I hold him to me, stroking his hair. “It’ll be alright, Master. We’ll work it out…. And I never thanked you, and Michael, for saving me from those thugs.”

And now, Michael is here, on the other side of the bed, trying to hold me too.

“How long have you been there?” my Master asks.

“All the time. I saw you come in; sat outside to eavesdrop.” His tone is unapologetic. “I heard every word.”

Both are trying to hold me at once. Caught in the middle between them, “Hey, take it easy guys. I’m feeling fragile.”

*****

“You never told me what happened to those two you rescued me from.”

“They got away,” says my Master. “Although one has, I’m pretty sure, a broken arm. I heard the crack. And the other will probably be limping for some time to come, after what I saw Michael doing to him.”

“Was it bad?”

“Not really,” shrugs Michael. “They were happy enough to try assault and rape on a girl alone, but not nearly so brave when James and I evened up the odds. They ran, and we didn’t really chase because of you.” He looks down and away. “Jeez, Charlotte, when I saw your head crash into that wall and you went down, I thought….”

“So did I,” says my Master. “Anyway, we contacted the police and got you to a hospital. Then, we went back to clear out your room and bring everything back here for the moment. The hospital was not happy about releasing you to us. They only agreed when I paid to have one of their doctors here on standby….. Although they didn’t phrase it like that. I had to make rather a large donation to their ‘New Wing’ fund…”

“Here? A doctor on standby, here? That must have cost a fortune…”

He gazes at me, levelly. “And you think I would begrudge the money?”

*****

“I’d like to get up today.copy right hot novel pub