Cut and Run by Fern Michaels

Author:Fern Michaels
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2019-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Annie woke and knew instantly where she was and how she’d gotten there. The room wasn’t totally dark. She could see a faint yellowish glow from a lamp at the far end of the room. It gave off just enough light for her to see Sophia curled into a ball on a chair next to her bed.

It took Annie a few minutes to realize that the burning, knifelike pain in her shoulder and arm was gone, leaving only a dull ache to contend with. She let her gaze rake the room for a sign of a clock, but there was no clock that she could see. Her treasured oversize Mickey Mouse watch was gone, thanks to Enrico Araceli. She wondered what he would do with it. Evil bastard, she thought.

Annie stared at Sophia. She was so glad that Sophia had stepped up to the plate and helped her. For that she would be forever grateful. God alone knew where she would be without the little woman’s help.

Sophia stirred, then opened her eyes. “Señora, are you all right?”

“Yes. Did I wake you?” What a silly question. She’d made no noise.

“I was just dozing. How do you feel?”

Annie pondered the question. “Overall, much better; the terrible pain is gone, but my arm aches. My knee is throbbing. How long did I sleep?”

“It’s almost dawn. The doctor set your shoulder. He had to put it back in the socket. He said you would ache. He will drain the fluid on your knee later this morning. He is a very good doctor, señora.”

“How do you know him? Is he your physician?”

“Yes and no. He took care of my sister. She used to flirt outrageously with him. He never responded. This might surprise you, but he is only sixty-three years old. He has a medical condition that ages him prematurely. His practice is limited these days.”

Annie was wide-awake now. “I am so grateful to you, Sophia. I don’t know how to thank you. When this is all over and done with, I’d like to take you to America with me. I know people who can arrange this. I can set you up in a house like the one Armand bought for you that will be truly yours. You can paint all day long. You can garden and grow your flowers and join a church of your choosing. I make this offer to you because, as I said, when it’s all over, you will have no one left here in the way of family. I’m willing to make you part of my immediate family, none of whom are blood relatives. Will you think about it?”

Sophia hesitated, then nodded.

“You didn’t like your sister very much, did you?”

“No, in some ways I was jealous. She was the beautiful one. And she was truly beautiful. On the outside. That’s what men like, I’m told. Inside, she was not pretty. She was mean, manipulative, and calculating. She wasn’t a good mother, although, and I know that this will be hard for you to believe, Armand was a good father.

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