Live For It

|15|

Grabbing an apple, she placed a hand on her hip and shut the fridge, turning around towards the island. She leaned against it, looking out the window at the mildly cloudy blueish sky.

She would prove them wrong. She just needed a long break to come up with a way to do it. She looked down at the spot where her wound would be, and she ran her finger over the fabric of her pants, feeling the indent of the scar through it. She had thousands of scars, big and small, but this one would mean something different. It was a motivation to stay for a while, or at least try to. She wasn't just a weapon or something that could be thrown away, she was more than that.

The recent words of a slurring Zion rang through her head.

you know how to live, you're just too scared to do it

Zhara Di Maggio wasn't scared of anything, but maybe he was right. For once in her life, she hoped that Zion Armani was right. 

Once she finished her apple, she threw the core out and walked towards the hallway where she had passed a room one time. This room was like a game room, and she knew the twins spent most of their time in it, so she expected Adelaide to be there with her kids.

She didn't know what she would say to Adelaide, she felt a pool of guilt flood within her insides. Maybe that she was just having a rough time, and was sorry that she couldn't help when she said she would. She would figure something out.

She turned the corner and walked past the living room, realizing this place was way too big for her to be able to memorize everything.

She paused before walking into the opening of the hallway, sensing movement behind her. The subtle vibration in the floorboards. The large shadow on the wall. The gut feeling of someone watching her. Flashbacks of the previous night were flooding her mind as the terror came back to her. She wouldn't have a repeat of that situation. 

Zhara subconsciously reached for her weapon, only to find that she had none on her. Cursing the fact that Flynn had taken them, she decided to put the rumors everyone believed to the test. 

She swiftly ducked when she heard the howl of air producing a swing, realizing someone was definitely behind her. Grabbing the source of the swing with one hand, she yanked it forward from her ducking position and sent the suspect in front of her. It was difficult to move this person, so she assumed it was a man, a very tall man. 

Confirming her suspicion, a familiar black suit came to view in front of her but taking her time to look at it resulted in getting his other arm trapping the back of her neck. She assumed it wasn't anyone who had been here when she arrived because they would know she wasn't a threat, well, at least for now. 

She still couldn't recognize his face as he turned her around and kicked her legs out from under her, leaving her to balance herself off of the man. He put her in a chokehold, creating a sound of pain escaping her lips from the bruises already on her neck. She clawed at the sleeve of the arm locking her to a hard chest. The tightness of the forearm near her ear was causing her head to pound, and the muscled bicep trapping her swollen throat was aching her to scream. 

"What's the little bird doing in our territory? You a puttana for more Italian blood now?" the deep voice sneered in her ear, and her anger stemmed immediately. Just because she was a woman, they expected her to be having sex with someone here. At least he knew her universal title. [whore]

Without responding, the Golden Raven reached her hands back, wincing when his now free grip got tighter. When she was only an inch from plunging his eye sockets, a door slammed shut in the hallway and a very authoritative feminine voice echoed into their ears.