Healing Hark (Doms of Chicago) (9 page)

Every sense alert, Hark made a quick tour of the outer office before slipping into Bryan’s inner sanctuary. The heavy oak furniture didn’t surprise him, nor did the wall-to-wall shelves filled with knick knacks, books, and framed pictures. However the thin Japanese silk screen set in the corner seemed a bit out of place. Slipping over to it, he did a quick glance behind it, expecting to see nothing more than an empty space or possibly a wet bar. The crumpled body on the floor sent a chill down his spine. Crouching down next to the dark haired woman, he felt for a pulse. Relief washed over him as the faint beat throbbed against his fingertips.

“
Miss?” He spoke softly, not wanting to scare her if for some reason she'd been attacked by a large man. Her low moan barely reached his ears then her eye lids fluttered. He kept his voice soft as she slowly came to. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.

“
Listen, my name is Hark and I'm going to check you for injuries. Don't move.” Calling on years of combat medical training, he checked her neck before sliding his hand down to her shoulders.

She whimpered slightly when his fingers found
what he suspected was a break in her collarbone. He barely contained his growl.

“
Fuck, I think it's broken.” He gently prodded at it.

She
groaned in pain.

“
Shit, I'm sorry.” He pressed her down when she tried to struggle into an upright position, her eyes wild with pain.

“
What? Where am I? And who the hell are you?” She pushed at his restraining hold.

“
Stop it.” He kept his tone level. “You’re inside Bryan’s office and I'm a friend of Bryan's...” He struggled with how to refer to Bryan’s relationship with Master Rai. If Bryan wasn't out at work, he didn't want to unwittingly out him - especially to the man's assistant. “Look, Diachi Rai asked me to keep an eye on Bryan at work until this whole corporate espionage thing is over.”

Some unidentified emotion flittered across her face before relief shone in her eyes.
“You know Master Rai?”

Intimately.
But he couldn't tell the woman as much. “Yes, we met in college years ago.” He helped her into a sitting position while supporting her shoulder.

She hissed, a tear slipping free.
“Is Bryan okay?”

He nodded.
“Yeah, I locked him in the elevator and told him if he came out before I gave the all-clear, I'd kick his ass.”

She bit her lower lip and gave a small laugh.
“Hate to burst your bubble but he'd probably like that.”

“
Probably.” He chuckled softly, then sobered. “I need you to be very still. I think you may have broken your collarbone. Is there any place else that hurts?”

She squinted.
“My head hurts. I think I struck it on the corner of the counter when I went down.”

He winced.
“Ouch. Where did you hit it?” He didn't see any blood matting her hair, but with its dark color it could be hidden.

She
winced as she tried to lift her right hand, then groaned before letting it drop back to her side. “Shit, that hurts.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, let's not do that again. Why don't you just tell me where?”

She licked her lips.
“Right side, behind my ear.”

He shifted his position and moved to get a better
view. “Okay, I'll look. While I do, do you want to tell me what happened?”

“
I came in early, just like I always do. That way I can have Bryan's schedule ready for him, and fresh cinnamon rolls.”

Hark arched a brow at the mention.
“And here I thought Bryan was diabetic.”

She flinched when his fingers found a lump behind her ear.
“He is. I sneak those little Cinnabon minis in once or twice a week for him. Don't tell Mr. Rai. He'll probably kick my butt for enabling Bryan.”

He shrugged his shoulders. Neither promising nor denying the possibility.
“So you came in early. What happened after that?”

“
I don't know. I had my back to the door as I was pulling files. I wasn't really expecting anyone. Usually Marius buzzes me if any visitors are here for Bryan. I had just pulled out the new food line reports when I heard something, but when I turned to see what it was there was this shadow. He pulled out this slender black stick like thing to hit me. I think he may have been aiming for my head but I threw the file at him. It must've of fouled up his aim, because the next thing I remember was a burning in my shoulder before I fell backwards. Then it was lights out.”

“
Well you definitely have a bump back here. Lucky for you no blood, but I still think a trip to the ER for x-rays wouldn't be amiss.”

She giggled.
“My mama always did say I had a hard head.”

“
And thank goodness for that.” He slowly rose to his feet. “Don't move. I'll have Bryan call for the ambulance.”

“
There's really no need.” She struggled to rise. “I'm sure I can have one of the guys downstairs take me.”

Hark gave her his best stern look.
“There is. You were attacked on Sterling Foods property. I'm pretty sure Bryan is going to insist upon it when he finds out.”

“
But —” She nibbled on her lower lip.

He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Unless you want a little of what your boss receives when he disobeys, I suggest you do as I say.” He winked at her, hoping to lighten the situation.

She sighed.
“Fine. But I'm coming back here as soon as possible. Bryan has a full schedule today. One he'll need my help in coordinating.” She winced as she reached across her body with her left hand to touch the lump behind her ear. “But right now, a strong painkiller and an ice pack sound pretty good.”

He nodded.

“I imagine so. Stay put.” He took a step back. “I mean it. You might be dizzy and I'd hate to have to explain to Master Rai why Bryan's assistant took out the hand painted Japanese screen he brought home for your boss.”

“
Yeah, me either.” Her eyes drifted shut. “That man scares me.”

* * * *

Bryan was ready to climb the walls of the elevator by the time Hark returned.
His watch assured him it had only been ten minutes since he’d been in, but each sweep of the second hand had seemed unending.
This is ridiculous. Sharonda is probably just running late. It's happened before
.

The metallic ding was
followed by a swoosh of the doors that drew Bryan from his thoughts. Hark's large frame appeared in the opening.

“
So is everything okay, your highness?” The smart ass in him couldn't resist poking at the other man.

