Serena felt someone bumping into her, splashing a drink onto her arm.
«Terribly sorry!» the stranger retreated so fast that all Serena could catch was that it was a curvy woman.
Shaking off the alcohol from her arm, she sighed:
«Fucking drunkards…»
Elijah caught the bartenders attention and the worker quickly supplied them with a clean towel to wipe off the drink. Fortunately, none of the liquid got onto Serena’s clothes.
«Perhaps, we should get out of here, before someone decided to spill their drink on you again?» Elijah chuckled as Serena returned the towel to the bartender with a smile.
«I wanted… I…» Serena suddenly frowned, feeling her thoughts becoming slow and unresponsive. «Fuck…»
Elijah saw this sudden change and caught her arm, when she slipped off the chair and swayed:
«Serena? What’s wrong? How many drinks have you had?»
«Just two…» the woman felt her body becoming numb. «Shit… This…»
Elijah leaned in and looked into her eye and saw the pupil becoming wider.
«Oh. I think someone might have dropped something into your drink…» he whispered. «Come on, I’ll get you out of here before that someone decides to take advantage of you.»
«No…» Serena felt him grasping her waist, but no matter how hard she tried to make her body answer her commands, it barely even stepped by Elijah’s side.
«I’m not that kind of man, Serena. I just want you safe.» he said to her.
She didn’t remember how he took her to his place.
But when she woke up the next morning, the first thing she realised was that she wasn’t at all in the mansion she rented for her crew to enjoy. She lay on a lavish bed, fully clothed and as if left there to sleep off a heavy intoxication.
Not recognising the room around, she got up and, ignoring the bathroom where she could freshen up, went straight out of the bedroom, finding herself in a huge apartment of sorts, decorated to the brim with extremely expensive things.
Hearing voices, she headed towards them, trying to feel if her body was experiencing any leftover effects of whatever she was given at night.
Stepping into the open-planned kitchen and dining area, she saw John and Elijah leaning above a screen, watching something.
«See? This woman, though she was fast in the club…» John pointed at the screen. «…was caught in miss Serena’s mansion a couple of days ago with her children.»
«So why is the system giving us two different names?» Elijah growled.
«Uh…» Serena cleared her throat. «Where am I? And why am I here?»
«Ah, you’re up!» Elijah smiled, straightening and meeting her gaze. «How are you feeling?»
Serena glanced at John and felt suspicion rising:
«What am I doing here?»
«You’ve had a…» Elijah sighed, not really knowing how to explain what happened.
«You’ve been drugged at the club.» John helped out. «Elijah was graceful enough to get you out of there before some asshole could use the situation to his advantage.»
«I hope my guestroom was comfortable?»
Serena glanced at her crumpled clothes:
«Quite…» she said. «Why didn’t you take me back to my place?»
«Mine was closer. Plus, I have all the necessary medical equipment to help straight away.» the man smiled again. «Breakfast? I can offer some fresh coffee…»
Serena tried to straighten her clothes, still not very trusting of the whole situation:
«I think I’d rather head back.»
«Please. Have some coffee at least. Freshen up. Then we’ll take you to your place. We found who did this to you, so if you want, I can take care of the person…»
Serena glanced at John, who was watching her calmly and decided that it was better not to argue for the moment:
«Fine. A coffee would be appreciated. Black.»
She saw Elijah’s face light up with a very pleased smile.
Chapter 6. Misunderstandings
«Where is Serena?» Hunter asked Lindon as soon as he saw him.
«She went out last night, and I didn’t hear her returning yet. Why?»
«I… uh… I wanted to talk to her about something.»
«How are things between you two?» Lindon tilted his head. «I noticed you have been spending more time together again…»
«I… I’m not sure.»
«Well, you certainly seem like everything is coming back to how it used to be before… this.» Lindon gestured to Hunter’s cybernetic body.
«I hope so, Lindon…»
The men heard steps approaching the front door and stepped that way. When the door opened, they saw Serena and greeted her with smiles on their faces:
«There you are!» Lindon frowned suddenly, seeing her clothes a bit crumpled.
«Hunter, Lindon, meet Elijah Winchester. Our potential client.» the woman half-turned, gesturing to the handsome man that accompanied her to the mansion.
Hunter gritted his teeth, seeing a very pleased grin on the stranger’s face.
«A pleasure.» Elijah bowed and Lindon glanced at his face, noting the glance he gave Serena, when she walked inside.
«You’re welcome to get acquainted, but please excuse me, I need to go change my clothes.» Serena headed off, leaving the men.
Hunter stepped up to the man and studied him with his eyes:
«And… how is it that you’ve taken it upon yourself to accompany Serena home?»
Elijah immediately understood why Hunter was so tense, and leaned in, twitching his brow:
«Serena, yes… It was the least I could do, after all… she was a great fuck.» he said quietly.
Hunter squeezed his hands in fists, gritting his teeth in fury:
«What the fuck did you just say?»
Elijah smirked and flicked his multi-purpose watch on his left wrist. The screen on the nearest wall came alive and the man flipped through a couple of files, then poked one, making the device connected to the screen. Hunter saw Serena on her knees before this man, offering him the pleasure he enjoyed with a wide smile on his face, leaning with his back over the luxurious couch.
«See? She sucked me dry…» Elijah gloated. «I barely slept last night.»
Hunter flinched towards the man, but Lindon jumped in, standing in between them.
«That is not Serena.» Lindon said, his tone low and harsh. «Hunter might not see it, but I do. Your sex bot is flawed.»
«That is no sex bot, little man.» Elijah smiled, enjoying the situation. «That’s Serena. And she was a wonderful time spent.»
Hunter looked at the screen again and saw the man grabbing Serena by the throat and throwing her onto the floor. He grabbed her wrists, pressing them down with one hand and his second one squeezed her throat, as the man took her, harshly biting her neck and breasts.
«You need to leave.» Hunter growled, forcing his anger down. «Before Serena sees this.»
«Tell her I look forward to seeing her again.» Elijah cackled, switching off the recording