Matt’s first dream was bad. People chasing him off a cliff, where he jumped and landed on a pile of marshmallows. But then a huge tiger came, eating his way toward him. The next dream was better. A cool wave of water crashing over him. A sense of peace. But that one was short. Mostly, his dreams were all over the place in his state of in-and-out of consciousness.

When he woke enough to open his eyes, he was confused. Where the hell was he? There was something about a woman. Bringing him here. From an alley? How had he gotten from the parking lot to the alley? He pictured how the whole deal went down. The last thing he recalled of that encounter was passing out. Then waking up in the alley. So, they’d dropped him somewhere and taken off. Wait until he got ahold of Antonio.

But then another thought occurred to him. What if Antonio blamed him? What if it was his fault according to them? What if they made him pay for the lost drugs and the guns that were meant to be payment? This was bad, but things could get much worse. It may have been better if he’d died. Or at least been shot.

His whole body ached and he couldn’t open both eyes. His lips were too swollen to talk and even if he could, his jaw ached too bad to open his mouth. He let himself drift back off to sleep, only to wake again a time later.

This time, it wasn’t the dreams messing with him. It was this heat. He was drenched in sweat. He shoved the blankets down and felt a rush of a cool air. It was too much on his sweaty skin and it made him shiver. He pulled the blankets part way up and closed his eyes.

When he woke again, he thought he was still in a dream. The room seemed hazy and there was someone there. Not just anyone, but a beautiful woman. Maybe the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She might even be an angel. Was that why the haze was there? Was she glowing? Had she come to take him away?

She lay a cool washcloth on his forehead. The sensation felt so good, he though he could kiss her. Then he thought, if this is a dream, he could. He might never get the chance again. When she leaned down, he put his hand on her cheek and sat up a little to press his lips to hers. The pain shot through him and he dropped back down. Why would a dream be so painful?

Other dreams came and went. He felt hot then cold, then hot again. After what seemed like days, his mind cleared. When he stirred again, he saw the same woman he’d seen before. The beautiful one. Hadn’t he thought she was an angel? Maybe she was.

She was tending to the wound on his leg. Removing the bandage and checking it, then replacing the bandage. She checked all of his wounds. He watched. When she finally looked at his face, she jumped.

“You’re awake,” she said. “For real this time?”

“I think?” His throat was dry and his lips didn’t work well. “Where…?”

“You’re at my house. I brought you here to recover after you were beaten. Since you refused medical treatment and wouldn’t go to the hospital.”

“Oh.”

“How are you feeling? What hurts right now?”

“Head. Leg. Jaw. Chest.”

She nodded. “You might have a fractured rib. Can’t tell without an x-ray, but it doesn’t matter much anyhow. Nothing you can really do for a broken rib except let it heal. Your fever broke, so that’s good. I was worried you had an infection, but it seems to be okay now. Is there any place on your body that feels really hot?”

“No.”

Was he remembering this right, or had he kissed her? He recalled something, though it was very hazy, about kissing the angel. No, that was just a dream. He wouldn’t kiss a stranger and there were no angels. He had to get out of there. See what was going on with Antonio and figure out if he was in danger. He might have to leave town. Or he might have to work even more to pay for this deal going wrong.

“I have to go,” he mumbled.

“Oh no. I got you this far. You’re not getting up and leaving until you’re fully healed.”

“I’m healed enough. I have things to tend to.”

“Wait at least until tomorrow. You definitely had a concussion. You should still be under medical supervision for another day.”

“I’m fine.” Matt pushed himself up to a seated position. His head spun, but he shook it off.

“So, you want to tell me what you did?”

“No.” He breathed slowly, trying to stop the room from spinning. He might throw up, too. He swallowed hard.

“I almost called the cops anyway, you know. When you were here?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Then why didn’t you?” Was she trying to threaten him? Or did she know more than she let on?

“I decided not to.”

“Why?”

“Well, if you had gotten any worse, I would have had to at least call an ambulance. I don’t know if they would have called the cops or not.”

He let out a sigh and carefully reached into his pocket. The money was still there, but it was painful to take it out. He knew he’d tried to give it to her before. So, she knew it was there and hadn’t taken it while he was unconscious. He handed it to her.

“I don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Nothing. Just to see you get well.”

“Then you’ve already got it,” he said. “Can you drive me or let me use your phone to call a cab?”

“One more day. Whatever you need to do can wait until you’re fully healed.”

He sighed and lay back. “Fine. Then get me something to eat, will you? I’m starving.”

She smirked at him and pushed forward a bowl of cereal.

He ate it too fast. When the cereal was gone, he drank the milk, but his stomach gurgled. He let out a loud burp and felt better.

“It seems you’re on your way to getting better.”

He nodded. “What is your name, anyway?”

“Maya.”

“I’m Matt.”

“Nice to meet you.” She chuckled and held out her hand.

He raised an eyebrow, but shook her hand. “Yeah. Thanks for saving me.”

“You’re welcome.”