Chapter 7

The endless darkness was sliced open by the faint light of dawn as the sky began to pale to gray.

Theodore had just hauled Tabitha out of the bathroom. He was about to set her down on the bed when he realized he couldn't put anyone on it—it was a total mess.

With no choice, he wrapped her in a bath towel and set her down on the couch first. Then, he went back to clean up the battlefield. The second he lifted the blanket, he froze. A deep red bloodstain stood out starkly on the soft pink bedsheet.

Stunned, he turned to look at Tabitha. He'd wrapped her up like a mummy, and only her delicate face showed. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, probably from the hot shower and all the steam.

Wasn't she already married? How could last night have been her first time?

Theodore saw Tabitha shift on the couch, her restless body teetering on the edge. Startled, he lunged forward, scooped her up, and tucked her back onto the couch.

Something was off… Her body temperature didn't feel right. Earlier, when he'd seen her face all rosy, he'd just assumed she was overheated. Now, it seemed that wasn't it at all.

He lifted his hand to her forehead, and the heat of her skin almost burned his palm. She had a fever.

After soaking in cold water for so long, plus the wild ride he'd taken her on all night, it would've been a miracle if she didn't burn up.

Theodore grabbed a pillow to prop up Tabitha's head, then pulled a blanket over her. He needed to figure out a way to get out of here fast. She was timid enough as it was—if the fever fried her brain on top of that, they'd be in a pickle.

When he realized what he'd just been thinking, he cursed himself out in his head.

Shit. Since when had he become so thoughtful?

Theodore had no communication devices on him, and he didn't think Tabitha did either. He'd have to search the male escorts.

He was about to head toward the walk-in closet when he glanced at her again. She was lying on the couch, so he grabbed a duvet, folded it, and laid it on the floor in front of the couch to keep her from rolling off.

He told himself he wasn't worried about her. She just still had her uses.

He had to figure out why he'd suddenly been cured. Was it because of the aphrodisiac and the drug from last night, or was it because of her? Was he really cured, or did it only work with her?

Most of the male escorts were already awake. The moment they saw Theodore walk in, they recoiled like they'd seen a ghost.

"Please don't kill us, sir! We'll never do it again!"

Once Callum started begging for mercy, the others rushed to echo him. "Yeah, we promise! We were just hired to do this!"

Theodore didn't want to waste time on them. "You have phones on you?"

They all shook their heads hard. "The higher-ups said we're not allowed to bring phones to work."

"Useless trash." Theodore stepped forward, lifting his arm, fully intending to beat the hell out of them to vent his frustration.

The men immediately scrambled to their knees and pleaded for mercy.

"Are you trying to contact someone outside?" a guy huddled in the corner asked shakily.

Theodore's gaze snapped straight to him.

The man gulped, stretched his bound wrists toward Theodore, and said, "My smartwatch can make calls…"

"At least one of you is good for something." Theodore crouched down, unclasped the smartwatch from the man's wrist, then turned and walked out.

He quickly punched in Colin's number and dialed. The first time, it rang a few times before being declined.

Theodore let out a sharp, humorless laugh. Once he got out of here, he was going to screw Colin's head off and use it for target practice.

He called a second time. It barely rang once before getting declined again.

Theodore slammed his fist into the wall beside him. His temper was hanging by a thread. He forced himself to swallow his rage, took a few seconds to calm down, then dialed a third time.

The third call connected immediately. What followed was a barrage of furious yelling.

"It's five in the freaking morning! Which bastard is so eager to die that he thinks it's okay to wake me up? Say your name so I know who I'm killing tonight! Cat got your tongue, you soulless troll?"

Colin went off on Theodore without even stopping for breath.

Theodore moved the watch a couple of inches from his ear and waited. When he finally caught Colin between curses, he let out a low, icy chuckle.

On the other end, the swearing cut off instantly. After a couple of seconds, Colin's voice turned serious. "Theo?"

"Yeah."

"Shit! I got wasted last night and forgot you were still at Lumino!" Colin's end of the line exploded into frantic rustling. "You, uh… you okay? I'll come get you right now."

Theodore wasn't okay, and things were definitely not fine. "I need security, a chopper, and a full medical team. Get them ready, now!"

He was about to give an address when he realized he had no idea where he was. He strode over and kicked the walk-in closet's door open. As expected, everyone inside jumped again.

Theodore's voice came out like solid ice. "Give me this place's address."

The guy who'd given him the smartwatch reacted first. "20 Riverside Court."

Theodore said flatly, "Have the medical team wait at Stillwater Heights. Security detail and the chopper need to be at 20 Riverside Court, within 30 minutes."

Colin was stunned. What the hell had happened last night that now required bodyguards, a helicopter, and a medical team?

"Make sure the medical team has extra female doctors."

As soon as those words left Theodore's mouth, Colin's breathing went quiet and careful.

Female doctors?

Colin could smell that something was off… but he didn't dare ask any questions. He just agreed to everything on the spot. Even if Theodore came after him for it later, he'd take it. "Got it. Sit tight!"

Colin moved fast. In just 20 minutes, someone kicked open the bedroom door from the outside.

Theodore had just finished changing Tabitha into clean clothes. He wrapped her up in a blanket and held her in his arms like a tightly bundled cocoon.

Colin took in the wrecked room, then glanced at Tabitha in Theodore's arms. He was so shocked he couldn't get a single word out—not that he dared.

Theodore kicked him. "Move. You're in my way."

Colin scrambled aside. "Alright, alright!"

"Hand the nine bastards inside the walk-in closet over to the police. Find every camera in this place, back up all the footage, and send it to me," Theodore said.

Colin craned his neck for a look inside and finally noticed one of the doors was open. "Got it!"

He immediately fired off instructions to the bodyguards behind him, then hurried after Theodore. There was no way he was missing out on front-row seats to this drama.

Sure, there was a chance he'd get his ass kicked, but that was nothing compared to watching this play out.

Before long, the helicopter landed at Theodore's private residence, Stillwater Heights. The second the chopper touched down, the medical team that had been standing by rushed over, pushing a gurney toward them.

As Theodore laid Tabitha down, he gave them a quick rundown. "She was frightened, and she inhaled some unknown aphrodisiac incense. She also soaked in a cold bath for half an hour last night… then was kept up all night."

Colin turned to stone on the spot, but at least he now knew that this trip had been worth it.

Theodore could get it up now! This was the kind of news the whole world ought to celebrate.

Colin had been the one to dump Theodore at Lumino last night. The fact that things had worked out like this meant he'd technically helped. In other words, Colin was Theodore's savior.

Maybe that was pushing it, but at the very least, Theodore probably wouldn't kill him now.

Colin was so happy he almost started bouncing in place. When he saw they'd already gone inside, he dropped everything and sprinted after them. "Wait up! Theo, you and the missus need to slow down!"