They were going on day four and she still refused to let him leave her side. She couldn't help it. She expected Zhu to climb through the window and take her back. She was desperate to get out of China, although to be honest, she didn't think that would stop Zhu from coming after her. Gino had moved, trying to let go of her hand, and she refused to let him.
"You have to stop shivering or I'm going to have to climb in bed with you and share body heat," he warned. "I was just going to step out of the room for a moment."
He sounded serious. She didn't care. She wasn't losing him. She shook her head and tried to squeeze his fingers. His hand was significantly larger and stronger than hers, but he didn't try to break away from her. He sank down onto the bed again.
"You're killing me, Zara. We've got you safe. We'll get you home and Bellisia will take good care of you. Everyone will. You'll be doted on like every beautiful princess should be."
She wasn't beautiful anymore and she wouldn't be ever again. She couldn't bear to look at herself in the mirror over the sink in the bathroom. It wasn't about whether or not those marks would leave scars or fade altogether; they were there, below the surface of her skin. Bolan Zhu had put them there and no matter how her skin healed, or how often she scrubbed, she would never remove what he put on her. Another shudder went through her.
She hated that she was such a coward--and she was. She couldn't stand being in Shanghai. She couldn't stop being terrified long enough to fall asleep. Seeing Bellisia would be wonderful. Brilliant. She couldn't wait, but if her demon was thinking he might leave her, he had another think coming. She wasn't certain, even if they were free and clear of Zhu, she would be able to let Gino go. That wouldn't be happening until Zhu was dead, so it wasn't happening at all.
"Not Bellisia." She wanted to make that clear.
His hand swept back her hair, slid into the thick strands and massaged her scalp. "What does that mean?"
"You take care of me. Not Bellisia." She didn't care if she sounded needy or demanding or if he was sick of her. It was Gino who would keep her safe. He was her only chance and she wasn't about to be separated from him, even if it was his idea. She wanted to be tied to him. She wouldn't have minded if he handcuffed them together or tied her to him with a rope or anything else as long as he couldn't break that tie.
She heard his soft laughter. He bent his head toward her, his breath warm against her skin as he brushed his lips over the swelling of cheek. "You're going to be a little monster, bossing me around."
She hadn't thought about it that way, but she was okay with bossing him as long as he stayed close and kept Zhu from her.
The sound of the door opening had her stiffening. She struggled to open her eyes. Panic set in when she realized there were cool bandages over them and she couldn't see. She reached up to rip them away and Gino caught her hand. He had insisted on putting cool gauze soaked in something over her eyes every half hour.
"Leave it, princess," he commanded, his voice an absolute authority. All trace of amusement was gone. "What is it?"
"Trouble, Gino. Boss wants to talk to you," Rubin interrupted.
Zara knew. He was there. Zhu was there at the embassy and he was going to force them to turn her over to him. A small, terrified whimper escaped. She didn't even care that Gino might think her a coward. Let them all. Let everyone think that. She knew she was a coward and she wasn't going to make apologies for it. She tried to throw herself sideways. All that mattered was escaping. Getting out of bed and running. Hiding. Shanghai was a big city. She could lose herself there.
Gino's arm clamped down around her waist. "Stop, Zara. How many times do I have to repeat myself? He's not getting you. I'm taking you out of here one way or the other."
"You have to follow orders," she whispered. "Everyone has to follow orders."
"Ma'am, excuse me," Rubin said softly. "We're not exactly known for followin' orders. We're takin' you home with us no matter what these people say."
"The embassy has to fly us out of here," Zara protested, but she subsided beneath Gino's restraining arm, although she was still tense.
"We're already looking into alternatives, just to give us options and diversions," Rubin explained. "Gino's handling it."
"Shouldn't have to keep saying the same thing, Zara," Gino said. "I got you out, you're staying out."
She almost bit her lip, but it already hurt so she licked it instead. "Would you take the wraps off my eyes?" She wanted to be able to see. "Please?"
"Not yet. I want that swelling to go down. Give me a second to see what's so important and I'll be right back." His fingers touched her face very, very gently, so gently she barely felt the whisper of his skin against hers, but it was enough to send her stomach tumbling off the edge of a cliff. She'd never had a reaction like that before to anything, and it shocked her enough that she froze and just nodded, hoping he wouldn't noticed her accelerated heartbeat.
She should have known better because it seemed Gino noticed everything. His fingers brushed over her inner wrist, right over her pulse, came back and stayed. She resisted the urge to pull her hand away and instead, held her breath.
"Princess, I swear to you, I'll get you out of here."
Grateful he thought her heart had gone into overdrive because she was so fearful, she managed to nod her head to show him she'd be fine until he returned. She wasn't, but Zara could justify being a clingy baby for only so long--then she'd lose what little respect she had left for herself.
The mattress shifted as Gino got up. Zara curled her fingers into the cool sheets. They felt so good beneath her back. The painkillers Gino gave her were surprisingly effective when she hadn't thought anything could take away that all-encompassing pain. They held off the worst of the agony inflicted by Zhu.
