Dictator s Daughter by Lorena Angell Page A

small
shoulders.
    Sean stared at Eliwese’s face. Her big bushy
eyebrows were still attached to her pale skin. He went into the
bathroom and washed his hands and brought back a warm moist
washcloth and applied it to her eyebrows to remove them. Once he
had completed, he surveyed her delicate features and feminine bone
structure. Her cheekbones were high and her nose small. It still
amazed him that it all disappeared when she put on those fake
eyebrows. Couple it with the padded shoulders and constantly
covered neck, and voila, it’s a boy.
    He sat down in the armchair beside the bed.
He laid his head back, took a big deep breath and thought about his
family and home. Was everyone alright? It had been years since any
altercations had occurred with Rawlings’ guards at any half-way
home in Slaterville. He felt it was unlikely anything bad had
happened at his home.
    He looked over at Eliwese. Who had shot at
them, hitting her? Did he want to kill her? Riley Stone knew where
Eliwese was. Did he place her at his home or was he only aware of
her location? Did it mean Victor Rawlings knew where his daughter
was all along?
    She started to tremble and he moved over to
the bed and placed his palm on her forehead; it was cold. He pulled
up the blanket and snuggled it under her shoulders. Still she
shivered and she made a faint moaning sound.
    “Eliwese, how do you feel?” No response, only
more shivering.
    He knew he needed to warm her up, but how? He
turned the heat up a few degrees, put another blanket on her and
even tried a warm washcloth on her forehead, yet she continued to
shiver. She wasn’t suffering from hypothermia, but more likely
shock. He stuffed pillows under her feet to elevate them, and then
decided he’d warm her body with his own body heat as if she was
hypothermic.
    He kicked off his shoes, took off his shirt
and jeans, pulled back the blankets and sheet and lay down beside
her right side, allowing his skin to touch hers. He pulled the
bedding up and over them to trap the body heat.
    He lay on his side with his legs pressed up
against her right leg. He placed his arm across her abdomen with
his hand reaching up and grasping her left shoulder. He scrunched a
pillow under his head and rested his forehead against her cheek.
She continued to shake for a little while longer and then seemed to
calm down.
    Sean heard the click of the blood pressure
machine as it turned on and he lifted his head to see the reading.
Again, the number was a little higher than the previous number, yet
still would have set off the alarm. He snuggled his face against
hers again and shut his eyes.
    “Sean,”
    He raised his head and looked at her barely
open eyes, elated she’d come to.
    “What happened?” she whispered.
    “Someone shot you but you’re safe now, close
your eyes and rest.”
    He checked the clock, three-thirty in the
afternoon.
     
    A couple of hours went by and Sean got up to
replace the IV bag with a fresh one. He started a batch of coffee
in the kitchen and went in to check on her bandages. They looked
good with no blood making it to the surface. He found a laser scan
thermometer and checked her forehead temperature; ninety-six
degrees. He climbed back in bed with her.
    Another thirty minutes went by and the smell
of freshly brewed coffee filled the room. Sean raised his head to
see the current blood pressure reading which was better than the
last. His eyes traveled to the window and he saw that the sun was
setting, filling the sky with beautiful colors.
    “Sean,” she was awake again.
    “How are you feeling?”
    “Like I was run over by a train.” A small
smile broke across her face and then disappeared. “Who else is
here?”
    “Nobody.”
    “We’re alone?”
    “Yes.”
    “Where is everyone else?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    She moved her hand across her stomach and
realized she was nearly naked. She closed her eyes and turned her
head away from him. “You undressed me?”
    “Yes, I’m sorry, but I had