Page 32 of The Quoram Effect

“How did Torz find me?”

“Russo sent him a photo of you out cold on the floor of that storeroom. A note with the wordsI knowwas pinned to your arm by the needle he injected you with.”

The thought riled my stomach, and I imagined Torz hammering down the storeroom door, dropping to his knees when my pale, lifeless face came into view among the shadows. He roared his fury, tears glossing over his vision. It was as if I was witnessing it through his very eyes as he brushed my sweat-soaked hair back with his palm, tenderly asking me to wake up, that he was sorry, before screaming over his shoulder to Saul to get a doctor.

“He cares for me,” I mumbled, still too scared to question why.

“That’s one way of understanding it, dear Remi.” The Damson God tapped my arm before retreating to the table and his glass of wine. “But I’d call it something infinitely more.”

Chapter Seventeen

My eyes were dry and sore as I pried them open, only to wince at the gentle light bouncing off the walls coated in cream silk. A soft pillow lay under my head, and luxurious cotton encased my body from the shoulders down. I was warm and content. I was…safe.

As I blinked sluggishly, realisation seeped through my bones—this was Torz’s hotel suite. I was in his bed. I’d meant to sleep on the sofa. But last night…

What happened?

Gently, I rolled over towards the wide, open doorway that segregated the bedroom from the sitting area. My heart lurched at the sight of Torz sitting on the floor against the closed door to the bathroom, his arms hugging his legs and his forehead resting upon his knees. His fingers wriggled through his hair as a steady trickle of anxiety bridged our bond.

“Torz?” I winced at how raspy my voice sounded, how sore my throat was.

His head shot up, his eyes locking with mine. Jumping to his feet, he was at my side in a split second. “Rems? Rems, are you…how do you feel?”

I searched his features—the deep frown, the red-rimmed and sunken eyes. The urge to reach out and touch that beautiful face, to iron out the concern etched across his pale skin, left my fingers aching with need. “I’m…I’m okay. How are you?”

“Me?” His rigid mouth creased at the corners, almost producing a smile, but it was gone in a flash as he licked his lips, his frown deepening the scar across his forehead. “I thought…”He shook his head, sucking in a ragged breath. “I’m glad you’re awake. The doctors were concerned you wouldn’t wake up. Whatever Russo injected you with…it was some nasty shit.”

Rubbing my inner arm at the injection site, I grimaced at the tender bruise blossoming there. But regardless of the swift unconsciousness the drug had caused, no buzz or overstimulation remained. No numbness or heightened anxiety. No monster stirring within, demanding replenishment. I felt normal. A little groggy. Perhaps a little achy, but I was…okay.

“I thought he’d conveniently found me and gave me a strong dose of Q…to feed the addiction. Prolong the withdrawal.”

“No.” Torz sat down on the edge of the bed next to my legs. He held my gaze with a stern, no-nonsense hardness, although I felt the plea across our bond—a tentative hope for the answer to his next question. “Did you…Did you seek out another dose?

“Gods, no!” My heart sank, understanding his emotions. He suspected I’d left the suite last night to find a dealer. Of course, he did. Why wouldn’t he?

My gaze didn’t falter as I pumped an ocean of sincerity through our bond. “Please believe me,” I said as a breathless whisper. “I was fighting the urge. It was hard, but I was fighting it. I only opened the door because I thought it was you.”

His eyes widened, the muscles of his jaw slackening into a gape. “He found you here?”

“His men did, yes. He must’ve been watching you.”

“Watching us,” he mumbled, another facet of worry stirring within him.

“What did he inject me with?”

“We don’t know.” He rubbed his hands together, pensively staring at a spot on the wall behind me. “The pathologists have never seen it before. Though it appears whatever the concoction was, it’s eradicated all traces of Q in your system. Your blood tests confirmed it.”

“What?”

Torz nodded, and my mind jumbled about with more questions. In Russo’s attempt to threaten Torz, had he done me a favour? Rinsed my body of the toxic drug I stupidly reintroduced to my system after starving it for so long?

Frowning at the idea, I gently pushed myself up to sit.

“Hey, take it easy.” Torz reached for me, his fingers merely brushing my arm, shooting tingles along my skin. A swirl of dizziness came and went, and I wasn’t sure if it was caused by the blood returning to my brain too quickly or his touch.

“Really, Torz, I’m fine.”

Snapping his hands back into his lap, he softly smiled down at them. “Always the fighter.”