Page 79 of Dark Obsession

“You’re welcome, Honey.”

All three ate in silence for several minutes before Conner got up and came back with a few aspirins.“Here, take these.Hopefully, they’ll help your headache.”

She stared at the little pills in the palm of his hand.

“Keira, it’s just aspirin, I promise.I wouldn’t give you pills without asking you.”

Keira took the pills and washed them with the juice.

All three silently went back to eating.

Keira pushed her plate away and groaned.“I can’t eat anymore.”

Daniel looked at her plate.“You hardly ate anything, Sweetheart.”

Keira’s eyes widened as she looked from one man’s scowl to the other.“For one thing, I’m at least half of both your sizes.These plates are huge, I will never under normal circumstances be able to eat a third of what you guys eat, and lastly, my stomach has shrunk a bit in the last week.”

She didn’t think their scowls could get any worse until she brought up the attack.“I’m going upstairs.Which room should I take?”

Conner’s eyes raced to Daniel’s, and his eyebrows raised.

“We already discussed this, Keira.”

She gritted her teeth when she saw Conner’s mouth twitch as he watched them, taking a bite every so often.

Daniel pushed his plate away and drank the rest of his juice before he stood.Without a word, he lifted her and started out of the kitchen.He turned at the door.

“Thank you, Conner, for dinner.I can get the dishes in the morning if you just put them in the sink.Take whatever bedroom you want.”

Conner waved them away.“Don’t worry about the dishes.I’ll be up after I check in with our men outside and check the doors and windows.”

“Thanks, man.We’ll see you in the morning.”

Conner listened to Daniel’s footsteps.He stood and gathered the dishes, rinsing them before putting them in the dishwasher.He swept his hand on the back of his neck where a ball of tension had sat all day.He was anxious about his appointment to meet Tammy, Daniel’s ex-girlfriend, tomorrow morning.Hopefully, she could help.He also had to apologize to her for not catching the guy when she had to deal with him.And it was the same guy.The similarities piling up were too much to ignore.

****

Daniel set Keira downin the bathroom.“I’ll give you a few minutes to use the toilet and brush your teeth.”

Keira watched him close the door before using the toilet.After she washed her hands, she leaned forward, taking a good look at herself for the first time, and grimaced.The woman staring back at her was someone she’d never seen before.She was thin, pale, and had dark smudges under her eyes.There were a multitude of bruises and little cuts all over her face, neck, and upper arms.She didn’t want to look at the rest.

“Are you about done?”

Keira jerked at the knock and hurriedly brushed her teeth.

Daniel stepped back when she opened the door.“The bed is ready, go lie down, and I’ll be right there.”

Keira didn’t say anything.She pulled the cover up to her chin and turned on her side away from where he would sleep.

Daniel bit back a sigh when he came back into the bedroom.She was over as far as she could get without falling off the bed.“You can have more room.”

“No, thank you.I’m fine.Good night.”

Daniel got in bed, turned off the light, and turned toward Keira.For a long moment, he didn’t say anything.He spoke when she stayed silent.“Good night, Honey.”

A scream ripped through the house in the middle of the night.Daniel was instantly holding her, talking softly, trying to calm her and bring her back from the ugly nightmare she was having.

The door burst open, letting in the hallway light and Conner with his gun in hand.He instantly took in the situation and relaxed.“Jesus.That is some nightmare.Is she doing that every night?”

---