Surrender 01 - Surrender

a crappy location? She was being paid well at her job. She should have moved out by now. He knew she had expenses, but a safe place to live should have been at the top of her priorities.
    Luckily, she was wearing a strappy purse, which was still hanging around her neck. He searched it and found her key, then lifted her in to his arms and carried her up the unstable staircase to the second landing, where he found her door knob despite the darkness surrounding them . It took him a few tries before he managed to get the door open.
    His disgust grew at her small and shabby living area with its sparse furnishings. He laid her down on the couch until he could turn on some lights and find her bed, then picked up his cell phone and dialed his private physician. The respected doctor said he would be right over, though the man paused when Rafe listed the address.
    Rafe would have paused too. While he waited for Dr. Malroy to arrive, he searched her tiny apartment, taking only a few minutes. Her fridge was pretty much empty, her cupboards bare, and her toiletries scarce. No wonder the woman was too skinny. It was more obvious than ever that Ari didn’t know how to take care of herself. If anyone could benefit from being his mistress, she was that person. She’d get a whole lot more out of their arrangement than he would. He couldn’t understand her revulsion at the idea.
    At the very instant she agreed, he would move her into a beautiful condo, where she’d have plenty to eat and not have to worry about money — not even after he was done with her. He paid his mistresses a nice settlement when their services were no longer needed, making sure they were still taken care of and their futures secure.
    His second call was to his assistant, who assured him he’d have her fridge and cupboards stocked within a couple of hours. Rafe wanted her to come to him, but he just wasn’t going to leave her in her current circumstances while he waited for her inevitable submission.
    Rafe sighed in relief at the knock on her door. He opened it and let in the doctor, who raised his eyebrows questioningly. Rafe didn’t bother explaining, but just led the man to the couch so he could examine Ari. It didn’t take Dr. Malroy long to diagnose the problem.
    “I won’t know for sure until the tests are confirmed, but it looks to me as if she received a dose of some kind of date rape drug. Whoever gave it to her most likely slipped it in her drink, causing her exhaustion and hypnotic state. More often than not it has an almost amnesiac effect, meaning that the victim won’t remember anything from the night before.”
    Rafe’s rage rose to dangerous levels. That man who’d had her in his arms had drugged her and planned to do who knew what with her before dumping her somewhere where she wouldn’t remember a thing.
    Once Rafe was done assuring himself Ari would be OK, he decided that he would make a visit to the would-be attacker. He had many friends at the police station who wouldn’t have any problem turning their backs while Rafe got one good punch in — maybe two or three.
    “Does she need to be admitted to the hospital?”
    “It doesn’t look as if she got a dangerously high level of the drug, whatever it was, but you need to keep an eye on her for the rest of the night. If she looks to have any trouble breathing, then you need to rush her to the ER, but they can’t really do any more than give her the same medications that I have with me. Some victims have been known to die from a bad reaction to the rape drugs I’ve mentioned, but she would have been showing signs at this point .”
    “I’ll take her there now.”
    “I don’t see any allergic reactions. Honestly, I think she’ll be fine. I’ve been your doctor for a long time, and I’ve never steered you wrong. If I felt there were a need for her to go in, I’d tell you. She just needs fluids and rest right now.”
    “If you think that’s what’s best—but if I get the slightest inkling that she isn’t OK, I’ll rush her in.” With reluctance, Rafe took the doctor’s advice and saw him out. Afterward, he settled in for a very long night.

Chapter Twelve

    Ari woke up to the relentless pounding of a full percussion section in her head. She tried peeking through the narrow slits that were her eyelids, but the pain wouldn’t allow even that much movement. Her body twitched on the bed and she felt aches move from her head all the way to the tips of her