Rose Petal (ongoing)

Chapter 8

damien.

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
**

I had never been more impressed with a woman as I was with Cecelia. I was having second thoughts prior to the meeting, having a woman assasin. I had actually scoffed at the thought. Until I watched her kill ruthlessly, with no remorse, with a glint of joy showing in her eyes. Watching as she killed one after another, her blood splattered body, as she showed no mercy on those men. It made my dick twitch just thinking about her. But when I thought about the look of shock on her face as the realization dawned on her that she had been shot, I felt like my world had fallen apart. The tough exterior that she had built up to protect her seemed to have completely evaporated when she felt the blood start to appear.

I sat in my home office chair with a glass of whiskey, staring at the fire crackle in the fireplace. I sipped it slowly as I watched the embers start to die down. I didn't even move to look at the door as someone opened and closed it, walking closer to me.

"Any updates?" I asked, not glancing at my brother as he stood, staring at the fire with me.

"Nothing right now. She is still critical at the moment," Gabriel sighed out, rubbing his hand through his hair.

I knew that he had some type of feelings for her, whether he admitted it or not. We both apparently did, even though I barely knew the woman. We tended to like the same women on several occasions and have felt that there was no problem in sharing. We were fraternal twins and had the same thought process on a lot of things, lovers included. As the oldest, I took most of the control though in the relationships.

It had been almost a week since the warehouse and Cecelia was still in a coma. Her blood loss was significant I was told by her brother Antonio. Her father, Giovanni, could care less that his daughter was in the hospital. He seemed to preoccupied with his anger for her because he felt that she had failed him again. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill her while she lay there helpless in the hospital bed. I tried to get him to understand that she had done everything possible during the raid and that it wasn't her fault, but he could care less.

I sipped my whiskey again and gritted my teeth, thinking about how uncaring he is about his own child. But then again, I'm not the most endearing individual either, but I'd like to think that I would love my own child unconditionally.

Gabriel was watching me intently as I stared at the fireplace. The fire had since died down.

"What are we going to do about the cartel men that we have in the cells?" Gabriel asked curiously.

I stood from my chair, setting the glass down on the table, "we're going to make them talk. We're going to find out who did this and we're going to break him bit by bit, starting with his family."

Gabriel nodded and headed for the door. I followed but instead of heading towards the cells, I headed out of the front door and climbed into one of my cars, speeding off to the hospital.

The smell of antiseptic wafted into my nostrils as I walked down the corridor to her room. The faint beeping noise irritating my ear drums, making my heart beat erratically. The last time I had been here was when I said good bye to mine and Gabriels' younger sister. She had been murdered in cold blood and it was my fault. I hated to think that Cecelia laying in this bed, attached to wires and tubes, was my doing also. I pushed open her door to find her brother passed out cold on the couch and another man sitting next to her bed in the chair, head on his arms, holding her hand, sound asleep. I stared at the man next to her bed.

Boyfriend maybe? I thought to myself.

I glowered at the sight in front of me before clearing my throat, making both the men jump up.

I narrowed my eyes at the man next to her bed, still holding her hand. I had no clue why I was feeling so possessive of her. I have had only a handful of interactions with this woman. It's not like I had much of a claim over her, but I felt as if I did. I felt protective, possessive and angry. I wanted to have her. She was beautiful, strong, foul-mouthed, a brat at times, cold and calculating. She was mine and Gabriels' perfect match.

Her brother, Antonio, got up and walked over to me, holding out a hand to greet me.

"Ah, Damien, good to see you," he said quietly.

I nodded back at him, turning my attention back to the man next to her before gazing at her figure in the bed. She was beautiful even hooked up to machines. Images of my sisters lifeless body flashed through my mind, but I quickly pushed them away.

Antonio watched me staring at his sister before speaking, "Tony, why don't we go take a walk and get some coffee."

The man, Tony, nodded at Antonio before releasing her hand from his and leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"I'll be back in a bit mi' amore," he whispered, causing a low growl to come from me.

What the fuck was I doing?

Tony stared at me curiously for a moment before following Antonio out of the room. I was now alone with her barely alive body. Sitting down in the chair next to her, I watched her breathing evenly and in time with the tube that was down her throat. Brushing the stray hair out of her face, I tucked it behind her ear. As I did, I swear I saw her fingers flutters slightly. My eyes widened at the movement, unsure of what I had just seen.

I rubbed small circles lightly down her arm to see if there was anymore reaction, but there wasn't. I sighed loudly and laced her fingers in mine.

I had no idea why I was feeling this strongly for a woman I barely knew, but I did. I couldn't describe the feelings that I was having. I just know it scared the shit out of me. As I brought her hand to my lips, I placed a kiss to the back of her hand before gently placing it back on the bed. As I got up to leave, I felt something grab my hand. Whipping back around, I saw that her hand was reaching for mine, her eyes fluttering slightly before they opened slowly.

She was calm for only a few minutes until she realized that she had a tube down her throat and then the panic set in. I hit the call bell and yelled loudly for the nurse to get there fast. Hearing footsteps coming hard down the hall, the room door burst open by two nurses followed by the doctor.

Cecelia was still panicking but trying to calm down as she realized that she was in the hospital. I stepped back to let the doctor and nurses do their jobs, never dropping my gaze from hers. She watched me, fear flashing across her face. The doctor was speaking to her and explained that they were going to take the tube out and that it would be uncomfortable, but I don't think she actually heard him as she was still watching me intently. I pulled my phone out, hit my brothers name in my contact list and called him, never breaking eye contact.