"Don't even think about it." Connor shifted in the seat and straightened. "You were severely dehydrated, hence why you fainted, and Dr. Howard put you on a drip."

I touched the tape that kept the needle fixed in place in my hand.

"Where am I?" I gripped the sheet that gathered on my lap.

"My apartment." He'd brought me to his place.

"I need to go back to the apartment." There was so much I needed to do even if the only thing I wanted to do was hide to lick my wounds.

He frowned. "I won't let you step foot back inside that place."

I chewed the inside of my lip as he watched me, like he was trying to figure out what I was thinking.

"Why would you want to? Look what he did to you and you want to go back." Unlike Daniel, his words were iced but I could still feel the heat of anger behind them.

"You can't just order me around. I don't answer to you."

"You lied to me." His voice was almost accusing.

He rested his arms on his legs as he studied me.

"What are you talking about?" There was no way for him to know that I was Shannon Graves.

"I asked you if he'd hurt you and you told me he hadn't."

I swallowed. I had hidden it from everyone. But there was no point in lying anymore.

"How many times has he done this to you?" He shot to his feet and I was taken aback by the open display of his temper.

He ran a hand through his hair as he began to pace. I'd never seen him like this. The usual confident and assured business tycoon was coming undone.

I didn't know the exact number. Besides, it served no purpose mentioning it now. What was done was done and there was no point revisiting the past.

He stopped at the edge of the bed. He was closer to the light that flooded into the room and I could see the glitter of anger in his eyes.

"He could have killed you." There had been a few moments where I had believed Daniel was going to hurt me really bad, but I never believed he would have gone that far.

I didn't know what to say so I kept quiet.

He came around the bed to sit across from me.

"You can't go back to him. I won't let you."

I gave him a hollow laugh and regretted the rash action when my side ached. It reminded me that I'd been discarded, no longer useful. It stung, worse than the physical pain of how he'd hurt me.

Connor frowned as he took in the action.

"He broke things off with me," I revealed. "We are no longer together. I need to get my stuff and move out."

To keep my hands occupied, I tucked a hair behind my ear as I felt the heat of Connor's eyes on me.

"What happened?"

My insides felt raw and I didn't know if I was strong enough to put into words what happened and then voice them out loud.

"Does it matter?" I lifted an eyebrow at him.

He let out a heavy breath. "Don't be evasive. Tell me what happened."

I fidgeted with my fingers. "He got angry and he lost his temper." It was the short version of events. Connor didn't need to know his presence had escalated it.

The green of his eyes fixed on me. "What set him off?"

I couldn't look away and I swallowed nervously. Just one look from him and I was tempted to tell him everything. But I didn't really know him. The details I had dug up on him on the internet didn't count.

How would he feel if I told him he was the reason Daniel had lost it? That Daniel was jealous of him? It wasn't like he had tried anything with me, but to Daniel just a few brief conversations was enough to set him off on the jealously rollercoaster.

"What is the time?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Late," he said with a sigh. "You need to get some more sleep. In the morning Dr. Howard will be by to remove the drip. But you'll need to go for X-rays at his office."

"But I have a photoshoot tomorrow. The one for your company."

"What day do you think it is?" he asked, a slight frown marring his handsome features.

"Monday."

He shook his head. "When you didn't arrive for your photoshoot on Monday morning, I knew something was wrong."

I was taken aback. I'd missed the photoshoot. Then it sank in.

The incident with Daniel had happened around lunchtime on Sunday, which meant Connor had arrived on Monday.

I hadn't realized I had spent so much time hiding in the closet. It scared me that I had lost track of that much time. The incident with Daniel had affected me more than I had first anticipated.

Just remembering the anger and the way he had lashed out at me made me tremble.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. I don't need an X-ray."

He gave a hollow laugh. "Fine? You've got bruised ribs, a busted lip, and a bruised face and back. Yeah, you're fine."

I glared at him but he ignored me.

"After you've been for X-rays I'll take you to the police so you can press charges."

With that I pushed my legs over the side and stood slowly, with my hand holding my hurt ribs. "I'm leaving."

"Why are you going to let him get away with this?"

I tried to shuffle to the door but I didn't get more than a few feet before Connor's body blocked my escape. The stand the IV was attached to didn't allow me much leeway anyway.

"This isn't any of your business. What does it matter to you whether I report it or not?" I was pushing him. Was I hoping he would admit that it was because of Slater that he cared?

"Riley," he said my name with a warning.

There was also a part of me that feared my identity wouldn't hold up under scrutiny from the police. Daniel was a law-abiding powerful citizen and I was just some pretty girl with a stolen identity. No one would believe me over him.

"No," I stated vehemently. "I won't press charges."

"And that's what he's counting on. This is how he's managed to get away with this type of thing for so long. Because his victims are too scared to do anything about it."

I had my reasons and I didn't have to explain them to anyone, least of all a guy that I'd only met a handful of times.

"Let me help you with this. I won't let him sweep this under the rug so he can do it again to some other unsuspecting girl."

I swallowed hard. "No."

"Did he threaten you if you talked?"

I lied with a shake of my head. "I just want to forget it happened. Is that too much to ask?"

He studied me for a few moments before his shoulders sagged. "Fine, but you can't go back to the apartment."

"Connor, I have to get my stuff and find another place to live. I can't stay here and pretend my life hasn't fallen to pieces."

Then I thought about the jobs I had lined up for the week. My hand went to the tender side of my face.

"I have to call the agency and reschedule my jobs." The enormity of what lay ahead made me feel overwhelmed and I put my hand to my head, feeling like it was spinning out of control.

For a moment the path ahead felt insurmountable and I didn't know if I had the strength to survive it. One breath. Exhale. One step at a time, I told myself, mentally building myself up for what lay ahead.

"That can all be dealt with in the morning," he told me. His hand went to my arm and he guided me slowly back to the bed. He helped me back under the covers without jarring my side.

"You need to sleep and concentrate on getting better. I'll deal with everything else."

I was about to argue but he put his hand up. "No more tonight. You can fight with me again in the morning."

He looked tired and I felt a pang of guilt for being so difficult. He was trying to help me even though his motives weren't clear.

I rested back on the pillow. There was a glass of water beside the bed and I drank some.

Instead of leaving the room, like I expected, he walked over to the chair and sat down, stretching his legs out and crossing them at the ankles.

"You're staying?" I whispered.

"Yeah," he murmured, already closing his eyes.

Was he worried I was going to try and leave or was there another reason he didn't want to leave me alone?

***********

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