Heller (19 page)

“Has it been
bleeding the whole time?” Dr Kincaid asked, butting in impatiently
and cutting off our conversation. I nodded. “What was the
weapon?”

“A small
knife, like a paring knife, but sharper.”

“It’s going to
require stitches,” he told Heller and then to me, “You need to keep
very still while I do this, Miss. I presume you’re all right with
medical procedures? Or will you faint?”

My head shot
up in indignation. “No, I bloody well won’t faint!” It did the
trick in drying up my tears instantly.

Smothering a
smile, Heller sat next to me and slid his arm around my shoulders,
steadying my injured arm with his other hand. Daniel sat on the
other side of me with his arm around my waist. The doctor sat on
the coffee table leaning forward over my arm. With almost detached
interest, I watched as he cleaned the wound, injected a local
anaesthetic and stitched up the cut. He was professional and deft.
He was neat too, which reduced the chance of any bad scarring.
Heller watched on also, but Daniel looked away, finding something
fascinating in my kitchen to stare at instead.

When he had
finished, Dr Kincaid gave me a tetanus booster injection and handed
over some powerful painkillers, warning me repeatedly that they
must be taken with food and definitely no alcohol. After he left I
tried to stand up but found myself shaking badly, my legs unable to
support me and I collapsed back onto the lounge. Heller put both
arms around me and drew me in close, not seeming to care that I was
smearing blood over his clothes.

“Daniel, go
and make Matilda some plain buttered toast and a cup of very sweet
tea, please.” Daniel jumped up, eager to be of assistance. I closed
my eyes and gratefully relaxed against Heller’s hard chest.

“Who did this?
Was it one of the party boys?” he whispered in my ear, stroking my
hair.

“Lily.”

“Why?”

I sighed
shakily. “I wouldn’t order her any more champagne. I told her to go
to bed. I gave away her drugs. I don’t know. Probably all of the
above.”

“I’m sorry,
Matilda,” he said, and softly kissed my forehead. It was
comforting. “I didn’t know that she would turn out to be so
wild.”

“After she cut
me, she drank my blood. And she spat on me. It was disgusting!
Nobody’s ever treated me like that in my whole life.” He tightened
his hold around me.

Daniel came
back with the toast, only slightly burnt, and the tea. I wolfed the
toast down, famished, but could not hold the teacup without it
shaking uncontrollably. Daniel held it for me while I took tiny
sips. After I finished, I yawned hugely and tried to stand up
again. I had a bit more success this time. Heller handed me two
painkillers to take with a glass of water.

“I really need
a shower,” I said and staggered towards the bathroom. Heller
clutched my arm, stabilising me.

“Which one of
us do you want to help you bathe?” he looked down at me with a hint
of a smile.

“Neither!” I
protested. “I’ll have to manage by myself somehow.” He helped me
gather some clean clothes and escorted me to the bathroom door.

“I’ll be
waiting out here for you. Leave the door unlocked,” he ordered,
then flashed me a sexy half-smile. “Just in case.”

I paused on my
way into the bathroom and turned to face him again, leaning against
the doorway for support. “Don’t you be coming in unless I am
definitely and indisputably calling out for help. No ‘just in
case’, okay?” I insisted. We eyed each other for a long moment and
his smile broadened.

It was
extremely difficult to shower with one arm out of action. Washing
my hair was a particular challenge, but I did the best I could and
felt much better afterwards, squeaky clean, with well-brushed teeth
and dressed in my familiar singlet top and boxer shorts pyjama set.
While I had been in the shower, Heller and Daniel had made an
attempt to clean up the bloodstains. I wanted to thank them, but
could barely keep my eyes open, waving at them in a half-hearted
way instead. I fell into my welcoming bed and asleep almost
immediately.

I slept for
ten hours straight, groggy when I woke up, early dawn light
streaming across my bed. My arm was aching. It took me a while to
focus properly, and trying to read the time on my bedside clock I
knocked over a glass of water that someone had thoughtfully
provided. Heller walked into the bedroom. He mopped up the spilt
water, then sat at the end of the bed and told me he had slept on
my lounge in case I had a bad reaction to the painkillers.

