My Protector

Chapter 27: See you soon, or not.

Loren's POV

I woke the following morning to the site of a shirtless Killian pulling his navy blue pants on, preparing for the endless meetings that were to come. I couldn't help but notice a slight touch of darkness in his eyes which disappeared instantly when he noticed I was awake.

"Did you sleep well, my love?" He questioned as if I didn't just wake up to the most beautiful site in the most comfortable bed. 

I nodded my head slightly in response and forced a smile knowing that the days to follow would seem never ending without him by my side. I had grown so fondly of him in just a short amount of time. I wasn't even keeping track of the months anymore, it didn't matter to me. 

Killian finished getting dressed and was now outfitted in a full navy blue suit and a white dress shirt paired with his brown leather shoes. As much as I loved seeing him shirtless, the man did pull off a suit damn well. 

He came back over to the bed and I scooted over as he sat down next to me, adjusting his watch and sleeves. I watched intently as he finished getting ready and eventually looked over to me. 

"I wish I knew when you would be done with these meetings" I pouted at the thought that last night may have only been our only night together here. I still wanted to tour the Palace, maybe try and spot the Queen. I wanted to go up on the London Eye and take pictures in front of Big Ben with him.

"I will try to come back every night my love, and if I don't, I promise you that we will extend out trip so that we can do more sightseeing. Maybe even meet the Queen" He winked at me almost as if I just spoke out loud. 

I forced a smile once again as he leaned down to kiss me. "Plus," he paused our kiss, "I'm leaving Bertrand for you so whatever you need or want, you just give him a call and he will be here. Whether you want to drive around the city, eat at the The Swan, or just go for a walk in the park."

That all sounded fun but in the end, I didn't want to do those things if they weren't with him. My smile disappeared as he stood from the bed and gave me one last short kiss on my forehead. 

"I'll see you soon, don't get into too much trouble, doll" He joked with a wink before walking out the doors. 

We hand't slept much the prior night. After dinner, we strolled through the town and visited the Palace, making sure to try and break the Palace Guards serious expressions. I of course had Killian take a photo of me in a famous red telephone booth which he reluctantly did. I chucked as I remembered how red his cheeks had gotten while I posed in front of the booth, gathering strange looks from passerby's. 

We ended the night with a drive around the town, making sure to stop at every other landmark. However, when we did, it was almost 1 AM so I didn't really get a chance to see them in the daylight. 

I closed my eyes as I tried to figure out what time it was at home and in New York. Unable to think properly, I reached over for my phone and just decided to text my friends. They would just reply when they got a chance. Much to my surprise I almost instantly got a response from Emma, I wont complain though. 

"Hey girl! I've been waiting to hear from you! Sounds like London is treating you well.. or should I say Killian. ;)"

I smiled as I typed out my response, eventually asking what she was doing up since it was the middle of the night for her. Again she responded instantly stating that she had to be up early for an early showing that day and she was up early to make sure the place was perfect. Typical Emma, always so last minute but such a perfectionist. A weird combination but it worked for her and thats all that mattered. 

We exchanged a few more texts before she notified me that she had to go as she was really on a time crunch now. I wished her good luck and sat my phone down on the bedside table, looking at the clock and realizing that it was not 11:00 AM. 

Leaving the comfort of the cloud bed, I made my way out to the main salon where I saw multiple silver domes on the large dining table. A small white card was folded on the table with my name on it reading 

"For my Princess, 

Enjoy your time here. I've already ordered you some of my favorite dishes but feel free to order more if you'd like. Call Bertrand for anything (+44 20 3854 1947)

-K"

I lifted one of the domes off of the table and exposed a plate of Egg's Benedict. Jackpot. Without even bothering to look under the other domes, I swiftly grabbed a fork and began to dig into the warm dish. I closed my eyes as the delicious food sent my tastebuds dancing. 

***

The remainder of the day was boring. I didn't want to bother Bertrand although I knew he was likely on stand by under the orders of Killian. I laid on the large velvet couch and flipped through the British TV channels. I settled on what seemed like their cooking network and realized how hungry I was. I called down to the kitchen and placed an order for the fish and chips along with one of the cocktails that caught my eye. 

I laid my head on one of the pillows as I watched the competition on the TV, confused by the occasional angry man yelling at all of the contestants when they messed up. 

"What are you!" He yelled and oddly held two pieces of bread on either side of the woman's head.

"An idiot sandwich" she responded.

I chuckled at the stupidity of the show and my eyelids became heavier with every second that passed. I no longer felt hungry and eventually the sound of the man yelling on the TV was drowned out with pure darkness. 

***

I woke in a completely dark room, the only light coming from the now silent TV and from my bedroom. I looked at my phone and the clock read 12:08 AM. Killian must be back now! I got up from the sofa and walked over the bedroom, slightly upset that he hadn't woken me when he returned. Upon entering the room I realized that the light was actually coming from the bathroom.

"Ian?" I called out gently but was only answered with my own echo.

A wave of nausea rushed over me as I started to feel uneasy about this. I looked over the Killian's suit case which remained untouched. It wasn't like him to just come home and completely bypass me and go straight to the bathroom. Maybe he had some bad food for lunch? I tried to console myself but the uneasiness never left me.  

Suddenly a metallic crash sounded from the salon causing me jump out of my skin. I turned around to try and see what had caused that god awful noise. "Ian if that's you.. this isn't funny.. Adam?" I called out but again, no response. I slowly backed up until I hit a wall. Except it wasn't a wall... it was someone. I heard a large crash again but this time it was accompanied with an excruciating pain over the back of my head.

I grabbed my head and fell to the ground with the impact and shut my eyes, hoping that I would be able to squeeze out the pain. All I could hear now was a constant ringing in my ears as I realized the back of my head was oozing from the back of my head. 

I brought my hand to the front of my face and opened my eyes to see a sticky red substance coating my fingers, behind them, a pair of shiny black shoes with red stitching.