Leo was silent the entire ride. Vincent and Jon Cho tried to talk to him, but Etienne slapped their chest, stopping them from triggering his anger. He stayed by the corner, looking out the window, wondering what should happen to Zella.
How long is he going to hide her? How long is he going to slack off and carry out other mission for her to be safe?
Leo knew himself to be ruthless. He never wanted the victim begging for mercy. But Zella's different. The way she asked questions vaguely made Zella definite that he's suspicious and not just a normal businessman.
Zella's testing him. Probably the result of a short stay inside the penitentiary and forced to use her mind critically.
Leo traced his chin. It was subtle, the hair was growing fast.
…
As soon as the limousine parked at the space, Leo was the first to come out, not even looking back at the Cassanos. He just let them wonder what happened inside Jeremy's office after he called him countless times frantically earlier.
The dapple, afternoon sunlight shone in the limousine's hood, glimmering, but Leo doesn't adore it that much anymore. He got used to being wealthy, after all.
Leo went inside the mansion, not even waiting for Randall to come in so he could vent out and say everything. Right after he closed the door, Leo halted.
Breathing the same air inside the house with the top-priority fugitive he had to kill made him suffocated.
Zella doesn't deserve to lose her mind, it was the fate.
But why should he be the one? Why should a spy like him take care of a fugitive?
Leo should come upstairs, but a shattering glass made him ran fast to the kitchen. Zella was standing in a white dress, and her hair cascaded at the back of her shoulders. She hunkered down, picked up a shard, and got cut immediately.
"Ow!" Zella squealed. Leo come up to her rescue, and held her hand. Zella turned to the man, sniffed in, and smelled the scent of… blood?
Leo tut his tongue, scolding, "You should have been careful!"
Zella gawked at him. He was away the entire day, and come back like it is just normal for him to come back at around 5 in the afternoon. Leo retrieved a clean tissue at the counter, folded it crosswise, and placed it at the tip of her finger. Zella watched his every move upon taking care of a small wound.
She withdrew her hand right away and Leo's hands froze in midair.
"It's alright. It's just a small wound." Leo looked up at her.
Zella didn't even give off a faint smile. She blinked several times, calming her racing heart, adding, "You just came in, then rescue me with a tiny wound? What a joke."
Leo didn't even know if it was the right thing to do. He just… felt anxious upon her getting hurt. Leo's mind fleeted back to the moment Jeremy Tyran carried out his order. Without a progress, they'll find it suspicious. Cassanos have been secretly known as an A+ class group.
Nothing can beat them, even if another group of spies come.
Zella picked up the broom, and Leo moved out of the way. She cleaned the mess of the shards while Leo was watching her every move. Zella turned to him quickly, retorting, "Are you just going to stand there and not say anything?"
Leo felt frightened. Zella had that factor within him that made him scared out of his wits. She may found him unreal, but Leo never talked about what he thought of Zella. He never did, because it will reveal Leo didn't know Zella in the first place.
Leo couldn't afford to have another ruckus inside the mansion. The commotion wouldn't be good at this time of crises. Zella waited for his answer while observing his clothes. He's wearing black clothes, and the presence of blood in her nose indicated something's fishy.
Zella wouldn't ask about it as long as Leo wouldn't talk.
She doesn't want to be a coaxer.
"I'll just change my clothes. Meet me down here after an hour."
Leo's voice was hoarse. Zella stared at him for a moment, and nodded. Leo moved, turned his heel around, and walked away. Zella closed the trash bin, becoming curious about the smell of blood.
"What was that?"
…
Leo threw the sweaty and dirty clothes on the bathroom floor as he hissed. The pain of the burn earlier by the bullet bombs were too excruciating to deal at. He turned to the mirror, took a peek on his shoulder, and closed his eyes.
Leo rummaged through the first aid kit and put on an antiseptic solution. It hissed right in his skin, reacting to the chemical, and Leo held onto the sink. Right after the burning sensation died down, he went to the bathtub and drenched himself on the water.
This would do… for now.
Leo knew his shoulder wouldn't be able to work for a while. He's injured. Good thing the Cassanos aren't that all caught up in wounds. Only 10 more of the fugitives they had to get rid of, including Zella Albert.
10 more dangerous missions to execute on, and Leo's feet was already on the grave.
Leo washed his body thoroughly after 10 minutes of floating. He was undermined one everything, and sinking for a bit wasn't too nasty of an idea. Leo sighed, looking at the showerhead, and scrubbed every part of his body.
Even his nails, he trimmed them shortly.
All of the blood trails of the deceased Theo Rilop have dissipated now. Leo pressed a button in the dryer of clothes, and let them on for a while. He checked on the burn, and it's pretty moistened for a while. If he wrapped them on a dressing, the area would just get infected.
When Leo went out of the bedroom, he brushed his hair dry with a towel.
Zella was already at the edge of the bed, and he halted by the heater. Leo closed the door gently, staring at her back. Zella turned halfway, asking, "Have you had dinner?"
She's still wearing the white dress. Zella looked beautiful in it. But Leo had to shake himself awake because if he let himself get dragged along with his feelings, it wouldn't be good. It's hard to see someone dying if you love them.
"Not yet, Laina, why are you already here inside our bedroom?" Leo checked in her eyes, and it's soft. Not the same as it was downstairs. It was just half an hour and her mood shifted already. Zella smiled, nodding at the drawers, and Leo saw her clothes hanging one-by-one.
"Oh, I asked someone to move it here so you wouldn't be separated from me."
Leo said that unknowingly sweet, and it made Zella perked up. She met his eyes. The tension between them increases as much as their desire to hold on to each other. But it was too late to even consider having feelings with his fake wife.
Leo would soon realize this is all wrong, and it isn't right to fall in love with a fugitive.
"How sweet of you that I can sleep here after days of being alone in that drab room," Zella pointed out. Leo sighed, hung the towel to dry at the corner chair, and sat down on the bed, facing her. Zella smiled, motioning for the door, whispering dinner.
"Let me make it clear: I wasn't the one who choose you to stay in that drab room, Laina. It's your choice. Sometimes, you will wake up with no memory of me, so you'd be scared and ran, frantically, to the other room."
It made Leo laugh with his guilt. The lies were all matched up to the truth living inside Zella's mind. She probed further, "And then? What would you do?"
Leo answered back quickly, "I'll stay with you while you're asleep and wonder what kind of words I'll say to you the moment you wake up. Like what I have done a month ago. I said you're my wife. Sometimes, I'd say you're my girlfriend, or someone you love… everything you may think of."
Zella smiled unnoticeably.
He continued, "That's how much I love you, Laina."