Chapter 229: Chapter 229
- ASAMI -
It hit me like a wave the moment my mind and body became responsive to stimuli. My memories came crashing back to me all at once like a plague and what’s worse? I can actually feel an ache at the back of my head.
I bite my lower lip to hold in the groan that nearly leave my lips at the ache. I don’t know where I’m at yet and the last thing I want is to alert anyone, whoever it may be, that I’m awake. I try to move my wrists. It seems that I am not bound by anything. With a slow, revised motion, I twist my ankle gently. My feet are free as well.
This is when the courage to open my eyelids came and I spread them ajar slightly. My eyeballs avert to the corners of my eyes simultaneously as I try to get a glimpse of the environment subtly, doing my best to not raise the awareness of whoever and whatever lays in my surroundings.
How I’m alive. . . . Is something I cannot comprehend. I remember holding my gun to my face, right at my neck below my chin. I remember being hit with such a force that blacked me out completely on my face.
Yet I’m here. Not dead. It’s funny that even death eludes me when I crave it the most.
I raise my hand up subtly to touch my jaw. There is no scar. My face should be shattered beyond repair over a bullet wound that close by but it’s not. It doesn’t feel a day over smoothness.
“Finally snapped to life, I see.” A deep voice echoes. I can’t see the bearer of the voice but I know that tone anywhere, that familiarity is not missed even after what seems like a near identity crisis in my temporary state of unconsciousness.
And snapped back to life? How long have I been out?
“Owen.” I call with distaste, sitting up. “You maniac doctor, what did you do to me?!” I grit my teeth. My whole body throbs. I hope I wasn’t some kind of a new experiment to him. And if he did. . . experiment on me. . ., no matter now bad my condition was and the procedures he took may have been. . I hate to say that it worked and leaves me feeling like shit all over.
“Boo. Surprise.” He chuckles suavely and unimpressedly with his hands spread slightly apart and raised above his head. He is standing so near to me. His grin is unsettling and his flaring, moving fingers make me anxious.
For someone whose tone sounds bored, his body language says otherwise.
“This doesn’t answer my question.” I run my eyes over my body, checking for any sign of surgery marks. I found none. This leaves me even more frustrated.
“You should say ‘thank you’, after all, I saved your life.” He says, withdrawing backwards away from the bed I am laid on. He’s not too far from me. The back of his hip rests on the desk opposite me which is covered with a white cloak and is full of surgical tools.
A hoarse, throaty chuckle leave my lips at his words. “I think there are points in life where people realise that some people are beyond saving.” My eyes darken, anger bubbling within me. “And some don’t want to be saved.”
“And let you die?” Owen’s brow is raised. “You of all people should know I wouldn’t let that happen.”
I scoff. “How did you do it?” I ask instead, trying to fight my reality would be pointless now. “How did you,” I take a pause. “Save me?” I finally mutter.
A smirk paints Owen’s lips as he pushes his hips off the surgery desk. His fingers, stuck together like a wall, moves swiftly to the back of his head and he gestures a short, sudden swing in the air. “I knocked you out before you could to it yourself.”
My brows furrow with disbelief. “So you shot me?” I gasp.
“Quite the contrary.” He utters. “I knocked you out with the back of my gun.”
So that’s the ache that I remembered taking me out. What a pity. For a second, I thought I had seen my last day light, no matter how awful such sight had been.
“I shall not thank you.” I say to him. He shrugs, almost unbothered. “But I will ask you, what’s the catch, Owen? We both know you don’t do things for free. So what do you want from me?”
“Your words wound me.” He tuts, pacing around his surgical tools. One could say he has a sexual tension with his tools with the way he acts around them and guard them so preciously. With the way he touches and clean them, like they’re his precious, little darlings.
“Did I lie?”
He turns, sparing me a gaze with that casual smirk that sickens me. “No. But definitely not for you, never with you. Believe or not but I care too much about you dumbasses.”
By dumbasses, he refers to me and Killian. I doubt Killian feels the same way about either of us now. I grit my teeth, the sight of him looking defeated while holding his wounded lover in his arms in the ruckus I caused resurfaces in my mind.
I will try not to think about him and any of it. It’ll only sicken me.
“S wants you dead.” Owen says.
My eyes widens. “Well, way to drop a bomb on me, Owen, thank you very much!” I scoff sarcastically.
“But I demand otherwise.”
My gaze shifts towards him. “And why on earth will They listen to you?” I ask, carefully. Owen doesn’t say a word. He resumes wiping his scissors clean. My mouth drops at the realisation. “Unless you don’t need They and aren’t under They’s command.” I take a pause, trying to think, aloud. “And no one who partners with They can have anything over S to enable them make demands, unless it’s something serious. And unless They has no leverage over the person.” My eyes widens with horror. “You know.” I fix my gaze at Owen. “You know S’ identity.” My heart beats heavily in my ribcage like it’s about to explode out my chest. I swallow hard. This information hits me way worse than my near death experience.
Knowing who S is will save my entire being and Owen knew this whole time. My God.
And he never said anything. I don’t know if I should hate him or be afraid of him.
I gulp. “What do you want from me?” I ask, picking my words.
Owen flashes me a half grin. “Something simple actually. Our friend Ivanov is hosting a private ball. I need you to get in. Secretly.”
My brows crease.
“And do a little fowl play on his lady.”
I swallow. I don’t even need to question to know what he means by ‘fowl play’. “How sure are you that she’ll be present?”
A sinister smirk forms on his face. “He’ll never leave her on her own to go to something like that. Trust me, she will.”
A/N: Thank you all so much for your support via comments. It means a lot to me. I will do my best to update five times a week till my head is fully sorted from the pain, the last thing I want is to keep you sweet people waiting.
Again, thank you so much and enjoy the Chapter!