Dalliance - Z.M. (An Exquisites Original Story)

39; Tears in The Rain

Chapter 39

"I could've set you free.
But I'm selfish, I watched you stay."

(Raine's POV)

"Are you sure you're okay?" Vex asks me for the thousandth time in the last few hours.

"I'm fine," I assure him, smiling up at him. It's still quite shocking to me how well he's been taking care of Zayn and I despite the fact that he had always claimed to hate us. It's clear that his hatred for us didn't run deep. Much like most of the people I've met in this cartel, animosity is a form of friendship. It's clear to me now why Apollo trusts Vex with nearly everything.

He unlocks my apartment door, leading me inside slowly. After the doctor had treated me and Zayn, both of us were on bedrest for the night. He had finally dismissed us when the sun went down the next day, both of us feeling infinitely better than we did just hours prior.

"You still haven't heard from Apollo?" I ask Vex as he leads me to the couches. Thankfully, I can feel my legs again. After getting my stomach pumped and all of the drugs out of my body, the only thing that really hurt was the bruising and cuts on my body along with the migraine that hadn't gone away. Maybe when I get the right amount of sleep, I'll be able to put this nightmare behind me.

"No," he tells me, worry in his tone. The last anyone heard from Apollo, he had gone into Ruiz's base in order to find me, but he hadn't come to the base to see me. I'm starting to think something terrible happened to him, but Vex told me that if he was dead, we would know.

"How are we sure he's alive?" I ask him as he sets down bandages the doctor had given me on the counter.

"He left the base with everyone else, but he had taken a few guys hostage while he left," Vex informs me. "When he's trying to get information out of people, he calls Christian because he's the best at torture, you could say. From what I hear, Christian is nowhere to be found. We can only assume that they're together, trying to find out why exactly they took you."

Swallowing hard, I nod, realizing then that if anyone is aware of the plan that Ruiz had told me, Apollo can easily torture it out of them. But as far as my understanding goes, I don't think Ruiz would tell just anyone. Other than Moon, there couldn't be another soul in that building who is aware of my task.

"I will let you know if we hear from him," Vex says, taking me out of my train of thought. "Do you need anything before I leave?"

"You've done more than enough," I say to him, smiling slightly. "Go home, get some sleep."

Vex smirks, nodding once as he walks backward and towards the door. When he opens the front door, I hear him speak.

"Zayn? When did you get here, man?"

My head shoots up at the sight of Zayn on his feet. He looks over Vex's shoulder at me, smiling at the sight of me. "Just did. Ana brought me."

"You feeling okay?" Vex asks, letting him inside.

"Better," he responds, not being able to take his eyes off of me. "Thank you for everything."

Vex doesn't take compliments, I've noticed. Instead, he pats Zayn's back and walks out of the room, closing the door shut behind him. Before Zayn even thinks about coming towards me, he locks the door, unable to feel safe anywhere anymore.