Lillian watched him while Donahue sutured her wound. Her big doe eyes smothered him with unspoken adoration. God, was she beautiful. He could stare and get lost in those blue eyes of hers forever. Brandon tore his gaze from her and pretended to check on his pocket before more inappropriate thoughts popped into his mind. He felt ashamed of himself. When he’d decided to help her, his decision was solely based on goodwill, not because she’d offered him a reward or anything else. The thought of wanting her made him feel like a pervert.
“There. All done.” Donahue cut the suture. “You’re doing very good, Lillian.” He tore open a packet of large rectangle bandages and covered her stitches with it.
Lillian looked up. “Thank you, Mr…”
“Donahue. You’re very welcome.”
“Are you a doctor? You seem to know what you’re doing.”
“I was a combat medic. I served with Shea for many years. Long time ago.”
“Ah.”
Donahue cut his eyes to Brandon. “I got what you asked in there.” He pointed to a black duffel bag on his desk. “I need to get back and watch my store.”
“Thanks, Sal.”
His friend chuckled. “I guess we’re even now?”
“Not even close.”
“I knew you would say that. Call me if you need anything.” Donahue left.
Brandon inspected the duffel. Donahue had gotten him spare clothes for Lillian, weapons and ammo, a set of fake IDs and some cash. It wasn’t much, but it would get them somewhere for a while until Brandon knew what to do next. Donahue owed him a big favour from long ago and said if he ever strayed to Japan, he should contact him for old time’s sake. His friend was surprised when Brandon called five days ago for help. Donahue thought he was crazy, but Brandon couldn’t just turn a blind eye and let Lillian suffer. It wasn’t right.
“Put these on.” He handed her the jeans and a loose-fitting shirt.
Donahue had even gotten her a pair of sneakers and socks that seemed were her correct size.
“Thank you.” Lillian took off her bathrobe.
Brandon looked away but the glimpse of a shaving blade tucked in her garter belt caught his attention. “Why do you have that with you? Stanford isn’t worth killing yourself.”
She slipped a Hello Kitty shirt over her head. “That blade wasn’t for me. It was for Stanford.”
“Excuse me?”
Lillian blinked. “I was going to kill Stanford. But thanks to you, I don’t have to.”
God, he didn’t know she’d planned that. Brandon plucked the blade from the strap and pocketed it. “You won’t need this anymore. I don’t want you accidentally hurting yourself.”
She only smiled.
But Brandon barely paid attention to her when he saw a deep white scar on her thigh. “Did your father do that?”
“This? Oh.” Her face darkened. “No. It was Stanford.”
“Stanford? How?”
“Infection from cigarette burns.”
Cigarette burns. A surge of anger rushed through him. His fist clenched instinctively. “Why would he do such things?”
“I don’t know why. I was too young at that time. It was probably fun for him to do. Stanford’s a creep.”
Brandon knew Stanford was a creep. Everybody knew that. The toad man was a notorious sadist as well. Being an underworld boss allowed him to indulge in his sickest desires without having to worry about any consequences from the law. Brandon just didn’t expect Stanford would use Lillian as one of his toys, considering she was the daughter of his colleague.
“Did he rape you?”