“Is he…drunk?” another says, clearly dismayed.
His wide eyes slide to mine.
“Back off, you guys.” They look at him, and then do what I ask. I glance around the semi-circle at the four men, dressed in black.
“He was in a fight, at X-ray Machine at the MGM Grand. Before that, I think he drank a lot.” I fix my gaze on a face I remember from the other night. “Can you find Raymond please?”
The guy frowns slightly, like he’s trying to make sense of who I am. Then Hansel sneers, “You heard her,” and they all take off.
He chuckles a little, latching hands with mine as we move slowly down the hall. He stops in front of a door I’d have never noticed, tucked behind an indoor plant, and with the handle. As his hand closes around it, a little blue light flares.
He grins, silly, then smug. “Software,” he announces proudly.
We step through the door, into a private hall I think is his, and he looks left and right. “This way,” he tells me, tilting his head left. I follow him, and am relieved to see what seems to be a familiar door a few yards later.
He wraps his hand around the doorknob again, and it lights blue again. His eyes are heavy, but his mouth tucks up a little in a funny smile.
“Come in,” he tells me.
He staggers through the door and drops down on his couch. His eyes slip shut, and a second later, the man with the fro and the suspenders comes into the room.
As soon as he sees me, he frowns, clearly suspicious. “You’re the girl—from Monday.”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing here—in that?” he asks, gesturing to my street clothes, I guess.
I sigh. Hansel’s eyes are still shut, so it’s up to me to explain. “I saw him at a fight. He’s drunk, and I think he got hit in the ribs during the fight. He didn’t want to call a doctor…”
“No,” Raymond says sternly. “He wouldn’t want that. I’ve known him ten years, and never a doctor.”
“Never? Why not? Does he never get sick?”
Raymond shakes his head. “He won’t go.” He frowns a little at me, clearly suspicious. “You know each other? I feel that you know each other.”
“We’ve met before,” I say softly. “But he doesn’t know I’m the girl from Monday.”
He taps his finger on his chin, considering; then he shakes his head. “He doesn’t drink, hardly ever does he drink. I can help him now. It’s my job, not yours.”
“I can do it,” I say sharply. My heart pounds at the idea of being separated from him. “I brought him this far, I don’t mind getting him settled. Unless you’re going to call a doctor or a nurse? Do you have someone like that here?”
Raymond shakes his head. “No doctor.”
God, that’s weird.
“Well I know all the basics. If you have a first aid kit?”
Raymond presses his lips together. “I’m not sure how he would feel if—”
“I helped him?”
He nods.
“I signed an NDA, remember?”
He nods slowly, obviously checking me out, trying to discern some ulterior motive. “If you’re sure…” His mouth pinches as he hands me a business card. “Here’s my number. Call me. Update me. I’ve been with him for a long time.”
“You care about him. I can see that.”
He isn’t satisfied until he asks ‘Edgar’ how he is, and Hansel nods and gives a little smile.
“Is she still here?” he asks, blinking slowly. He looks around the room, and when his eyes find me, he grins a little. “That’s Leah,” he says to Raymond.
“You mind if she stays here?”
He starts to shake his head, then winces. “I want her to,” he whispers.
“Okay.” Raymond slaps his knee.
Finally, the man leaves. Hansel’s eyes stay shut, and I have a moment of panic wondering what to do with him. Raymond didn’t mention the First Aid kit. Is there one? I rush into the kitchen and check a few cabinets, finding a fully stocked kitchen but no First Aid kit. I check the guest bathroom and there are three. A creepy feeling wriggles through me as I think of what they’re for. Submissives, cleaning themselves up? Cleaning him up?
I open one and go back to where he’s sitting on the couch. I clean the wound on his head—he doesn’t move at all, or even open his eyes—and then peek under his shirt at the wound there. I don’t see a puncture wound, but there is clearly blood covering the right side of his abs.
Deciding I will figure this out in the bathroom, I place my hand on his cheek. “Wake up…Edgar?”
His eyes flutter.