“They’re
making me feel drowsy,” I complained weakly and leant back on my
pillows. He was wearing different clothes to yesterday, so I knew
he’d gone home briefly to shower and change at least.

“You’ll only
need them for a short while,” he promised. “Niq is very keen to
make you some breakfast, so come out when you’re ready.”

I lay in bed
for another few moments after he left before I felt strong enough
to make it to the bathroom. After that, I staggered out in my
pyjamas and flopped down on the lounge. Niq was busy in my kitchen
and judging by the mess, had used every utensil and pot as he
went.

“Hey sweetie,”
I greeted.

He glanced up
from his intense preparations. “You look terrible.”

I laughed.
“Thanks, kid. Tell it like it is, why don’t you?”

He served me
up a very hard-boiled egg with toast, a glass of orange juice and a
fresh fruit salad. I was impressed and told him so, even if I could
have played handball with the egg, it was so tough and rubbery. He
beamed with pride and sat down to make sure that I ate every last
bite.

“That was
delicious, sweetie. I feel almost human again.”

Niq fidgeted
in his seat. “Tilly?”

“Mmm?”

“When you’re
better, could you take me shopping?”

I was
surprised. “Don’t you normally buy everything online?”

“Yes, but I
want to go out for once. Like, out there,” he said, pointing to the
window.

“Out into the
real world?” I teased. He nodded shyly. “No worries, kiddo. I’ll
let you know when I get a free day.”

“Not till
you’re better though.” We smiled at each other. I let him stack my
dishwasher for me, but then chased him off to do his schoolwork. I
slowly dressed, choosing loose clothes with no buttons. My arm was
hurting, but I didn’t want to take any more of those strong
painkillers the doctor had given me. Instead I rummaged around in
my bathroom cabinet and popped a couple of over-the-counter
painkillers.

Daniel was on
the phone but turned and smiled at me as I walked to my desk. I had
barely sat down when my mobile rang. It was Lily, advising me that
she would be spending the day with her husband and wouldn’t require
me at all until the next day.
Thank you, God!
I thought
gratefully. Politely, I asked after her health. She assured me that
she was feeling much better and looking forward to spending some
relaxing time with her husband. I assumed that meant he was
listening in on the conversation.

Whatever.
We hung up. I went into Heller’s office and told
him I was not needed by my client. He agreed it was probably for
the best.

“I’m due for
my monthly styling. I like to attend to that today now that I’m
free, if that’s okay with you?” He nodded agreement. “But would you
mind if I brought Dixie along with me? She’d really love being
indulged like that. It would be a real treat for her. I haven’t
seen her since I started here and I’d love to catch up. And I’ll
pay for her myself.” To my surprise, he agreed readily, stating it
would be good for me to do something ‘normal’ for a day, not that
five-star luxury pampering was usually considered normal in my neck
of the woods. And he insisted that I add Dixie’s treatment to his
bill. I protested, but he was adamant.

I was going to
ask to borrow a car, but he offered to drop me at the hotel as he
had an appointment in the city. I had thirty minutes before he was
due to leave, so I rushed back to my desk and rang the spa to make
sure they were able to see us today.
Yes Miss, certainly, it
will be a pleasure to see you again.
Then I rang Dixie on her
mobile.

“Whatever you
are doing today, drop it,” I insisted. She squealed in my ear when
I revealed what my plans were for us today. She squealed even
louder when I said that if she was ready and waiting outside in
fifteen minutes, we would swing by and give her a lift. I’m not
sure if it was the offer of a free ride that got her so excited, or
the prospect of laying eyes on Heller again.

I flew
upstairs to change into something more elegant, deciding that I’d
shout Dixie a sumptuous seafood lunch at the hotel’s restaurant
afterwards. I wasn’t able to use my left hand much as any movement
in it referred strong pain back to my injury and was struggling to
do up the buttons on my pants and shirt when there was a knock on
my door.

“It’s open,” I
yelled out. God, it was humiliating, but I was going to have to ask
for help. I walked into the lounge room, half-dressed. Heller
raised his eyebrows.

