Inizio (COMPLETED)

12. Tension

I woke up to the smell of rubbing alcohol. The lights were way too bright for my half open eyes.

"She's up," I heard a familiar deep voice beside me say. I felt another presence to my left and the persons head came into view and blocked the light.

Natalia

"Zhara, oh my gosh. Can you see?"

"She's not fucking blind, Natalia. She got shot in the shoulder, not her eyes." That was Stephan. I tried to get up and when I applied pressure to my left shoulder, I hissed.

"Don't try to get up. At least not with this arm," Natalia said as she helped me sit up. We were in the room Marco had gotten dressed in. Stephan was leaning on the seat—with his arms casually crossed—that Jessica was sitting in. Marco, who was on my right, had pulled up a chair next to the bed.

"What happened," I started to ask and then it all came flooding back. I looked down at my shoulder and saw a medium sized gauze bandage.

"It's not bad really. I mean its bad, but the bullet only grazed," said Natalia. I peeled back the gauze and saw the cut. It wasn't deep, but the pink, bloody flesh that lay beneath my skin was showing. I put the gauze back and looked at Marco.

His elbows were on his knees and his hands were clamped together. He rested his mouth on them, as if in thought. His eyes had been on me the whole time, and when my eyes caught his, I saw something in them.

Worry? Anger?

"Are you okay," I asked. "He didn't get you did he?" Marco didn't answer, but Jessica did.

"No," her soft voice began. "The man didn't get him. You shot him in the gut causing his hidden arm to lose aim at Marco's chest." I caught a small accent as she spoke, but I was sure it wasn't Italian.

"Oh, that's good then." Then I remembered it wasn't. Had the guy died?

"And the man? Is he really.." I trailed off. My eyes darted to each person in the room, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, he's dead," said Stephan.

I was going to throw up. I think Natalia noticed because she quickly leaned over to grab the small trash bin and placed it in front of me. She kneeled beside me on the bed and held my hair back as I retched. Her hand gently rubbed my back as I regained my breath.

My cheeks flushed realizing that Marco had seen me like this. I avoided eye contact with him as much as I could. Natalia laid her head lightly against mine, still rubbing my back.

"You were just doing your job. Don't think about it too much."Then she got up and disposed of the vomit in the bathroom.

A phone went off and it was coming from Stephan. He checked it. Huffing, he put it back in his pocket and stuck his hand out for Jessica.

"Marco, dad needs us downstairs. Tell Natalia," he said as he headed towards the door. He let Jessica out first and I could see their guards outside.

"Oh and Zhara, thanks for saving dufus," he said directing his head towards Marco. I could practically hear Marco's eyes roll. Natalia came out the bathroom, phone in hand.

"We have to go. Zhara, we can get a temporary guard for Mar-,"

"I think that's my decision," Marco interrupted. His voice was rough, laced with a tinge of anger. She frowned at him, but didn't say anything. She looked at me, gave me a smile, and left with Sergio. As soon as the door shut, I couldn't breathe. It was just him and I.

I got up and headed for the bathroom as quickly as my legs could carry me. I rinsed my mouth a few times with water, then grabbed the mouth wash from the cabinet above. The mirror above the sink reflected my tight, black tank top and damp, sweaty face. I splashed myself with cold water.

When I looked up again, after drying my face, Marco stood behind me. Our eyes held, but I looked down.

"What were you thinking," he asked through his teeth. He sounded pissed. My head snapped up again and I turned around fast.

"What," I asked.

"Why the hell would you shoot?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you have preferred I let him shoot you?" He disregarded my tone.

"You got hurt," he said, a small frown between his perfect brows.

"I can see that," I said.

"Captain obvious," I mumbled. The small distance between us got smaller, fast. I bit my cheek as I looked up into his eyes, then at his lips.

Why the hell are you looking at his lips, stop!

"I didn't hear that last part," he said, his voice dangerously low. That sent ripples through my core. I ignored him, remembering that he probably had to go find his dad and the others.

"You should get a temporary guard. Just in case something happens again," I said.

"What's wrong with keeping you?"

"Nothing. I'd understand if you didn't feel safe with me by your side tonight, especially with this," I looked at my shoulder.

"Your right hand still works, yes?" He said, his accent passing by at the end. I nodded, fighting the urge to bite my lip.

"Good. Then I won't need one." I felt a drop of water I hadn't dried slide down my throat. Marco's eyes caught it and watched as the drop slid across my collarbone and between my breast. I saw him swallow and let out a heavy breath.

"Okay, well I need to find my shoes." He didn't answer, his eyes dark and far away, like he was thinking. He snapped out of it—whatever it was— and focused on me.

Feeling hot under his gaze, I turned and walked back into the room.

"Jessica put your shoes near the bed," Marco said as he followed me into the room. Shuffling noises came from wherever he was in the room. I lifted the edge of the duvet off the floor and found them. I gasped as my ass bumped into Marcos crotch as I got up, shoes in hand. I heard a low growl from him at the sudden contact.

Was he hard or was that just an unnaturally big dick he had?

"Oh my- I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-," I quickly faced him, eyes wide. His head was facing the ceiling, eyes closed. I admired his jawline and throat. He lowered his head and slowly opened his eyes. They were a deeper shade. He took a few steps forward, our bodies barely touching.

"Cazzo tesoro, You should really, really watch where you're going," his minty breath fanned against my face (T: fuck sweetie). My eyes fluttered at the action.

"You say that like I do it all the time," I managed to say, as I felt our chests brush as we breathed.

"If I recall correctly, you bumped into me at the club. And now here you are again," he said, drifting off. The only audible sound in the room was our somewhat heavy breathing; until Marcos phone went off. I thanked the heavens as he backed up a bit to pick up the call. I took the opportunity to put my shoes on and look for my shirt.

"Sì, sì, sto arrivando," I heard him say (T: yes yes I'm coming). He hung up and headed for the door.

"Wait!! I have to come with you," I said still searching for my shirt. I heard a chuckle and looked up at him. He had my shirt in his hand. I huffed and stalked over to him. I went to grab it, and he pulled it away. I glared at him.

With a smile, he said, " Sei carino quando lo fai." (T: you're cute when you do that)

"No comprendé," I mimicked. I snatched the shirt and slid it on. I noticed how his jaw clenched when I pulled my shirt down, exposing a bit of cleavage. I then reached into my shirt and pulled up my tank top, covering it. Patting my leg to make sure my gun was there, I opened the door.

"Vamos," I said, and he chuckled.