My mind started to question the legitimacy of the last lucid memory I possessed . I remembered the hard body pus.h.i.+ng mine down; I remembered the long fingers wrapped around my throat . Had that incident really taken place? I was quite sure that I would not be alive if that were the case . Anthony Murray had every intention to leave me breathless—literally, and punish me for causing trouble .

I humorlessly wondered what our scores would be if we were keeping tabs on how threatened one's life was because of another . I was pretty sure that he would be winning . He would gain extra points of being a pretentious p.r.i.c.k that did not know when to drop his charade .

Sincerely, the meddling part of my mind interjected, we must take into account how many times you pulled your gun on him .

I grit my jaw as I tried to fend off the offending thought .

"When are you going to stop pretending that you are still unconscious?" Instantly, anger bubbled in my veins . My breath left my nostrils in a rush as I tried to bite back the sinister reply . Instead, I told him the truth as politely as was humanly possible .

"The moment you stop pretending to care . " I tested the light inside the room, opening one lid slowly . I squinted, realizing that only the dim bedside lamp was turned on beside the bed . Thanking the G.o.ds, I tried to put my weight on my dead arms and push myself back against the headboard and sit . After a few tries, I found myself in the most comfortable position I could find .

"Mia," I heard her disapproving voice . My eyes moved towards the direction of her voice . I scanned her form, trying to see the damage . Apparently, she had none .

"Where were you when he was strangling me?" I asked, coolly . I raised a brow at the upraised gun in her hand . It was pointed at Anthony, who sat at the foot of the bed, waiting for the slightest movement so that he could make his move .

"I was being held back . " I shot her a questioning look . Maybe, I made a judgement on her as well . I could imagine that it was Ethan, who had accompanied Anthony in his little break-in . No one else had the time or inclination to indulge in the Boss' games .

"Oh? Did you not fight your detainee off?" I quipped . Her eyes, which had been trained on Anthony's form, s.h.i.+fted towards me .

"I tried, but you were too busy being angry and fighting off the abusive lover of yours . " The chill in her voice brought me a sense of clarity .

"He is not-" she did not let me finish . She scoffed . . . on my face . I should have been furious, but I was tired off bursting out at every turn . It was time I squeezed out my answers and give them no occasion to exploit my emotions .

She returned her gaze to the man that she kept at gunpoint .

"So, now you took it on yourself to protect my unconscious person?" She nodded .

"Right," I murmured, begrudgingly . If I really distanced myself from the situation and went over the scenario, I might have laughed . Daisy stood no chance in front of Anthony, even if he didn't have a gun on him . She was not a bad shot, but she was definitely not an excellent one . Anthony would be easily able to antic.i.p.ate her moves, as he had done mine .

I understood where the problem lay: how he understood my next move . My raging emotions had made my moves predictable .

The woman was not trained to protect anyone, yet she had taken it upon herself to look after me when I couldn't .

"Where is Ethan?" I asked suddenly, curiosity getting the best of me .

"Trying to contact Sean to delete all the footage from our CCTV . They don't want to leave any evidence of their forced entry behind," she stated .

"Of course," I snorted, "you would think that the best way to take revenge was to go to the cops and file a trespa.s.sing report . " I groaned . "I'm not a saint and I know very well that the cops are on your payroll and at your beck and call . " I let the sneer come over my features . "Don't try to fool me, Anthony . What other motive do you have?"

"Ethan and Sean used some unorthodox methods which I do not wish to reveal to you," he spoke up . The sudden outburst made me jump .

"And now you are trying to accuse me of plagiarism!" I said playfully .

"You are quite a trouble maker and I don't want to take a risk," he told me, too defensive to be true .

"Speak the truth, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d . "

"Ethan had been keeping tabs on Daisy for the past two years trying to figure out how to approach the woman . " He tilted his head towards her direction .

"And he freely gave you this information because he thought you wanted to chat with her?" I prompted, helpfully .

"No, Ethan was the one that found out that you two met frequently . He may even have had the security information to the building if he were being thorough . "

"He gave you the address knowing that you would try to murder me? And he tagged along to watch the drama unfold?" Frankly, I was scaring myself by sounding so calculative and formal .

"I did not try to murder you!" he retorted, his hands thrown over his head in exasperation .