Serendipity

Chapter 10

Elodie

I hate him. And with each step he takes, my rage seems to intensify. Well, my rage and the pain making my head throb because I'm pretty sure being carried around like a dead deer isn't helping my injury.

"I can stand on my own," I protest once we've made it inside the elevator. A million different thoughts and feelings are coursing through me and right now, it feels like I can't breathe. I need some space.

"I said let me down!"

"Actually, you said you could stand," Raffaele replies dryly. That fucker- "But as you wish."

His body dips and the next thing I know, my feet are planted on the ground and I'm being stood upright, two big hands the only thing keeping me steady. Still, the room around me sways, white spots dotting my vision.

Great, I can't even tell him to get his hands the fuck off me because I'm too busy trying not to faceplant.

"Sure you don't want my help?" he finally says when the elevator arrives on whatever floor we're on.

"I'd rather crawl," I tell him, my eyes still shut.

"Be my guest," he replies and I can almost imagine his infuriating smile as he lets go of me. I open my eyes as I lose my balance, just in time to see the elevator's floor rushing up to me. I brace my hands against the floor but that's all I can do.

Shit, how hard did I hit my head?

"You coming?" Raffaele asks. Raising my head, I see him standing halfway down the hall, his arms crossed over his chest as he casually leans against a wall.

Fuck. That. I won't let him see me crawl.

Gritting my teeth against the pain and vertigo, I get to my knees and with the help of the closest wall, to my feet. Sure, the world is spinning around me and I'm hanging onto the wall as if it were a lifeline but slowly, I manage to slide alongside it down the corridor.

When I reach Raffaele, he shakes his head and watches me with barely contained amusement. "You're too stubborn for your own good, aren't you, little one?" he asks, leading the way into one of the rooms.

I follow him, taking a look around as I tell him, "If you say so, small one." I barely register his snort, the obnoxious white walls in here taking up so much of my attention.

"You're like a foot shorter than me and call me small?" he asks, staying in the doorway while I try to make my way to the bed nearby.

"First off, am not. Second, not talking about your height," I retort lazily. Then I reach the bed, let myself fall onto it and forget where I am and who I'm with for a glorious second, groaning as the comforter adjusts to my body.

I've missed beds

When Raffaele doesn't reply, I open my eyes and catch him staring, eyebrows slightly raised and a smile on his lips. He doesn't bother replying to my jab about his dick and I wish I didn't like the way he looks right now. Laidback and relaxed. It suits him.

A knock on the door interrupts us and Raffaele straightens, his face going blank again. A second later, a short man enters the room. He greets Raffaele before heading to the side of my bed.

"What have we got here," he murmurs to himself, not bothering to introduce himself or ask my name. Or even say hello as he did to his boss.

"Pleasure's mine," I remark, not bothering to play nice if he doesn't. Involuntarily, my eyes flick to Raffaele the next second to find him already staring at me, a hint of mischief in his eyes. Then the doctor follows my gaze and his expression turns cold again.

Curious, I wonder why he's so tense around his own employee. On second thought, I don't care.

"Right," the doctor clears his throat. "Doctor Rossi. Tell me how your head feels, child," he says. This time, I know without looking at the man in the doorway that he's smiling at Rossi's nickname for me. I grit my teeth but don't comment on it. Instead, I let him do his job with the hopes of getting out of here as soon as possible.

Half an hour later, he's stitched my head, told me I have a concussion and left the room, leaving his boss and me to stand around in awkward silence.

"I want proof the twins are fine," I finally demand, abording the whole acting part of the mission. It was fun while it lasted but it's too much to ask to go easy on him from now on.

Without a word, the man pulls his phone out and shows me a picture of the twins playing by the lake. My heart thuds painfully as I look at the smiles on their faces and I realize how much I've missed them. We didn't use to be close since I was always busy with school and friends but since my father disappeared, I had to step, my stepmother being too weak to keep her shit together.

I swallow the lump of emotion in my throat and pull myself together. They're safe, I can focus again now.

"How's the search going, by the way?" I decide to tease Raffaele since he's studying me too closely for my liking. He grits his teeth and I smile, knowing his team is getting nowhere.

"Just because they're fine now doesn't mean I'll keep it that way. You got a taste of how that would feel now, so think carefully about your next move," he threatens me in return. Great, now we're both glaring at each other. "Luckily for you, you have something I need. Tell me where I can find the documents, Elodie."

"How do I know you won't still kill them?" I ask, not trusting this deal of his. I give up the one thing I have on him and he has all the power.

"I have no bone to pick with them," he tells me solemnly. I laugh in his face.

"What about me?"

For a long second, he merely looks at me. Finally, he says, "You know things and it's obvious you're no friend of mine." Simple as that. No emotion betraying his thoughts.

"So you're going to kill me?" I chuckle dryly. "Come back when you have a better deal than that because how I see it, you have nothing on me. You want to kill me? See how that turns out. Here's a hint though, I took precautions before coming here. I'm gone, and those documents won't just fall into the hands of Dubois. They'll be everywhere," I say truthfully.

What I didn't expect was for him to laugh in my face. He thinks I'm joking? Fine, let him kill me. At least I'll take him down with me.

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Have a fantastic days, my loves<3