The Gender Game by Bella Forrest (historical books to read txt) 📗

safe and protected. "Better remove your underwear, too. Just throw it in the river and keep my coat.”

I breathed in. "Okay. "

Viggo turned his back on me while I maneuvered my way out of my bra and panties. I hurled them into the river before pulling on his long coat. I fastened up the zipper to my neck. "You can turn around," I murmured.

He turned and bent down and scooped me up. As he rose and I tightened my grip around his shoulders, I realized my hands were trembling. Aside from the cold, I was still recovering from shock.

When Viggo began to run again—gripping me as though he feared I might loosen my hold—my cheek fell against his shoulder. His fear was not unfounded. I fought to maintain consciousness, but exhaustion finally claimed me. I faded out.

27

I woke to the noise of whirring rotors. I was lying on something soft. Narrow, but comfortable. Someone's palm was pressed on my forehead. I opened my eyes.

Viggo's handsome face hung over me. His hair was wet, and tied back. His dark brows had been deeply furrowed, but became less so as our eyes locked. He removed his hand from my head. I tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down.

We were in the belly of some kind of aircraft. The walls were rounded and lined with metal panels. This was the first time I'd ever been in an aircraft, let alone flown in one. The sensation was unsettling. My ears felt blocked.

I was lying on a cushioned stretcher, Viggo sitting beside me on a stool. Memories of the night washed over me and I relived every terrifying moment. Waking up in the dark and the cold. The lack of control. The fear. The pain. The humiliation. The anger. The relief.

I was still wrapped in Viggo's coat. I felt its inner lining brush against my bare skin; it took the edge off my still-damp hair and body. I reached up to my face. I had a bandage over my nose.

I stared up at Viggo. "How did you find me?"

"Thanks to your husband," Viggo replied. His voice was low, like he hadn't spoken in a while.

"Lee?" I breathed. "Where is he?"

"He's back in the city," Viggo explained. "But he was able to communicate to me your location. The moment I realized you were gone, I called him and he was able to guide me and my team."

"But how would Lee know?"

Now it was Viggo's turn to look confused. "You didn't know that he has you tracked?"

My breath hitched. No. I didn't know that.

Since when had Lee been tracking me?

I had looked at his computer only recently to watch Viggo's red dot on the map, and I hadn't shown up there. As I turned my mind back to the last few days, I realized he must have done it the night he got annoyed with me. The night I'd told him I had encouraged Viggo to enter the PFL, and potentially mess up our whole schedule. The night Lee had first kissed me.

Whatever Lee's motives—be they borne out of some kind of possessiveness or not—I could only be grateful now that he had done it. Otherwise, I would have likely died in that dark basement.

"I did know," I lied, rubbing my head. "I just—with everything, I didn't put two and two together."

"As soon as we touch down in the city, I'll take you to the hospital. Your husband said that he will be waiting there for you."

"Okay," I said, swallowing. My mind turned back to earlier. "Hey, what happened with the fight?"

"Forget the fight!" he growled. "I left the arena as soon as I found you gone. It was that damn attendant, wasn't it? The one who told you to stay in the room."

I nodded. "And the runaway criminal, from the other day…" The man I killed. I explained to Viggo who else I'd seen, including Ada.

Viggo scowled. "That arena needs better screening as to who gets in and out. As for the others, I still have men back there making arrests… You remember we saw members from that gang, sitting in the square after the Rosen-Cruz fight. They were watching you, probably trying to find a way to get at you then, too. The gangs of Porteque don't take kindly to women rising above their role, God forbid when it's against one of their own. They took your felling one of them as an insult to their entire clan."

"They're insane," I breathed.

"They'd call themselves law-upholding," Viggo said darkly.

We lapsed into a span of silence. Trying to turn my mind away from the horrors of the night, I thought once again of Viggo's missed fight. He had just… walked out. Abandoning Cruz, the organizers and thousands of fans. Guilt gripped me.

"Thank you, Viggo," I whispered, my throat thick.

He didn't acknowledge my words. He averted his gaze over his shoulder. "How much longer?" he called to an unseen colleague.

"Five minutes," a man called back.

We sat wordlessly for the rest of the journey. On descending, Viggo slipped his arms beneath me, picking me up again. He carried me out of the aircraft and we emerged on a landing strip on top of a towering building. Surrounding us was Patrus City.

"How far is the hospital?" I asked him as he carried me through a door which led to a stairwell.

"This is the hospital."

His answer came as a disappointment, which confused me. I'd been beaten up; I needed to see a doctor and be treated. But somehow I'd been expecting a little more delay until meeting Lee again… until leaving Viggo.

Viggo wound down the stairwell and pushed us through a set of double doors, which led us to a bustling hallway. Doctors—all male, of course—were moving in and out of rooms, pushing carts, speaking with patients. And then we spotted Lee, sitting tensely on a bench at the end of the corridor. He sprang up as soon as he spotted us and hurried