Mystery Life

8

"She'll be fine, physically at least. I have no idea how this will affect her mentally," the doctor informs Dave as he finishes stitching up the wound. "She's been harmed over years and found this place a safe haven. Now?" The doctor shrugs. "Another problem will be her wound could cause her more mental problems."

Dave stares angrily at the doctor, "Explain now."

The doctor sighs sitting up and cleaning up from dealing with Lydia. "She's had mental trauma before, it's what caused her amnesia and I believe her sight loss. Who knows what this latest trauma to her head will cause?"

"She lost her sight due to brain trauma?"

"Or mental, I believe so. I can't be a hundred per cent sure of course, but that is the only thing that makes sense. It was a way for the brain to protect itself from something she saw. She doesn't want to see that again and so she doesn't see. Of course it could be from a hit and another could restore it. There are possibilities and no way to know for sure. All we can do now is wait.

"You can take her back to her room if you'd like. The beds here aren't that comfortable." And he needs them for the more seriously injured, but he's not going to say that to Dave at this point. Fortunately Dave gently lifts Lydia into his arms and takes her out of the infirmary.

"Doc? How is Lydia?" Zackary asks gently coming in with Reed and another man. The other man is nearly unconscious and bleeding from a gunshot wound in his side.

The doc motions to the bed that Lydia just vacated. The doctor had barely had time to disinfect it before the man was brought in.

"She'll be fine, I hope. The bullet just grazed her head, but she's had other trauma's to her head and this could cause problems for her."

Zackary looks troubled by this and helps ease the unknown man down on the bed. "I'm glad the boss shot the bastard that hurt her. It's just too bad he died before any information could be gained from him." Reed and the doctor both agree with him even as the doctor goes to work on the third man.

Dave oversees the cleanup from Lydia's room. After what happened in the kitchen he's not comfortable leaving her alone just yet. His men all understand and are glad that he's in there with her, even if it makes it more difficult for them.

Dave is dozing in a chair next to her bed when she moans and holds a hand up to her head. "Shh, it's alright, Lydia. You were shot but the bullet just grazed the head."

"My name isn't Lydia." Lydia says and Dave freezes.

"You remember?"

"Yeah, my name is Eve Saunders. The damn Italian mafia took me after having my parents killed."

Dave sits up straight and turns white. He unknowingly whispers, "It can't be."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Dave, but it's true. Looks like we are getting married in a year." Eve tries to joke. "Unless you want me to invalidate the alliance?"

Dave looks at her horrified by her words. "How would you do that?"

"It stipulates that I have to be pure, does it not? I could have sex with someone then you'd be free to find your own wife." Eve says hiding her tears from Dave. The last thing she wants to do is force him into a marriage with her.

Dave gently moves her hair off her face and smiles at her. "No. I've looked so long for you, and all along you've been here."

Eve snorts, "No, I've only been here for the last year. But I guess this makes things easier for you. Your men already accept me so it won't be hard for them to..."

Dave kisses her. Eve is shocked and doesn't know what to do. She follows Dave's moves and finds that she enjoys kissing. Then Dave slips his tongue into her mouth and deepens the kiss.

With that Eve forgets everything including the throbbing pain of her head.

"I don't want you to invalidate the alliance." Dave pulls back and manages to say after getting his breath back.

The look Eve has on her face makes him want to kiss her again, but he doesn't dare. He had a hard enough time pulling back with that one kiss. "I had your gifts brought up here. A couple of them have stray bullets in them. We'll get those replaced or fixed later.

"The men went ahead and served the cake to their families before taking them home. I hope that is alright? We'll have another cake on your true birthday." This will be her first birthday since her kidnapping that he won't be spending it drunk like he usually did. Another year and still a failure. This year he won't be a failure, he has his friend here and she's safe.

Now he just has to figure out how to make sure that she remains safe. The Italians had found out that she was here. That means someone betrayed him. He had already thought that since the first place taken out was the control room. The only way that could happen is if an insider took them out. That and the video was messed with.

He's going to have a back up video installed after this, with only his top most trusted men knowing.

"Dave?" Eve says scared.

"What is it, Eve?" Dave asks gently pulling his anger inside him tight.

"How did they find me? They were after me. I heard them. I was their target. Your men were killed and injured because of me." Eve starts crying now. She had grown close to all the men that helped out there at the estate. She doesn't like that any of them were dead because of her.

Dave hesitates, "I must have a traitor among my men. Someone willing not only to betray me, but to betray you as well."

"I just don't understand, why after all this time? If they killed me, it won't change anything you still have my father's mafia. Why do all this to me?" Eve cries.

Dave doesn't like that and picks her up and holds her close. "I don't know. Pettiness perhaps? Just wanting to finish off the vengeance he wasn't able to do with the promise to your uncle."

The fresh reminder of what happened, "Do you happen to know what happened to my dog?"

"Yeah, he survived and when we weren't able to find you after a year a young blind child too poor to afford a service dog received him. Since then, every year I've built a scholarship for the blind to help them get a service animal."

Eve holds onto Dave and cries into his shoulder. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Eve. I've been working on getting you one. There is quite a waiting list though."

"I love you, Dave."

"I love you too, Eve." 

Dave sets her down and places the covers over her and lets her sleep.

"Boss?" The guard stationed outside her door questions.

"She woke up and she's fine. She even regained her previous memories. Call the men in for a meeting, there is something I need to talk to you all about that she told me. Listen in," Dave orders and the man nods making the call.

Dave heads down the stairs to his study. After all these years he can stop searching for Eve. The relief finally hits him and the tears fall.

His men find him like that and are afraid of the worst.

"Sit down, I have something to tell you all about Lydia." The men sit uneasily and wait for their boss to start talking.