The Blossom of Rose

12 • Considerate

When I sit in his car, I catch the questioning look on his face right before I tie the laces of my combat boots.

"What? I was scared that you'd get angry because I made you wait too long," I admit.

"That's not what I'm asking," he responds. What the heck are you asking then? I raise an eyebrow at him to urge him to tell me but he just stays silent.

There's something called words, I think he should use them. Does he think we can communicate telepathically?

I guess I have to figure this out by myself. He doesn't seem angry. He seems almost...gentle and not scary. I mean he could be asking if I want to have sex but he'd be lustful if that was the case so I'm going to rule that out.

You rushed past him to the bathroom after feeling nauseous.

"Oh," my face dawns in realisation and I stretch out the letters. I wave a hand, "yeah, I'm fine. It happens occasionally. I think I just ate too much this time." I end it with a laugh and continue tying the laces of my shoes.

The engine roars as the car starts and I take that as his answer. I fly back slightly and resist the urge to glare at him.

"Mancini's been keeping an eye on Beckett," he speaks up, "10 minutes after we left his hotel room, he returned. Then, he paid a visit to this house straight after."

"I made sure that when he plugged in the fake flash drive, the contents from the real one will look as if they came from that," I tell him and put my seatbelt on.

"You gave it to him?" He glances at me but his tone remains neutral.

"Except the pictures of us," I inform him, "I had to make it look realistic. He can't know that we know about him."

"That way eventually he'll lead us back to his leader," Luca confirms my thoughts and I nod.

"I take it we're going to this house," I say and furrow my eyebrows in confusion, "why do you need me to come?"

"You'll see," his eyes find mine but he doesn't expand much on his answer.

The rest of the ride passes in silence, the only sound coming from the engine. As an attempt to distract me from the memories of what last happened in this car, I braid my hair into one braid. Luca was seated back in his seat out of comfort. I ogled the way the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up and his one hand on the base of the steering wheel.

Not long later, he parks the car behind a tree which provides a shadow over it. When we get out, he runs his eyes over what I'm wearing and shakes his head. It's not that bad. I'm wearing a short, khaki playsuit with my combat boots. Luca reaches back into his car and hands me his blazer whilst wearing a firm look on his face that says 'put the fucking jacket on'.

I really have no choice on this matter so I put it on. Immediately, I'm hit with a wave that smells exactly like him and I try not to revel in it. It reaches just above my knees and I have to roll the sleeves up because they're too long.

Brando emerges from behind the tree rubbing his nose. I look over at him while I pull my hair out of the jacket and I see that his eyes are stained red.

"Backup is here too, Boss," he points a finger over his shoulder where there is a black SUV parked next to his motorcycle.

"Not necessary," Luca responds and I feel his eyes on me, "she's all the help that we'll need."

Bewildered, I turn to him. "Me? Your backup. I can't pull a trigger to save my life," I exasperate, "literally." He reaches into the inside pocket of his blazer that I'm wearing and pulls out the gun, tucking it into the waistband of his trousers.