Chapter 120 They Might Come After You
Kelly hesitated, her throat tightening as she glanced at Gary.
4352%
Finished
Whatever words had formed in her mind now refused to leave her lips. She couldn’t say this in front of him.
Gary, unaware of her discomfort, carried on. “This is a military compound. The higher–ups assigned you this house, so security isn’t an issue. Most of the younger officers have moved out, so it’s quiet. No one will bother you. There’s a market just behind the complex oo–convenient for groceries.”
As he pulled the car into the gated community, the guards at the entrance stiffened, their expressions unreadable. Kelly exhaled, only then realizing how tense she had been. The idea of staying elsewhere had unsettled her, but here … here she could breathe.
Gary cut the engine and turned to them. “Focus on resting and recovering. Try to get your memory back.” Then, without another word, he left.
Kelly pushed Zev’s wheelchair inside. The house was old, yet well–kept. Not a speck of dust lingered in the corners. Someone–likely on Gary’s orders–had ensured the place was spotless. Every necessity had already been provided.
Honey, I need a shower,” Zev announced, his voice carrying the weight of weeks spent in a hospital bed
Though Kelly had helped him clean up each day, he still looked miserable. He was done enduring the makeshift routine of damp cloths and half–hearted rinses.
“I’ll run the water for you,” she said, falling into the gentle, coaxing tone she always used when dealing with him. When Zev got stubborn, patience worked better than force. “Just wait here.” But Zev never had been one for patience.
“I’ll unpack while I wait,” he said. “Gotta get my hands working again.”
Kelly’s suitcase had been brought over earlier by Gary, packed with only her essentials–clothes, toiletries, and a few personal items.
She had just turned on the bath when Zev called out from the living room. “Honey, we’re not planning on having kids?”
Kelly’s fingers froze over the faucet.
“What?”
Stepping out of the bathroom, she found Zev sitting on the couch. Her suitcase lay open beside him.
In his hands was a small, familiar box. Her stomach plummeted.
“You–when did you even buy those?” she asked, her voice sharp with disbelief.
Zev scowled, irritation flickering across his face. “They were in your pocket.”
Kelly blinked. Then it hit her. She had worked at a pharmacy once. A group of teenage delinquents had torn open condom wrappers just to be obnoxious, then left them behind. She had stuffed an unopened box into her coat pocket, meaning to toss it later. Except she never had.
1/3
17:22 Wed, Apr 30 BG.
Chapter 120 They Might Come After You
52%
Finished
“Oh.” Zev’s expression darkened. “Do we have to use these? I don’t want to.” His tone carried a mix of complaint and hopeful expectation, as if this was some betrayal he hadn’t foreseen.
Kelly, mortified, snatched the box from his hands and tossed it into the trash. “Don’t read too much into it.”
“Great.” Zev smirked. “So we won’t use them.”
Kelly’s fingers curled into fists.
“Zev,” she said, her voice strained, “your leg is broken. You need rest. No unnecessary movement. No strain. No-” She gestured wildly, her face heating. “No anything.”
Zev gave her a wide–eyed look of innocence. “What if I don’t move? What if you do all the work?”
Her brain shut down. For a long moment, she simply stared at him. Then, with great effort, she considered the logistics of knocking him unconscious.
Zev leaned back, his voice dipping into an exaggerated sigh. “Honey, I don’t feel so good…
Kelly exhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay calm. She was this close to smothering him with a pillow.
“Enough,” Kelly said, pulling him upright and pressing a crutch into his hands. “Walk to the bathroom on your own.”
Zev moved at an agonizing pace, his steps deliberate. Water glistened on the tile, a slick sheen waiting for an unsuspecting misstep. He found it, or rather, chose it. His foot slid. His balance wavered. Kelly caught him before he could fall.
His grin was anything but apologetic.
Kelly set her jaw and guided him to the edge of the tub. “You’re not getting in. I’ll clean you up myself. The stitches have healed well, but you still can’t soak them.”
For once, Zev didn’t argue. He only nodded.
Kelly breathed in. She owed him–whether she liked it or not.
Maybe once he remembered everything, the weight of that debt would finally lift.
She dipped the towel in warm water and ran it over his back.
His skin bore the marks of months without training. The muscle remained, but the definition had faded. He had lost weight. Too much.
Zev let out a slow breath. “Kelly,” he murmured, tilting his head back to meet her gaze. “Do I look awful to you? With all these scars?”
The ink on his body had been marred, the once–smooth designs now interrupted by jagged lines.
Kelly hesitated. “Did the tattoos hurt?” she asked, shifting the subject.
“Not as much as broken ribs,” he said, his voice rough.
She let the answer settle between them, unspoken memories lingering beneath the surface.
2/3
17:22 Wed, Apr 30 BG.
Chapter 120 They Might Come After You
A long pause. Then, softer, Zev whispered, “I’m scared.”
Kelly froze. Zev was not the kind of man who admitted fear.
“I keep thinking… if I die, who will protect you?”
His voice was quiet, but the weight of his words pressed against her.
ས52%
Finished
The past was fractured, pieces missing. But one thing remained, something that even memory loss could not erase–his need to keep her safe..
And if he was gone, who would?
180
