Starr Destined (Starr Series) (18 page)

“Don’t worry about any of it for now.  All you need to do is concentrate on getting better.  I’ll go and find a doctor to come and check you over, and then hopefully we can get you home.”  I started to stand, but Sera clutched at my hand in a panic.

“Don’t go!  I…  I… don't want…  I don't you to leave me alone,” she stammered.  “I know that sounds pathetic… but this all feels so weird.  Just stay with me, please Liam?”

“I won’t go anywhere if you don't want me to.  I’ll just press the call button and stay right here with you.” 

“Could you hold me for a minute?  Just until I get my head a bit straighter.”

“Of course.”  I perched on the edge of the bed and gently gathered her up in my arms, as she rested her head under my chin.  “Better?”

“Much,” she mumbled.  “And I'm really, really, sorry.”

“Sorry?  What for?”

“For being stupid and going to the club without telling you.  For all this bother…”

“It’s no bother.  Don't worry about any of it now.” 

I looked up as a very petite Filipino nurse approached, and I reluctantly let Sera go, although she still clung to my hand tightly.

“Feeling a bit more with it now, are we?”  The nurse, whose name was Maya according to her
name tag, smiled kindly at her.  “I’ll just do your checks, and then we’ll see about getting you something to eat and drink.  Are you hungry or thirsty?” 

“Thirsty, yes.  Could I have some water please?”

“Sure, I’ll get you some just as soon as I’ve finished here.  You need to keep your fluids up to help clear the drug out of your system.”

“You say I was drugged - what exactly was I given?”  Sera frowned, struggling to put the pieces of her missing night together.

“We should get the test results back later today to confirm what it actually was, but most likely it was some kind of a strong sedative.  The doctor will fill you in when he does his rounds, and hopefully sign you off to be discharged.  You seem fine, but your blood pressure is still a little on the low side.  I expect you’ll feel light headed when you try to stand, so I’ll just get you a bedpan…  ”

“N
o!  No way am I peeing in a bedpan.”  Sera shot a mortified look my way.

“Don’t worry on my account.  I can look the other way if you feel shy,” I winked.

“I’m fine.  I’m sure I can make my way to the bathroom,” she stubbornly insisted.

‘
That’s my girl
,’ I thought to myself. 
‘Stubborn as ever, come what may.’

***

Sera was finally discharged later that morning.  Before we left, we got the results of the tests, which confirmed she had been drugged with GHB, as suspected.  At least that meant there was solid proof for the police that her drink had definitely been spiked. 

Aggie had been only too happy to help when I rang and asked if she would call into my place to pick up some of the clothes Sera kept there, and then drop them off at t
he hospital, so she had something comfortable to wear when she was discharged.  A bag containing some suitable clothing was duly delivered, and I made a mental note to make sure Aggie received a well-earned bonus in her pay this week.

Sera tried to protest about being taken out to my car in a wheelchair, and only reluctantly agreed when I said the alternative was for me to carry her, when she nearly fainted as she stood up.  Once in the car, she sat with her eyes closed, deathly pale, with an almost a green tinge to her complexion. 

“So how much do we know about what happened last night, Liam?  You’ll have to fill me in, seeing as I can't remember.”

“We don't have to do this now, sweetheart.  Maybe later,” I suggested, glancing over at her as I drove.  “When you’re feeling more up to things.”

“No, Liam.  I need to know what happened, to try and work out what’s real in my head, and what are just bad dreams.  The last thing I remember is meeting up with Abbey and Toby at the club, and then having a drink with Jamie.  So what happened after that?”

I sighed, but filled her in as succinctly as I could with Jamie’s version of events, while I drove us home.

“But I never left my drink where someone could tamper with it.  It was in my hand or in my sight the whole time,” she frowned when I’d finished.

“Which suggests it was spiked before it was handed to you - that’s no doubt something the police will be investigating,” I said.

