Obsession

Chapter Four - Quattro

"Come on Piccola," Marco says, and wraps his hand around my arm, pulling me to my feet. "Change of scenery, Si!" I stumble a little as the blood flows back to my legs. 

He ushers me out of the cell. His fingers grip tight around my arm. "Don't do anything stupid," he warns and relaxes his firm grip. 

"I don't normally do this, so think of it as a kind gesture."

Marco stops at the opened hatch. The smell of fresh air hits my nostrils, and I turn to Marco briefly before looking back to the opened hatch door. 

Is this some sort of trick?

Marco opens his jacket slightly, showing the handle of a gun. He clicks his teeth and shakes his head. "I won't hesitate to shoot you if you run, Tesoro."

I believe him too. His criminal friend didn't hesitate when he shot my brother.

"Well, are you going to move?" Marco asks as he digs inside his jacket, and on instinct, I hold my breath. He said he would only shoot if I ran - I haven't even moved. I sigh in relief when I don't see a gun. Marco opens the silver case, revealing perfectly lined cigarettes. He takes one and put it in his mouth. Our eyes meet, and he passes the case to me. My eyes flick from his to the outstretched hand. 

"You don't smoke?" Marco mumbles and closes the case when I don't reach out for one. He tucks the case back in his jacket and puts it away.

"Probably a good thing. I shouldn't either," he continues this one-way conversation. "But the way I see it is I'm dead either way," he ends with an exhale of smoke. 

He jerks his head for me to move, and I cautiously take a step forward and place my foot on the first step. "You're safe with me, Piccola."

His giant hand presses against my lower back and he nudges me further. The cool breeze hits my face. It's dark out, the only light is the moon, and the small glow from where we came.

My chest thuds. Marco is acting differently. For the past three days, he reveled in my misery, so why the sudden change? 

I turn back to where we were. The hatch is still open. He said he would shoot if I ran, but what if I ran back to my cell? The sound of gravel crunching causes Marco to step in front and put his arm out in what looks like protection. His other hand reaches for his gun and he pulls it out, aiming at where the noise came from. 

"Put your gun away!" I look around Marco to see someone step out into view. His head is dipped so I can't see his face and the collar of his trenchcoat is raised. "I said she wasn't to be harmed!" 

Marco grabs my arm and brings me around him. "The scratches are from the accident," Marco tells the man. "That wasn't my fault," Marco felt the need to defend himself. 

The man stays long strides towards us and grips my face with his hand. The grip isn't painful, but I wasn't expecting it. "It's ok, Angel, I'm not here to hurt you." 

Angel ... 

"You shouldn't be out here." He says, keeping his back to me. 

"I thought you might like this." I hold out a mug of hot chocolate with a little whipped cream. "Where is Zo?" I ask scanning around for my brother. My heart beats erratically. He flicks his something over the balcony and turns around. His eyes look down at my hand to the hot chocolate. 

"You made this for me?"  

I nod and hand the drink to him. In the brief second his fingers brush against my hand my stomach flips. "Ales," my brother calls out from behind me. He walks over and presses a kiss against my cheek. "Why are you out here, Angel?" Zo asks.