happy holidays everyone <3
{ZHARA}
And this is why I don't fucking cry. Because karma is a bitch.
"Another Di Maggio whore," is the first thing I heard when I lifted my head up from the table. My eyes landed on the father of the man I had been tied up with for the past few months.
Not even two seconds of me looking him in the eye, he had pulled out a gun. The guy probably thought I was gonna put a spell on him or something.
There was no bone in my body that moved when staring down the barrel aimed at me. If he wanted fear, he picked the wrong bitch.
I blinked, waiting for him to throw another insult at me.
Adriano Armani must've noticed the fact there were tears soaking my face, and he just ate that up.
"Poor little girl, crying for her father," he had said hatefully, "disgustoso."
[disgusting]
"You're a shame to this business," he bites out, moving the gun closer to my head. I raised a brow, wondering where that one came from. Not to brag, but I was one of the highest-ranked assassins in multiple countries.
"Nothing to say, little raven?" the stupid nickname sounded so awful coming from an Armani. Specifically the man in front of me.
It's been a long time since I've seen someone so bitter, but part of me couldn't even blame him.
My father had raped and killed his wife.
But he had also killed my mother.
And the fact that I hadn't seen him since that rainy night made this reunion nothing good for my mind.
All I could remember now was the sight of my mother on the ground. My stomach ached. My head pounded.
"Hello to you, too," I lean back in the chair I was in. I couldn't even be bothered to come up with something witty to say.
Adriano just looked like he was contemplating whether he wanted to shoot me in the brain or the heart. Please, do us all a favor.
"Where are my sons?" Adriano slightly moves his gun, acting as if I owe him all the answers in the world.
Suck my dick.
"How am I supposed to know?" I shrug, turning away from the man because it's hard to even look at him.
I feel bad for Adelaide, poor woman didn't even get a choice before being born into that family. I guess people say the same about me, though.
"Maybe because you've gotten one of them wrapped around your finger," he criticized, "Or have you fucked Matteo, too?"
One- how does he know that? And two- I'm not discussing my sex life with Zion's father.
And I would never fuck Matteo. He's not my type.
Even though he looks like the younger, less-stressed version of Zion.
Still, it's weird.
"Are you slut-shaming me, Mr. Armani?" I mused with a grin.
Before Adriano can think of another insult, Cobra and Isaiah rush into the dining room.
Shit, I was really starting to enjoy this. I'll have to speak to them later about interrupting important conversations.
I don't even listen to them as they try to convince Adriano to put the gun down, shouting something about Zion's plan and miscommunication and different sides now. All I know is that Adriano starts talking about how I'm the daughter of a rapist, and I could only imagine what he thought that was going to accomplish in this situation.
I mean, he's not wrong...
While they were all acting like crazy people, I decided to go see if Flynn is awake. I finally get myself to stand up, and my world just goes silent as I walk around the men.
They actually don't seem to notice my retreating figure at first.
I make my way toward where I saw all the doctors go, and I keep walking down that hallway. I think I hear Ezekial call out for me, but the dry tears on my skin just seem to deafen all my senses.
The whole point of doing this thing with Zion was that I could finally rest and do what I wanted with my life. I was supposed to have no burdens, nothing to hold me back, but now everything just seems worse than before.
I'm sniffing as I walk to the hospital wing, passing a room full of people eating. It had to be an unreasonable time in the morning, and those people were just now getting to sit down.
I found a room with a window, and I peeked inside, seeing Flynn hooked up to some machines, but his eyes were open.
I immediately opened the door, causing his eyes to snap over to mine. He smiled, but it dropped quickly when he saw that my eyes were puffy and red.
Whoops.
Forgot I had been acting like a little bitch.
"What's wrong, Zhara?" he asks me, but it feels weird when it's coming from him. Especially while he's in a hospital bed.
"I should be asking you that," I wipe my eyes, giving him a small smile. He points to the chair in the corner of the room, motioning for me to pull it over near him. I do what he silently asks.
"I'm okay, just a little sore," Flynn shrugs, acting as if what happened wasn't a big deal. I sigh, trying to stop crying. He reaches for my shoulder, rubbing it to get my attention.
"Zhara, tell me," he insists. But I don't know what to say. So I just tell him everything. Everything I felt.
"I'm scared, Flynn," I tell him, "I thought I was going to lose you if I hadn't found you as soon as I did."
He knows how I feel, letting me speak freely.
"I don't know what I'm going to do after this. I thought it would be easier to just lie to myself and say things would get better after we found my father, but now it's just more complicated. I feel like I've been used. I feel like nothing before this was real..."
"What do you mean?" Flynn asks, furrowing his brows.
"Nothing I had with Zion was real," I clarify, finally saying it out loud. Flynn realizes and nods, understanding what I meant.
"It felt like the moment he knew Alphonzo was in the building, he didn't need me anymore. And that was scary. But, you know, what do I expect? Am I wanting to be needed by him? I don't know. I guess. He almost...abandoned me, it felt like. Abandoned you. It's like Zion lost all care for anything else in the world. I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but some parts of me just can't forgive him for what he did."
Flynn scoots himself over and pats the side of the bed where there is empty space. I shake my head, not wanting to risk hurting him.
"Zhara, it's a huge bed for just one person. Get up here. I only have stitches, I'm fine," he tells me, insisting by tugging my arm. Luckily, I lay by his uninjured side, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
"I'll tell you what I think," he says to me quietly, rubbing my shoulder. I nod, wanting his opinion.
"I think that no matter what, Zion will always look at you the way he has been the past few months. I see more than you think I do. He's obsessed with you, and he definitely cannot be faking the way he acts about you. Was he distracted by revenge? Yes. Definitely. I even lost my self-control a little and yelled at him before trying to find you," he laughs.