“And Jamie actually saw me with this man, and you say he was about to leave with me?”

“Yes,” I gritted out.  “That’s when Jamie stepped in and
challenged him, thank Christ. So we know nothing bad happened to you, because there wasn't time.  Thanks to Jamie, along with Abbey and Toby, he never got the opportunity.”

“Shit,” she groaned.  “How can this have happened to me?  I was really hoping the picture in my head of... 
him
… was just a nightmare, but it wasn't.  It was Scott Franklin wasn't it?”

“Yes, it seems it was,” I confirmed as I clenched the steering wheel tightly.

“What would have happened if Jamie and the others hadn't been there?” she whispered, as she laid her head back and closed her eyes.

“But they were
.  So there’s no point in worrying about that,” I told her, but the truth was that thought really scared me shitless too.  “Anyway, we’re back now, so let’s just get you inside.”

I knew she must be still feeling really rough when she hardly protested as I lifted her up and carried her in.  Aggie had thoughtfully left us some lunch - the accompanying note explained that it was her special version of ‘rosol’, a Polish chicken broth.  She’d also left other extra food supplies so that we wouldn’t need to worry about going out to eat.  She’d definitely earned a bonus this week, no que
stion, although I knew that wasn’t why she’d done what she had.

Sera had barely touched the food the hospital had given her for breakfast, just having some of the water they insisted she needed to drink before they would discharge her.  Now she really needed to eat, so I hoped the broth would tempt her.  The meagre, dry sandwich the nurse had begrudgingly thrown my way at the hospital had been a poor substitute for my usual breakfast, so I was certainly ready for some proper food.

But first, as soon as we got in, before I’d even put her down, Sera insisted she wanted a shower.  I didn’t think it was a good idea in her weak and wobbly state, but she was adamant.

“I feel dirty.  I feel contaminated.  I know you say nothing happened to me… but I still feel… u
nclean somehow. 
He
touched me…  I need to wash…”

“Do you remember anything more now?  Are any memories resurfacing?”  I asked, as I carried her towards the bathroom.

“Just one or two flashes.  His voice… him laughing…”  She shuddered then buried her head in my shoulder.

“Okay, why don't we shower together, have something to eat, and then cuddle up together in bed for a nice afternoon nap?  How does that sound?”  I suggested.

“Perfect,” she mumbled into my chest.  “You must be totally knackered too, after being at the hospital all night.”

So we took a nice hot shower together.  She leant against me and let me wash her from top to toe.  There was nothing erotic about the process, I just felt the tenderest overwhelming love for her, as she trusted me to touch her and take care of her, when she must have been feeling so vulnerable a
fter what had happened.  Afterwards, I dried us both and got out matching big fluffy towelling bathrobes for us to wear.  Hers swamped her, but she looked warm and cosy, which was good as she kept shivering, even though it was summer and the apartment was the same temperature as usual thanks to the climate control system. 

She perched on the edge of the bath and stared at her reflection in the mirror while I very carefully combed her hair through, glad to see her curls reappearing.

“I’m never wearing my hair straight like that again,” she shivered again.  “Because from now on, it’ll always remind me of… last night.”

“I much prefer your natural curls anyway.”  I kissed the top of her head. 

“I meant what I said to you earlier, Liam.  I was such an idiot.  I’m so sorry...  I wish I’d never gone to that stupid club without you, because then none of this would have happened.”  Her chin wobbled as her eyes brimmed with tears.

“Hey, none of this is your fault.  Sure, I wish I'd gone with you, and that none of this had happened, but that’s no reason to blame yourself.”  I leaned down from behind and put my arms around her shoulders.

“I just don't understand how
he
could have been there.  Was it just chance do you think?  And how did he manage to spike my drink?  I honestly didn't think I'd taken any chances, so it’s really bugging me.”