“
No. I found your assistant. Someone attacked her and dumped her behind the Japanese silk screen in your office.” Hark spoke calmly as if he was talking about nothing more mundane than the weather.

At the moment, Bryan was jealous of the man's calmness.

“
Is she okay?” He tried to push past the other man, but was caught by the hand Hark wrapped around his elbow.

“
No. But before you go freaking out on me, I need you to promise me you'll stay calm. Can you do that?” Hark seemed to be searching for something in his eyes.

He jerked his arm free, and gave a short nod.
“Hell, yes. Just tell me Sharonda is okay.”

Hark dropped his hand.
“She has a possible broken collarbone and concussion. We need to call an ambulance to take her to the closest emergency room. That's what I want you to handle.”

Relief at being given something to do flowed through Bryan.
He moved toward Sharonda's desk. “What are you going to be doing?” he asked Hark over his shoulder.

Hark paused before lifting his cell phone to his ear.
“Calling Diachi.”

Panic flooded his veins. His master was going to blow a gasket when he found out. He'd lock Bryan in their home until whoever had attacked
Sharonda was caught. “I don't suppose there's anything I can say or do to convince you not to call? He's going to go off the deep end.”

Hark's eyes darkened.
Whether it was with lust or anger, Bryan wasn't sure. “Whether I call him now or tell him when we return to your home, you realize either way, he's going to be upset. Probably more so if we wait. Wouldn't you rather deal with a little bit of upset, than a lot that’ll end up with your ass being lit up?”

Bryan rubbed the back of his neck.
“Despite what you think, I don't deliberately act out in hopes of being punished. It's just — Master will demand I come home. And after this attack, I'm needed here. To deal with the police, the reports, liaisoning between our security and the —”

Hark gave an abrupt slashing motion of his hand.
“I get it. You call the ambulance, while I'll deal with your master. It's not like he can take a paddle to my ass.”

Yet...
an insidious voice whispered inside of Bryan's head as Hark turned away from him, his cell phone once more wedged between his ear and shoulder. As much as Bryan wanted to listen to how Hark managed to handle his master, he had an employee who needed medical attention. Reaching for the phone, he resigned himself to trusting Hark to do as he said, because he so didn't need Diachi coming down on him like a ton of bricks in light of this newest mess.

“Nine-one-one,
what's your emergency?” a competent female voice asked in his ear.

“
I need an ambulance sent to the main office at Sterling Foods.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose, as he answered the woman's rapid fire questions.

* * * *

Bryan was slumped at his desk a few hours later, staring at his computer screen but totally unfocused. Not only had the ambulance taken Sharonda to the hospital, Hark had done as he promised. He'd handled Diachi, but now Bryan was almost wishing he hadn't. He'd kill to feel his master's arms around him — to draw in the unique scent of his lover and know everything would be okay. Instead he found himself in his office, listening to the flick of magazine pages as his new bodyguard scanned an old edition of Sports Illustrated.

“
Dammit,” he muttered to himself, tossing a pen down in frustration.

“
What's wrong?” Hark didn't bother to look up from the magazine. He just continued to turn the pages every so often.

Bryan pushed back from the desk.
“Hell, I don't know. I just feel out of sorts.” He moved toward the wet bar. Perhaps a nice hot cup of tea would settle his nerves. “I know she's in good hands, but I still can't help but worry.”

Hark glanced up at him.
“Would it help if we went to the hospital?”

Trepidation crawled through him.
“No, I haven't been in the hospital since Diachi's accident. After spending two months watching the man I love fight for every breath...well let's just say it'd take an act of God or Congress to get me back inside one.”

“
Accident?” Hark’s tone was surprised – as if he’d expected Diachi to be invincible.

Leave it to Hark to
zero on the one thing I hoped he'd overlook
. But as Hark continued to gaze at him, Bryan sighed.

“
Several years ago, Diachi and I were coming home from a Red Cross benefit when a guy in a semi fell asleep at the wheel and t-boned us on Michigan Avenue. I was thrown completely free of the car, while Master wasn't so lucky. I was driving, but we were hit on the passenger side. Master ended up having to be cut out of the little Mercedes. The dash had him pinned in. There were multiple fractures to each of his legs and two broken ribs. One punctured his lung.”

“
Damn.” The word was uttered so softly Bryan barely heard it over the running water as he filled the small electric teapot.

“
Yeah, pretty much. They kept him in a medically induced coma until they were sure he was out of the woods. They were afraid if he moved around, he'd re-puncture his lung. It was a hellacious six weeks while we waited for the rib to finally heal. Not to mention the two surgeries he had to repair his shattered ankle. If you watch Master closely, you'll notice the slight limp when the weather gets cold. He has more metal in his ankle than some simple machines.”

“
I imagine so.” Hark closed the magazine. “So if it's not that, what has you on edge?” He set aside the Sports Illustrated on the stand next to him. “What do you need?” His dark eyes seemed to assess Bryan. The change in his tone sent a chill down Bryan's spine. Paired with a subtle shift in his presence, Bryan realized he was no longer dealing with the man assigned to protect him. No, Hark was in Dom mode and Lord help him, Bryan found that sexier and more tempting than any other pleasure Hell had to offer.

“
What do you mean?” He tried to back pedal as Hark slowly approached him, stalking him, until Bryan found himself backed into the corner between the wall and silk screen. He didn’t even protest when Hark took the teapot from his slack fingers. He watched as Hark plugged it in to the outlet and red light began to glow. Hark had actually started the water for his tea? Bryan tried to wrap his head around the kind action. But before he could, Hark spun around quickly, his body fluid. And Bryan found himself trapped.