Hired

65

I must have fallen asleep talking to Carlos, cause when I awoke sometime later everywhere seemed really quiet, It must have been after midnight.

I threw him another smile before getting ready for bed, just as I reached the door, it flew open, revealing Miles, he had a bottle of Gin and two glasses in his hand.

"What are you doing here?"

"I-I..." I stuttered, he's very intimidating.

"Wait, How did you get in?"

"Luis gave me a key." I spurted.

"And, why would he do that...hmm, forget it, hand it over." He seemed depleted, I didn't want to argue with him so I gave him the key, "Now get out."

I nodded and turned to leave but on second thought.

"You don't like me, I get it, I wouldn't like me either given the circumstance and everything that's happened in the past...I just want you to know that I understand how you feel, I mean I love him too--" I lowered my voice when I caught his burning gaze.

"You understand how I feel?" He uttered almost in mocking as he marched towards me. "Do you now?"

"Yeah, I do.."

At least I thought it was a joke. But then his eyes darkened looking almost black.

I gasped when his hand suddenly wrapped around my neck, pulling me until I was flushing against the wall.

"I-I didn't mean to upset you..."

Thankfully he loosened his grip and I gasped in a breath,

"I have known Carlos since I was a young boy, he was the assistant chief of the Italian Navy first time I met him and I was just being recruited, compared to him I was nothing, just some penniless farm boy, I didn't even feel like I belonged in the same room with my mates but, one look at me and Carlos saw something I had never seen in myself, not even my own parents could see it. He said he saw potential, then he brought me in, taught me everything I needed to know, made me the man I am today, he's saved my life more times than I can count and I have protected him ever since, as well as shared every bit of his pain. ."

He slammed me against the wall again, gritting in my face,

"So you don't get to pretend you understand how I feel because you can't even reckon what's like watching him on that machine every day and not able to save him..." His voice read pain.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Shut up.."He hissed under his breath and then the most shocking thing happened, he fell in my arms in tears.

The sobs were stifled at first as he attempted to hide his grief, but then he was overcomed by the wave of his emotions and broke down entirely, all his defences washed away.

I didn't move, trying to wrap my head around what's happening. My body was in shock and most of all pain from all the slamming.

It was almost like his pain came in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths, before hurling him back into the outstretched arms of his grief, I desperately wanted to help him, and share his pain alongside mine but I didn't know how. This is Miles, a man who has never smiled or shared a joke, a man who's trapped in a bubble of his own destruction, I wouldn't possibly know where to start.

When he, at last, looked up at me he had a picture of grief, loss, devastation. It was the face of one who had suffered tremendously and didn't know how to break loose.

"You know you can talk to me--"

But just when I thought the breakthrough would come and he would trust me with his vulnerability, the shutters came down again, and his emotion walled off behind a mask of bearing.

"Get out.."

After the Miles pretty much ignored me, whenever he did acknowledge me it was to yell at me about something I did. He would spend most of his time with Carlos, he didn't even bother to come to his room at night. 

I kept a good distance away from him but he would scold me any chance he got. He blamed me for the seizures Carlos encountered once in a while, basically
aimed his anger at me every chance he got. 

One morning I was out on the patio with Luis, I offered to help him install some new motion cameras.

"What happened in the front?" I asked as I held up the Solars for him, "I guess I mean how did Carlos get shot, he's just always on guard."

"He's not iron man, Eva. In the real-life, especially in the mafia, these things are inevitable."

"I know but, I just feel like there's more to it... What aren't you telling me, Luis?"

"What, you think I'm hiding something?"

"I think there's plenty you're not telling, speak or I would keep pestering you until you do." Luis sighed and turned to look at him,

"Okay but, you didn't hear this from me.." I nodded, zipping my lips, "Ahem, Carlos wasn't the target in front." I raised an eyebrow at him not understanding, he explained further, "The men who shot Carlos was out for someone else, Carlos just happened to jump in at the exact time.."

"What are you talking about, and who's this person that Carlos tried to save?"

"Miles...." He muttered and my composure withered, "Carlos was trying to save Miles when he got shot in the chest, twice... Okay, I've said enough."