"But will he act like you don't exist from now on? Hell no. Just wait, Zhara. He's going to be coming back to you very soon. And whether or not you forgive him for hurting you is up to you. Either way, I respect your decision," he kisses my forehead.
"But I am still pissed about how he treated you earlier. Because no matter how important a mission is, we never leave anyone behind," Flynn adds. I nod.
"That's what I'm still upset about. The fact that he was okay with just leaving without knowing that you were safe, I can't stand that."
Flynn rolls his lips together, looking as if he was contemplating something.
"I don't think he was okay with it, to be honest. I just think he was not in the right state of mind to be doing anything that involved what had happened. It's not that he was fine with leaving someone behind, it's that he didn't know what to do in the situation otherwise. I'm not defending him," Flynn clarifies, "I just know his morals are not like that, even in stressful situations."
I've stopped crying by now, and I squeeze Flynn's hand in gratitude for his words.
"Thank you, Flynn. I appreciate you," I close my eyes, suddenly feeling really comfortable on the bed. My best friend pats my head, then continues rubbing my shoulder as I start to relax. I feel the subconsciousness approaching my body, and I realize I haven't had an actual night's sleep in weeks.
With one last sigh, I let myself fall asleep, and it's ten times easier now that I know Flynn is okay.
~***~
{THIRD PERSON}
Flynn's heart ached for Zhara. All of the things she had to go through in this short period of time.
He let her rest, staying quiet as she finally slept.
But not even ten minutes go by, and someone is already stomping toward his room. He watches the window, waiting for whoever wants to disturb the sleeping girl.
Isaiah makes himself known first, making eye contact with Flynn. Cobra comes up behind him, and Zion follows.
Oh, great.
Isaiah pointed down to the doorknob, asking if they could come inside. Flynn nodded, knowing they weren't going to go away either way.
Isaiah quietly opens the door and all three men trudge in, finding their own space throughout the room.
"If she wakes up to you three, she won't be happy," Flynn muttered quietly, and Cobra smiles from his spot near the wall. If Flynn was being truthful, he really only meant Zion would make the tension with her worse. But that would be disrespectful to say, and Flynn knew he was already on thin ice with the Boss.
"I think she'll be fine," Ezekial replies, keeping his voice down, as well.
"Adriano had a gun to her head the second he walked in," Isaiah told Flynn, who wasn't surprised. He was pissed about it but knew there was nothing he could do to get the oldest Armani out of the house.
Flynn glanced down at Zhara, making sure she was still sleeping before speaking.
"That shouldn't have even been a thought in his head," Flynn said lowly, but his tone spoke for the lack of volume in his words.
Isaiah nods, understanding his friend's point.
"So, what now?"
Zion runs a hand through his hair at the injured man's question.
"Alphonzo is detained in a cell, and Gideon and Simon are staying until he's dead," Zion explains.
"It sounds like they are forcing a deadline," Isaiah adds.
Ezekial agrees, "They are probably here to report back to whoever they are working with."
Flynn remembers the days when the Lions were still alive, and how easily they ran the underground drug business. They were getting shipments to all of Italy, and even started chains in America. But ever since there was a fallout in the Italian lines, specifically the war over the murders, they stopped selling and cut off that whole side of the business in America.
You could say it was basically the Italians' fault, but when is anything not their fault?
"If anything, they want him dead just as quickly as us," Zion asserted. His eyes were often caught on the girl beside Flynn, and everyone noticed.
"Everyone gets their time with him, we've decided."
Flynn looks up at that statement.
"All of the people he hurt, they all get to speak their final words," Zion sits in the empty chair by the door.
"And then we kill him. Painfully," he leans his head back against the wall, looking as tired as Zhara had been.
"Is everyone else okay?" Flynn asks, knowing the subject was touchy between him and Zion. Isaiah nods, knowing no one else was greatly injured. Zion noticed the bruising on the side of Zhara's face, and the cut that still seemed agitated on her temple.
"Where is Adriano now?" Flynn sounded a little concerned, not wanting a repeat of what happened to Zhara. Zion looked away from Zhara.
"I think he's still talking to Matteo," Isaiah said, "We distracted him enough for her to leave without causing him to go ape shit."
"He seems very passionate about his family," Flynn tries to make the best out of the situation, but it still sounds forced.
"No offense, Zion, but your father was never good at placing the blame on the right person," the voice of the now awake Zhara shocks the men, but the smile on her face shows that she's not actually mad about the situation. Everyone watched as she brushed her messy hair out of her face, eventually reaching back to undo her braid.
Flynn helps her adjust, leaning her back on the pillow instead of craning her neck.
Zion hears the true meaning behind her words, and he wasn't taking anything personally.
Isaiah and Cobra both thought about Zhara's mother and the whole reasoning behind her death.
Or primarily the lack of reasoning.
"But if he wanted to kill me, he would have," Zhara spoke calmly, "He just needed to get a few choice words out of his mind."
It was almost admirable how relaxed she was after just telling Flynn how she felt about Zion.
Zhara looked Zion in the eye, trying to resist the thoughts that were appearing in her mind. His grey eyes stared right back at her, and she felt the emotions rolling off his body. He was so tense from stress, and his hands were probably permanently clenched into fists.
She slowly got up from the bed, trying her hardest not to bump into Flynn.
Flynn helped her up, giving her a smile before she started walking toward the door.
"I'll be back later to see you, Flynn," Zhara said as she opened the door, waving to Flynn. Zion watched her walk away through the window, and might have let himself look at other things.
No one commented on how long he had his eyes on her.