Evident

8.

"Sai almeno cosa stai facendo, Tesoro?" (Do you even know what you're doing, darling?)

He gritted through his teeth as I cleaned around the edges of the wound; his body shifted with each touch of the warm cloth, and I sighed in patience as he knocked over the ointment, which spilled its contents on the sheets that he told me to place in his wound.

Regardless of my timing and patience regarding his attitude, my heart has now eased from the few minutes that held the time of my worry when I realized that his wound was not death-threatening.

I didn't know how to feel about the panicked stimulating force that I had earlier when I saw him enter through the door, all bloody and in a world of pain.

What was that?

I knew the man for a day, and here I was, fretting if his ass was gonna make it...

This should not be of concern; what I should be thinking of is formulating ways in which I could convince the man to return home and gain full control over his inheritance. His position. His role. His leadership control as a Don.

The once nineteen-year-old brute who controlled Milan just within the walls of his office and sent quivering shivers of fear deep into the system of those who dare stand against him.

I still see that control behind the dark blue hue of his iris...

I didn't know what made him so soft, but I needed him to see that his rightful place was back in Italy.

Milan was the only way out for me as well; it was the only way that I could get that 3.5 million hard cold cash that Achille promised me for my hard-earned trip into the Amazon forest.

Money is not the root of my evil; I needed it for a change, something that I wanted to do for years when the major life-changing situation hit me.

No matter how hard I worked within the space of an assassin, it could never bring the kind of peace I was looking for, and the only way that I could get that is through that 3.5 million....

Breathing out a long sigh, I proceeded to finish my work on his wound, biting my bottom lip as his chest vibrated in a loud groan, which worked its train of tone through my mobile hands.

"Not that it means anything to you, but I do have a degree in neuroscience..." He grunted as I wrapped the bandage around his stomach, my fingers brushing on his abs, and I bit my bottom lip, ignoring the heat it slipped through my system.

"So I am not helpless when it comes to dressing a wound."

"Fiery, independent, and an intelligent woman-once again, a rare combo. Tell me darling..." He got up despite the pain, and I parted my lips to scold him when he drew his face to mine, his immaculate scent, pine, fresh rain water shuddered my breath....

My eyelids drop as I pinch the skin of my thigh to calm my heavy breathing as his low-pitched, hoarse voice trails across my skin like a wandering feather.

"You're really an interesting one...why an assassin?"

"How about we make a deal? You tell me the real reason why you don't want to come back to Milan, and if I am up to it, then I'll tell you why I became an assassin. Deal?"

Silence drifted across the room as we both stared into each other's eyes. I was waiting on his answer, but he didn't say anything for a while, which shifted my interest to the beauty that his blue iris held.

"I see you're the kind of person who doesn't like to play by the rules." The side of his naturally pink lips tilted up into a smirk as he stretched both of his hands apart on either side of him, leaning forward towards me in a state of interest.

"An unfair game is all apart of life, Aureliano...unless.." I flowed into the unconscious feeling that has overtaken my frame as I drew closer to him as well, our chest touching while his chin tilted down to rest on mine.

The tip of our nose was brushing lightly as we both inhaled each other's breaths.

I search out his eyes, shuddering as its blueness suffocates me to the point where I struggle to conjure up a conclusion to my hanging words.

"You know how to handle the heat, then I do not know why you're complaining."

His chest vibrates against mine as he lets out a deep chuckle. My eyes drop towards his lips for a moment as it moves into a smile; it produces two deep dimples into his cheeks, and my cheeks flushed from this truth.

I thank the Lord that I was dark skin, which saved me from the embarrassment of the burning blush on my face.

A mean it's only a day.... I should not be swooning over this man already.

Curse you Aureliano for being so...
So...

"So?"

Kill me the fuck now!

I widen my eyes as I realize that I said all of that out loud.

He chuckled, then lay back down on the bed.

"Of course you said it out loud, and I'm curious, darling; you haven't told me your name, but you practically know everything there is about me. Now tell me, how should I feel about that?"

He lifted an eyebrow at me, then closed his eyes.

"Knowing my name doesn't matter; I am here to get you back home, and that is what I'll only be doing."

"Is it Mia?"

"What?" I frowned down at the man in confusion as he continued to keep his eyes close.

"Or Rachel...hmm come to think about it you do look like a Rachel." He flickered up an eyebrow.

"I do not look like a Rachel." I huffed, then kissed my teeth as he chuckled.

That chuckle abruptly ceased as a pained grunt tore from his throat. His fingers clenched into fists, gripping the sheets with a desperate intensity. Sweat burst forth from his pores, drenching his skin in a cold, clammy sheen. The air was heavy with the acrid scent of his agony.

"Fuck, this shit..." he muttered, his voice strained and ragged.

I swiftly pried his hands from his side, the sound of ripping fabric filling the air as I cut away the bandage. The wound lay exposed, a raw, gaping slash that seemed to throb with a malevolent life of its own. Blood continued to seep from the edges, pooling into a sticky, crimson puddle on the sheets. The swollen flesh surrounding the wound was a deep, fiery red, radiating heat like a heated iron.

"Aureliano, please tell me what attacked you.." I tried not to panic as I went back and forth across the room, holding herbs and additional equipment that I carried with me in case there was an emergency.

"Get Mato..." He whispered, then blacked out after that, and I confusedly wondered what the heck happened to him while he was out earlier as I stared at him in a state of worry.