anything..." She was cut off.

"Well..." he spoke as if to give her more bad news.

"You have got to be kidding me," frustrated. "What is it I have?" she huffed.

"Your locket," he pointed at her necklace. She touched it.

"This old thing, my dad got it for my 21st birthday," she spoke.

"Yes, but around your 21st birthday," he started and she was on the verge of freaking out. She wasn't paranoid, he was a stalker and he knew so much about her, creepy vibes. "The data from the system was removed and I think he put a chip on your locket, that was the last thing he told me," she hissed in pain, breathing heavy. "Look in the locket, is what he said," Daniel sighed.

She was devastated and furious. "So all this time I was a cover, a shield and then he gave me the one thing that could get me killed." She gripped the locket. All sentimental value left the door the minute she heard her dad lied to her. She gripped it and pulled, breaking the clasp. The chains fell over her hand and she threw it at Daniel. It hit his head and he flinched, but too late. "Take it," she huffed.

"I don't want it," she scoffed, wanting to storm off, slam the door and hide away. She didn't know this place yet. She just stormed down the passage. So many doors. She was confused which one was a room and if she entered one would a machine gun go off like a booby trap and kill her.

Daniel, still sitting holding the locket, heard her breathe heavy and watched her turn to face him. "Which one of these jail cells is a room I can storm into?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. He thought even though she was mad at him she was still so cute. "Second door to the left," he said. She sighed, "Thank you," she said, still being polite but angry.

She turned, stormed off, opened the door, walked in the room and slammed it. Daniel's body jolted as if he got a fright at the loud sound of the door slam. Elara had also jolted, she realized it was a bad idea to do that after being shot at like 100,000 times tonight.

She caught her breath, the bedroom lights were on already. She saw a single bed in the corner, and a closet. She walked to the bed, sat down and fell sideways. Her head hit the pillow and she just cried till she fell asleep.

Daniel looked at the locket and the now slammed door. Was keeping this from her even a good idea? Then maybe she wouldn't have been so mad. He brushed it off. "She'll get over it," he whispered to no one. "I hope," he sighed and smiled at how adorably angry she was, but so polite. She definitely didn't trust him now, but he would try to show her she could, no matter what