The moment she allowed herself to think of the man and what he'd so casually done to her, her entire body shuddered. Shivers started again. Gino had managed to stop them by his presence. He seemed ... dangerous. Predatory. Invincible. There was that same energy Zhu had given off, only Gino felt different when he was close to her, his energy merging with hers. He felt protective and even possessive toward her. She didn't know what the possessive part was all about, but she needed protection desperately and he felt as if he could shield her. He was a rock. Solid. Steady. An anchor she'd never had before and wanted to keep.
Zara detested that she counted each second Gino was away from her, but she couldn't stop. She'd never thought of herself as a needy person. Her best friends were Bellisia and Shylah, two women she'd grown up with from the time she was an infant. They weren't born of the same blood, but they were sisters. She often, over the years, had wished she was more like the two of them.
She hadn't excelled at being a warrior like the others. She'd come in last at everything--well with the exception of running. That was her one call to fame. Whitney despised her for her lack of talent, although she learned quite a lot and was proud of her capabilities--she just wasn't quite as fast as her "sisters" in a battle. They coached her of course. Both girls were generous with their help, but she wasn't wired for combat.
She knew Whitney would have gotten rid of her had it not been for her brain. Once he realized she had something to offer, he stopped her training and began to devise a different path altogether for her--but no matter how good she did on the outside, he made it known to everyone she was a failure and inferior to the rest of them.
Her fingers stroked the sheets, clutched at them. She couldn't stop the nervous habit she'd never been able to get rid of, no matter how many times Whitney had told her he was done with her over her inability to stay still. She silently counted, drawing air into her lungs and breathing it out. Maybe she should go looking for him--Gino. She desperately needed him with her. Time stretched out and her heart began to accelerate. Not too fast at first, but beating harder, finding fear so that the acceleration started slow but ended up galloping.
Maybe he was sick of her clinging to him. Maybe Zhu and Cheng had mad
e an appeal to their government, and to avoid an international incident, the American consulate was going to order her turned over to Zhu. What could Gino really do if that order was given? He'd have to turn her over to Cheng.
Panic welled up. She felt dizzy, unable to catch her breath. Her hands and fingers tingled, numbness setting in and that panicked her even more. She knew she was shutting down, terrified that Gino had left her alone and the real monster was coming. She braced herself for the attack, held her breath until she nearly fainted for lack of oxygen. She drew her feet up, struggling into a sitting position, not wanting to feel so vulnerable when he came. If she could make herself small, keep her legs and feet away from him, he might not be able to do as much damage.
"Zara. What the hell is wrong?"
Gino's voice made her jump. She hadn't heard him come in. But then she hadn't heard him go out. Maybe he was part of some larger conspiracy, one of the many mind-tricks Whitney played on the women to see how they would handle a situation. She wrapped her arms tightly around her drawn-up knees and shook her head.
The mattress shifted as he sank down onto it beside her. She wished she could stop shivering, that air would find her lungs so she wasn't gasping like a fish. It was humiliating to know he was seeing her panicked and out of control.
"Baby, listen to me." Gino's voice was soft, a whisper of sound, but it was all command.
There wasn't anything else she could do--or wanted to do--but listen to him. She needed to hear his voice. That take-charge, reassuring tone that made something shaky and scattered all over the place, deep inside her, begin to settle.
"You have to find one person to trust through this, and I'm asking you to let that person be me. I'll get you home safe. As long as you're with me, no one is going to get to you, harm you, or take you back."
She reached up and caught at the wrap around her eyes. She had to see him. She had to know he meant what he said, and how could she do that simply relying on her ears? She heard truth in his voice, but she needed to see it. His hand closed over hers very gently, but she couldn't move her fingers let alone get rid of the bandage.
"I need it off," she said, willing him to understand.
Apparently, he did, because he pushed her hands down and then his returned to the dressing. He slowly unwrapped the gauze and took it down from her face. She blinked a few times, surprised she could pry her eyelids open. She lifted her lashes completely for the first time since Cheng had hit her with his gun and Zhu had added to the mess by beating the shit out of her. Whatever Gino had used over the last few days had taken the swelling down dramatically.
Gino Mazza was intimidating. He had the widest shoulders and a chest that went on forever. It wasn't that he was massively big, just muscular. She didn't know a man could have so many muscles. The tight tee he wore stretched over so much definition she was afraid to breathe. His face was carved, as if from some immovable matter such as marble, or better yet, steel or iron. Granite. She didn't know, only that it worked. He was both beautiful and terrifying to look at. She'd never seen eyes so intense. So compelling. If he walked into a room full of people, she was certain everyone would stop what they were doing to look at him. He was that scary--and that enthralling. If she wasn't counting him hers, believing him to be her protector, she would have been screaming for help.
He had gorgeous eyes. She'd noticed them before when she could barely see through the tiny slits she'd been able to make; now, she was staring full-on into those, black, obsidian eyes. They gleamed. Shone. Almost as if there was a red or blue flame beneath them.
