Fatal Attraction

Chapter 4 - The Escape

Leonardo Perez's POV

The flash of the morning sun on my face woke me up. I squinted my eyes and tried to lift my arm to block the sunlight from my face but it was met with a resistance of stinging pain by the side of my torso.

"Argh..." I groaned in pain uncontrollably and that woke Mary up too. She squinted her eyes open, looking terribly tired.

"Sorry... did I woke you up?" I apologised.

"It's okay, I'm fine, are you okay?" She asked me with a concerned look as she brushed the stray tendrils of her hair backwards.

"You stayed up all night to take care of me?" I asked as I could recall myself somewhat being taken care of last night.

"Not exactly all night, just for a few hours until you seem stabilised, and then I dozed off," she said guiltily.

"Thank you for saving my life," I expressed my gratitude towards her sincerely.

"Oh, I didn't do much, it was Dr Paula who saved you," she explained.

"I'm pretty sure I would have been dead without you, I could still recall what happened last night," I said, pleasantly surprised by this woman who does not take credit for her effort.

"You remembered everything from last night?" She asked as she swallowed a lump down her throat, looking uneasy.

I thought hard and replied, "Not exactly everything, mostly everything from before the suturing took place."

"Why? Did you do something to me last night?" I teased her.

"No! No! Of course not!" She snapped back at me but her face was flushed as she blinked hard nervously.

"I wanted to ask you, why did you risk your life to protect me from being shot back at the alley?" I asked curiously.

"I know it's dumb, but it's just a natural reflex, I can't simply watch you die when I know I could have prevented it, after all, you did protect me from all those crazy shooting," She explained nonchalantly.

"It's not dumb, it's intriguing to know that there are still kind people out there like you," I smiled at her genuinely. For the first time in many years, I was finally smiling at someone from the bottom of my heart because she was worth it. It's been long since I had last received true kindness from anyone other than from my deceased parents. The taste was satisfying.

"I was just doing what I thought was right to do," she smiled back.

"So do I have the honour to know what's your name?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Oh that's right, can't believe we hardly know each other even after what we went through together, I'm Mary Jenkins from the United States."

"Mary? That doesn't sound like a name that your generation would take on," I asked.

"I know... Old classic Mary, I get that all the time," she shrugged her shoulders and then her eyes drifted to a distance, "But I totally understand why my father gave me that name, he is a very traditional man... a very nice gentleman."

"It's a nice name," I reassured her with a heartfelt compliment and she broke into a blushful smile.

"Thanks," She said with a dulcet voice as she batted her eyes away from me.

Then she looked up at me with her widened eyes and asked me anxiously, "Oh! I've been wanting to ask you, so why were there men chasing after us yesterday?"

Mary Jenkins's POV

"That's the burning question that I would like to ask you instead," Leo replied.

"But you were the one that was shooting back at them, weren't they after you?" I questioned him and then I couldn't help casting suspicion on him, "A guy who could shoot so fearlessly and steadily in the middle of a gunfight, don't tell me what happened yesterday wasn't related to some underworld bad blood that you were probably involved in, it's Sicily after all. Who are you?"

"Does it matter who am I? What matters most is that you're still alive because of me," He rebutted with a ridiculed expression.

"Of course it matters! I was so close to the leads if only I wasn't embroiled in your mess..." I stood up with frustration as I hung my head in defeat.

"Leads? What leads?" He asked.

Shit, I shouldn't have slipped that out of my mouth, after all, I still don't know much about this guy. Who knows if he is related to the Gambit Empire.

"Nothing," I snapped back.

He shook his head and explained, "Look, I just happened to be at the cafe, and you happened to be alone, so I thought maybe I could strike a chat with you while I have my coffee break. Then I saw someone aiming his shot at you from a distance, and I just did what was a natural reflex for me thereafter."

"Natural reflex? Who the hell has that kind of natural reflex in such a situation?" I asked questionably.

He clasped his hands together and explained, "I used to be in the military, U.S. special force, 5 years of service, that explains."

No wonder he sounded American.

"So why did you leave the service? I mean... from what I saw yesterday, you looked like you still have lots to offer in the service. What are you doing now in Sicily then? Why would you carry a gun along with you?" I spewed a slew of curious questions on him.

"Why I left the service, that's something I would not like to talk about. I have some business dealings in Sicily for a living, some businessmen here just don't deal with business through the conventional way, so carrying a gun in Sicily will not be an option, unless you want to die." He replied coldly.

He stood up with a little struggle and then he continued to say, "I doubt those men were after me, they were aiming for you. Regardless of whatever purpose you're here for, you have to go. It's no longer safe for you here."

"No! I won't return until I get what I came here for, you don't understand how important this is for me!" I exclaimed.

"You are the one who don't understand how dangerous it is to meddle with the underworld in Sicily! Do you still think this is a child's play even after what happened yesterday?" He roared.

I froze in silence after being shocked by his reaction.

He apologised after seeing my reaction, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you." Then he put on his shirt and said, "For whatever reason you are here for, you have to shelf it aside till the coast is clear at least. But for now, this is really not the place for you and you have to leave now. I will send you back to the U.S. Embassy, they will get you back home safely."

"Al... Alright," I stuttered with reluctance.

I guess maybe he is right, maybe someone did tip off Gambit Empire about my arrival in Sicily and sent men to silence me.