The Devil Who Claime Chapter 2: A stranger

Chapter 2: A stranger

The blast threw them forward. Mila felt the heat on her back before she felt the pain. She hit the asphalt hard, her palms scraping against the rough surface. For a mont, there was only ringing in her ears.

Rain poured down rcilessly. Her heart pounded wildly.

’Am I still alive?’ she questioned herself, disoriented.

She forced herself to breathe. She inhaled and exhaled quite a few tis. Then she turned her head to the stranger beside her.

He wasn’t moving. Blood mixed with the rainwater, streaming down his temple.

Mila wasn’t sure if he was breathing. "No, no, no...You can’t die."

She crawled toward him. Her rain-soaked hair plastered to her face. She pressed her trembling fingers against the side of his neck. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Strong pulse. It’s good..."

Her entire body trembled – not from cold, but from what had just happened. She had nearly escaped death. And she had saved this stranger. She swallowed her and forced herself to focus.

"Head injury, possible concussion," she mumbled as she examined him. "Bruised ribs, lacerations on his arm. I need to take him to the hospital."

His eyelids fluttered open and then closed. "No hospital," he muttered lowly.

Mila frowned. "You had an accident and barely survived an explosion."

"No hospital," he repeated, his hand gripping her wrist.

The strength in his hold startled her. "You have a head injury. You might have internal bleeding. Thorough check up is a must."

"I’m fine," he said through his gritted teeth.

"You are anything but fine, okay?" she countered. "I’m taking you to the hospital."

"No," he said, his voice firr this ti.

"Why?" She couldn’t understand why he was refusing to get treatnt at the hospital.

He didn’t answer instantly, his jaw tightening. "I just can’t."

She exhaled in resignation. "Look, if you aren’t honest with , I can’t help you."

"That accident," he breathed, "it’s not just an accident. Soone tried to kill ." He looked at her, his eyes sharp and piercing. "I can’t go to the hospital."

Rain lashed harder. Mila stared at him for a good minute, her mind reeling. Then she looked around. She didn’t know this man, and his words slled of danger.

She hesitated over whether to leave him there alone. But she knew one thing for sure. If she left him alone, he would die. As a doctor, she couldn’t turn away.

She groaned inwardly.

"Okay, fine...I will take you to my apartnt." She dragged him up and took him to her car.

Half an hour later...

Getting him out of the car and leading him to the elevator had been a struggle. He was tall, with broad shoulders, solid muscles under his soaked fabric. Every ti he leaned on her, she could barely manage to hold her balance. He was not just heavy, but powerful.

"We are almost there," she said as the elevator door closed.

Inside her apartnt, she guided him to the sofa.

"Don’t move," she instructed.

He slightly opened his eyes and scanned the unfamiliar room as she walked away in a hurry. Monts later, she returned with a first aid kit.

"Relax. I’ll tend to your wounds." She knelt in front of him. "The antiseptic might burn a little, but endure it."

As she carefully cut away his blood-soaked shirt, his torso was revealed. She gasped involuntarily.

’He is hot.’ This thought erged in her mind. She couldn’t stop herself from watching him.

Defined chest, sculpted shoulders, a strong abdon that tightened slightly when he inhaled.

Mila’s mind raced. She deliberately ran her fingers down softly on his six-pack abs while she cleaned his wounds.

’He is so perfect,’ she whispered in her head.

Rainwater traced down the ridges of his muscles. This sight stirred sothing wild inside her.

’Focus, Mila,’ she scolded herself.

Heat flushed her cheeks. How could she have improper thoughts about an injured man who was barely conscious?

She pressed sterile gauze to a cut near his ribs. Her fingers brushed against his skin. It was warm, firm. Her fingertips lingered longer than necessary.

’What are you doing?’ a voice scread inside her head, snapping her out of her trance.

She quickly withdrew her hand and refocused on tending to his wounds.

"Hiss..."

When she put antiseptic on a cut on his temple, he winced.

"Sorry," she said softly.

He looked at her with half-opened eyes as she stitched the deep cut on his arm. Her movent was professional.

"You are a doctor?" he asked, his voice deep.

"Yes."

"Lucky ."

She finished bandaging and looked up at him. At the ti, she noticed more details – sharp jawline, pointed nose, faint stubble. He was definitely handso, a kind of man won desired.

"What’s your na?" she asked nostalgically.

He stiffened, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. It lasted only for a second.

"My na?" He squeezed his eyes, fingers pressing against his forehead. "What is my na? I-I don’t rember."

Mila paused, confused and alard at the sa ti. "Wait, you don’t rember your na."

"I..." He pressed his temples harder. "I don’t know."

Mila hesitated over whether to believe him or not. "That’s strange." She folded her arms. "You were very clear about one thing. You refused to go to the hospital. You said soone was trying to kill you."

The doubts in her mind only grew. She sized him up. "How could you not rember anything now?"

Hearing the suspicion in her tone, he stilled. He half-opened his eyes, just to check her expression. Then he whimpered, shutting his eyes tight.

"I rember driving fast. Soone was behind . And then...Ugh...My head hurts."

Mila went rigid, eyes widening. "How bad?"

"It feels like sothing is splitting it open." He sucked a sharp breath.

Her heartbeat spiked.

’Sudden worsening headache. Maybe he is suffering from a subdural hematoma,’ she suspected. ’That explains this mory loss.’

"We are going to the hospital," Mila said urgently.

"No." His response ca too fast, catching her off guard.

It made her raise her eyebrow. "Even in this condition, you are refusing to go to the hospital. Do you understand how serious this could be? You could have a brain bleed."

"I can’t go," he said adamantly.

Mila threw her arms in the air, irritated. "You may die if you don’t get proper treatnt."

"I’ll die anyway if I go to the hospital," he reasoned.

"What?" Befuddled, she scowled at him.

"If soone is trying to kill , they will co the mont they know I am at the hospital," he explained. "I can’t let anyone find out my whereabouts. Please..."

He cast her a pleading look. "Let

stay here until I rember who I am."