“Don’t worry about any of that right now - it’s down to the police to investigate, that’s their job.  You know they’ll be coming round a bit later on this afternoon?”  I’d had a call earlier from a DS Marsden to arrange an interview with Sera.

“Yes, but I'm not sure how much help I’ll be.  I can't remember much at all, and it’s just so confusing,” she frowned.  “It’s a horrible feeling.  Like a night of my life has been stolen from me.  As if someone has violated and abused me, even though you tell me nothing actually happened, but I know that’s what he must have been planning to do, right?” 

Sera was working out the stark truth of what had happened, and worse still, what potentially could have happened, and shock was setting in.

And there wasn’t anything I could do to shield her from it.  All I could do was help her through the experience as best I could. 

I was so angry, but I had to keep calm - venting my rage wouldn’t be helpful under these circu
mstances.  Normally, I’d have headed off to the gym to try and work off my frustration, but I couldn’t leave Sera alone right now, so I just had to hold things in, contain it all for now.  It was a lesson in self-control, when all I really wanted to do was force my way into where that fucker was being held for questioning and beat him to a pulp.  Or castrate him.  Both, preferably.

Sera sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, and watched while I heated up Aggie’s broth and cut up the crusty bread she’d also left.  We were both still in our bathrobes, as there didn't seem any point in getting dressed when we were going to go back to bed once we’d eaten.

“Hungry?”  I asked as I passed her bowl of broth over.

“Mm, yes, actually, I am.  Starving, now I’m smelling this.  Aggie’s a very good cook, isn’t she?”  Sera lent over the bowl to inhale the steam of the herby concoction.

“That’s one of the reasons I employ her.  Wouldn’t be much point in having her around if she couldn’t cook, would there?”  I sat next to Sera at the breakfast bar, glad of the companionable peace and quiet after the busy bustling hospital.

“I liked Aggie that time I met her.  She seems nice and kind and motherly,” Sera commented as she tore off a large chunk of bread, dunked it in her broth, and popped it in her mouth.  I was glad that Sera enjoyed her food and wasn’t picky, and right now I was especially glad that her appetite was returning, hopefully a sign that she was getting back to normal.

“I suppose she is, yes.”  Aggie had worked for me for a number of years now, so I realised that I probably took her for granted.

Sera managed to finish her broth before she started yawning, barely able to keep her eyes open.  B
efore she fell asleep, I made sure she took some more painkillers for the headache she no doubt had.

“Come on.  Let’s go for that nap, shall we?” 

“Mmm. Don't know why I’m still so sleepy when I slept all night and most of the morning,” she yawned again.

She made no protest when I scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, helped her into some of her cotton pyjamas she kept at my place, rather than the bulky bathrobe, and then put her in the bed.  I closed the blinds, made sure both our mobiles were switched off, and unplugged the landline.  Then I changed into some pyjama bottoms and eased myself in behind her so that we could spoon together.  She sighed contentedly as she felt my arms sliding round her, and I buried my nose in the soft curls of her hair.

“This feels really nice, Liam,” she murmured as she fell asleep.  I could feel her feather light breathing against my hand, as I too fell asleep.

When I woke up a couple of hours later, we were in exactly the same position.  Sera was still fast asleep, but I needed to answer a call of nature.  I gently eased myself from her, and quietly padded to the bathroom to take a long and very satisfying leak.  But before I could finish emptying my bladder, I heard Sera’s panicky voice crying out.

“Liam?  Where are you?  Liam?”

“I’m just in the bathroom, Angel.  I’ll be right there.”  I tried my best to speed things along, but I had to finish what I'd started.

I hurried back to find Sera sitting up in bed, her hair all over the place, clutching the quilt to her.  She looked terrified, her eyes darting round the room, as if searching for a bogeyman.

“It’s okay, I’m here.”  I quickly got back into bed with her and took her in my arms “Come here, you’re safe, I promise.”  I brushed her hair from her face, and fixed her green eyes with mine to try and connect with her.  “Bad dream?”