“Could you
please do me up? I’m having some trouble,” I asked, mortified. He
walked towards me and stood in front of me, his unblinking eyes
cemented to mine. He slowly did up each button on my shirt starting
at the bottom. His hands brushed against my breasts as he moved his
way up and I gasped involuntarily at the sensation. Still
maintaining intense eye contact, he reached into the band of my
trousers and slid his fingers along, grazing the skin of my belly
until he located the top button and fastened it unhurriedly for me.
My heart was pounding, my breathing rapid and shallow and my skin
tingling where he had touched me. I couldn’t look away from him. It
was like being seduced in reverse.

His mouth
curved in that deliberate half-smile as if he could read my
thoughts. “Let’s go,” he said finally and turned and headed off
down the stairs. He didn’t argue when I asked if he could make a
detour to pick up Dixie. She was waiting patiently outside the unit
block and eagerly jumped in the back of his Mercedes.

“Hello
Heller,” she trilled in her sweetest voice as she fastened her
seatbelt.

He glanced at
her in the rearview mirror. “Hello Dixie.” She gave a schoolgirl
giggle. I glanced at her over my shoulder and pulled a vomiting
face. She kicked the back of my seat. Heller wisely ignored us.

He dropped us
at the hotel, giving me strict instructions to ring when I wanted
to be picked up and not to overdo it. He drove off and Dixie and I
walked into the hotel spa. Of course she noticed my bandaged arm
and fussed over me for a few minutes before forgetting about me in
the excitement of the rest of the day. We had a lovely time
together, laughing until we almost made ourselves sick, drinking
too much champagne and revelling in the luxurious surroundings and
indulgent treatments. When I confided to her about my surprise
close encounter with a naked Heller, she grilled me relentlessly on
every little detail about his body and its various appendages.

“You have got
the best job in the world!” she declared, her eyes rolling back in
her head with pleasure as her feet were professionally massaged. I
held up my bandaged arm with a rueful smile. “Oh right, on the
other hand, perhaps not.”

At the end as
we preened in front of the mirror, Dixie marvelled that I was
ordered to do this every month. Her hair, maroon this week, had
been dyed a soft black and with a new pixie haircut, I thought she
looked cute and stylish and told her so. In return, barely able to
tear her eyes away from her own reflection, she told me that I
looked ‘fine’.
Hmm, thanks Dix
.

We lunched
lavishly at the hotel’s signature restaurant, but I declined any
more alcohol, heedful of Dr Kincaid’s warnings. My arm was starting
to ache again and I was fairly sure I would need to take more of
the strong painkillers that night. I’d settled the bill and we were
chatting over a second coffee when I glanced idly out of the
restaurant window that fronted a busy city thoroughfare.

My mouth
dropped open. “Holy shit!” I said and took off at a trot out of the
restaurant door and out through the back entrance of the hotel onto
the same street I’d just been viewing. Dixie followed me
bewildered.

“What’s the
matter?”

“That lying
little bitch.”

“Who?”

“Ahead of us,
do you see? That little woman with the long black hair and tiny
skirt? With the ridiculously high shoes and gigantic bag?”

“Yeah, I see
her. So?”

I pushed
through the crowd, anxious not to lose sight, Dixie on my heels.
“That is Mrs Lily Hayek, my client, who told me she was spending
the day with her loving husband. Bitch! She probably told him that
she was going to be with me. Instead she’s ditched us both and gone
off on her own!”

“That skanky
chick is a billionaire’s wife? She looks like a ten-dollar whore,”
Dixie scorned.

Without
thinking twice, I grabbed my phone and punched in Heller’s
number.

“Matilda?
Ready to go home?” I could hear other people talking in the
background and belatedly remembered that he was in a meeting. I
tried to be speedy.

“Heller, we
have a situation. My client is not with her husband as she told me
this morning but is out on the loose, dressed for action. I’m
following her now.” I gave him our location.

“She seems to
be headed for the red-light district,” he noted.
Where else
,
I thought with weary resentment. “Keep track of her. My meeting
will be finishing up soon and I’ll drive over as quickly as I can.
But I have to go now. Keep in touch, please.”

“Okay. Sorry
to disrupt your meeting,” I apologised, hoping he hadn’t been with
an important client.