Ryan snorted. “Are you sure it wasn’t made up to get rid of you?”
“No, and she didn’t—get rid of me I mean—I’m still here. I gave her some pain killers she had and she’s sleeping.”
Ryan was silent for a moment. “My last night on the force, she had some sort of blackout. I didn’t think it was serious. She went to the hospital, but they said it was just for observation. Maybe it’s something to do with that.”
“Thanks.”
“You sound a little shaky.”
“It was a shock.”
“It can’t be anything serious or she wouldn’t be back at work. They’d make her get the all clear. Unless…”
“Unless…”
“Unless she didn’t report it. It was my last night and it didn’t occur to me.”
“Maybe I’ll ask her when she wakes.”
“Good luck with that.”
Ash ended the call and turned his attention to the contents of Faith’s bag. He examined the pill bottle first and took a note of the drugs. They were prescription—that was more serious, wasn’t it?
Humans were so fragile. The idea had never bothered him before, but strangely, he found himself wanting to protect her, keep her safe. A definite first for him.
He found the ID badge. Detective Connolly. MI13. Military Intelligence. He’d been reading up on them prior to his meeting with Ryan. But he’d never come across an MI13 before. They could look into it tomorrow.
There was nothing else of any interest. A purse with a couple of credit cards and her driver’s license. A comb but no makeup, not even lipstick, and he realized she wasn’t wearing any. Hadn’t been on either occasion he’d met her.
He had a quick nose around the house. As she’d said, it was functional at best with very few personal effects on display and spotlessly clean. Finally, he returned to the living room, sat back down, and watched her. Somewhere before dawn, he fell into a light doze.
…
“Thank you.”
Ash blinked open his eyes at her softly spoken words. Faith was sitting up opposite, the cover still wrapped around her, but at least her face had some color again.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Headache all gone. Thanks for looking after me, but you didn’t have to stay.”
“I couldn’t leave you alone.”
“Of course you could. I’m a big girl, and you owe me nothing.”
“What about family? Is there anyone I can call who can come and stay with you?”
Annoyance flashed across her face. “I told you—I’m fine.”
“Ryan said you’d been ill.”
“Ryan had no fucking right. And you had no right to call him and talk about me.”
“I was worried.”
She ran hand across her face and he watched as she brought herself under control. “Sorry. It’s a touchy subject. I blacked out one night. But they’ve done a whole load of tests and there’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Except the headaches.”
“Yes, and they will go in time.”
“Good.”
She pushed the blankets away. “Well, I’m going to shower and head into work.”
“I’ll wait and give you a lift.”
There was that flash of annoyance again. Why did he get the impression that she wanted him gone? That she hated that he’d seen her vulnerable?
“You don’t have to. I have a few chores I want to do on the way in.”
He thought about pushing it but decided he would likely put her back up.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll leave now as long as you agree to meet me for lunch, so I can see for myself that you’re fine.”
Her eyes narrowed as she chewed on her lower lip. Finally, she gave a curt nod. “One o’clock where you picked me up last night.”
“Okay.”
She got up. He followed her out into the hall and watched as she disappeared into the bathroom, wincing as she slammed the door. The headache was definitely gone.
…
Faith couldn’t believe he had stayed with her all night. She hadn’t put him down as the caring type. Maybe because of all the leather and tattoos. But she could remember him looking after her. He’d been kind.
And he must have been disappointed. He’d taken her home, obviously expecting a torrid sex session and instead, he got to play nurse.
On the train into work, she’d thought about calling him to cancel lunch. But she didn’t have his number, so she would have to call Ryan. Then she’d have to put up with him asking about the blackout and no doubt asking why she wanted Ash’s number. Though if Ash had called him last night, he was probably already aware that his new partner was at his old partner’s house.
And why the hell would he care anyway? There had never been anything like that between her and Ryan, and if he was partnered with Ash, he must think he was okay.