"I don't like you leaving me." She knew there was a reprimand in her sulky voice. She hated what that revealed to him.
"I told you I would be right back, princess. I was gone less than ten minutes."
Could that be true? It had to be longer. It seemed a lifetime. She nodded to let him know she was listening. She willed him to keep talking. His voice steadied her as nothing else could.
"What did they want?" It was bad news. There was nothing on his face to give it away, but she felt his energy and he wasn't happy. His expressionless mask hid his feelings from the world, but she would always know the truth, because he couldn't hide his moods from her. Every emotion was part of his energy whether he liked it or not, and when his energy merged with hers, she felt everything he did.
"Nothing I didn't expect," he assured. "Cheng went to his friends in the government and complained about you, said you ran and hid inside the embassy and that you took valuable information on something he was researching for them. That it pertained to agriculture, but that in doing their research, they had discovered a new, biochemical weapon that could cause untold harm. They want you and the information back immediately."
Her heart sank. She pressed her palm tightly over her heart. "I knew they'd do something like that. Does the embassy want me handed over?"
"The Chinese government doesn't want you handed over. It would be risking an international incident. They also don't want Cheng angry with them. He provides them with all kinds of information they wouldn't get otherwise." Gino swept his hand down her head, his fingers finding their way to the nape of her neck where they massaged to ease the tension out of her. "We're leaving now for the airport."
"Zhu will stop us."
Gino shrugged, not in the least concerned. "He can try, but we're slipping out a back way and we'll have a military escort. Even if the Chinese were lying, and they weren't, they aren't going to want a shootout with us on their streets. They want you out of here so they can tell Cheng you were already long gone. I don't think they believe Cheng about the biochemical weapon either."
"I just want to get to American soil." She knew Whitney would be waiting, but she didn't want to think about that until she had to. She just had to get out of China and Zhu's reach and then she'd deal with the rest. She didn't doubt for a minute that Zhu wouldn't stop coming for her. She tried to tell herself that once she was on another continent, he would leave her alone, but she knew better.
Her fingers found the dark tee stretched so tightly across Gino's chest. Her fingers were shaking, but she dared to touch him, to gather the material into her palm and close her fist around it. "He'll follow," she warned, hoping he wouldn't think she was a hysterical female. She knew she was acting like one, but she couldn't make herself stop. "Zhu will follow."
He nodded his head, his hand coming up to hers, catching her wrist between his thumb and index finger as he held her fist to him. "I'm well aware of that. He let me know with that little macho bullshit stare-down at the gates that he wasn't going to let it go. Don't worry, princess. One thing at a time. First, get you on the plane out of here. While we're in the air, I'll continue to work on you. You're already healing fast. Your feet are the worst. The rest is deep bruising and lacerations. I know it hurts like hell, but there won't be any permanent damage, unless it's to your feet. He wanted your body flawless, but he didn't want you to be able to run."
Her heart clenched wildly in her chest. He believed her. He knew Zhu was coming after her. That was both terrifying and wonderful.
"After we're home, I'll get you to safety and we'll sort things out."
Safety was wherever Bellisia was. Bellisia had managed to escape Whitney. Zara wanted to see her as soon as possible. Once the capsule with the virus broke open she wouldn't have much time. If Bellisia could tell her how she survived, maybe she could stay. Otherwise ...
Her gaze jumped to Gino's face. She didn't want to be away from him. Never in her life had she felt safe, not until she was in Gino's presence. "I'm putting you in danger." She had to at least acknowledge that she knew what she was doing to him, what she was asking of him.
His smile was slow in coming, but when it did, it was gorgeous. It took her breath and sent her stomach into a slow roll. "Baby. Really? What the hell do you think I do for a living?"
She hadn't thought about that. He was a GhostWalker. He had to be. She knew Whitney was extremely proud of the GhostWal
ker program and the soldiers who had volunteered. Unlike the girls he'd gotten from an orphanage to experiment on, these men had patriotically decided to serve their country. The experiments were done over and over on the disposable girls until Whitney felt he'd gotten it right, then he performed the operations on the male soldiers. GhostWalkers took on extremely dangerous jobs.
Still, it wasn't about Gino being a GhostWalker. The others with him were GhostWalkers, and they didn't feel the same to her. Gino was different. Colder. Darker even than the others. Scarier. Not in terms of what he could do, but what he was willing to do. She needed that coldness to keep her safe.
"I suppose that was a rather silly thing to say."
"Nothing you say is silly," Gino assured. "You're scared right now, which is very understandable." He glanced at his watch.
She was determined to be honest with him and she hoped he'd always be honest with her. She cleared her throat. It wasn't going to be an easy admission. "Gino?" She had his attention. He always looked straight at her and seemed to give her his entire consideration. "I'm afraid of everything. All the time. I hate being in public. I'm always afraid. I don't want you to think I get any better than this because you'll just be disappointed."
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