“I think I’m just tired, Gino. And the pain is getting worse. I don’t think the pills last nearly as long as when you give me IV painkillers. Am I being wimpy?” Why couldn’t she just ask him straight out? But she couldn’t, not until she had something to offer him. Right now, she didn’t have much, not even her own clothes. All she had was terror, neediness and tears.
“All right, baby, just close your eyes. I’ll darken the room and give you some more meds. Just the beating he gave you, bruising your internal organs, would cause pain. Add the whip and cane and of course you hurt like hell. There’s no need.” He was already setting up an IV.
Zara closed her eyes with some relief. Her eyes burned from tears, and from the light, from keeping them open, all of it. She hated that she looked so awful and that Gino had to see her that way. “It’s been nearly a week.”
“Five days isn’t a lot to heal your body inside, Zara,” he said. “Just go to sleep. The more sleep you get, the quicker you’ll heal.”
“You have the white knight syndrome in spades,” she murmured.
“Don’t kid yourself, baby, there’s nothing white knight about me.”
There was a knock on the door, and she panicked. She could feel her heart accelerate and her lungs burn for air. She couldn’t face anyone right now, especially Bellisia, and she knew it was her . “I can’t …”
“I’ll handle it,” Gino said. “Just rest.”
He already had the lights out and the curtains pulled while she lay in bed drifting on the pain medication with her eyes closed like the coward she was.
Gino swept his hand down Zara’s hair, feeling anything but the white knight she named him. He felt proprietorial. No way was Bellisia coming in and taking Zara from him. No one was going to do that. He’d staked his claim on her and he wasn’t backing off. He crossed the room to the door when the knock came again.
Ezekiel stood right behind Bellisia, one hand on her shoulder, his face a mask. Gino could tell by his eyes that he knew exactly what Gino was up to, but it didn’t matter.
“She’s resting right now. I’ve just gotten her comfortable and she’s almost out,” Gino said, blocking the door. “I’ll let you know when she’s up for visitors.”
“I need to see her now, Gino,” Bellisia insisted. “I won’t disturb her, but Zeke told me Zhu tortured her. I have to know she’s all right.”
“Physically she will heal, although I’m concerned about her feet.” Gino stayed in the doorway, blocking access to the room. “Of course, the feet are bruised, but she has hematomas, bleeding in the spaces inside. There appears to be tendon damage, but I can’t tell how severe or how permanent it is. I’ll know more when I can take more X-rays, do an MRI and a few other tests just to get a good look. Right now, I’m not letting her put any weight on her feet.”
“Zeke said he used a cane on her.”
Gino nodded. “On her back, buttocks, the backs of her legs and also on her feet. He did a very thorough job of it, so very painful.” He managed to sound impersonal when he no longer felt that way. “On her front, he used a whip and he was thorough about that as well, so she’s having trouble moving around too much. The beating was very severe, and he did that before the other. He also used chemicals on her and that was before the physical torture.” He raised his gaze to Ezekiel’s. “She told me that on the plane. I didn’t have a chance to give you that information. She didn’t tell him a thing about the GhostWalker program. He didn’t suspect her of being a GhostWalker.”
“Why would they keep her alive then?” Bellisia asked.
For the first time Gino had to struggle to keep his features impassive. Bellisia had all but implied that Zara had given in to Zhu and told him what he wanted to know. He knew Zara was awake, or at least drifting in and out. She was already hurt and he didn’t want her to think Bellisia didn’t trust her.
When he continued to stare at her, Bellisia opened her mouth and shook her head, reaching back for Ezekiel’s hand. “That came out wrong, Gino. I know Zara. She would never give up information, not under any circumstance. She would find a way to suicide before she’d do that. I meant, Cheng had to have had a reason. He never does anything without a reason. Did he plan to sell her?”
That first night in the embassy, when Gino had slept in a chair beside her bed, she’d woken in terror several times. She’d told him Cheng wanted to sell her to a man named Moffat who ran a human trafficking ring and owned some club he used his victims in. She’d admitted she didn’t know which was worse, having Zhu keep her or being sold into trafficking.
“Cheng apparently wanted to sell her,” Gino said, “but it was Zhu insisting on keeping her. He believed her almost from the beginning, but he wanted to keep her. For himself.” Gino disliked saying it aloud. He was too much like the man, mirroring his words, his dark, ugly character. Gino wanted to keep Zara for himself and he planned to do so. He was good at carrying out a battle plan. The more he was in her company, the more he was certain Zara Hightower was the woman for him.
“My poor Zara,” Bellisia whispered. “What a terrible thing for her to have to go through. You said you were worried about her feet. Is she going to be able to walk on her own?”
Gino stepped toward her, forcing the couple to move back so he could step outside the room and close the door, just in case Zara hadn’t yet succumbed to the drug.
“She’ll walk. I’m just afraid she’ll always experience some pain when she does. Zhu was careful not to leave any permanent marks on her skin, but he didn’t mind messing up her feet. Probably so she couldn’t run from him.”
Bellisia frowned and looked back at Ezekiel. “Do you remember I told you how fast she is? No one could keep up with her when she ran. I hope her feet aren’t permanently damaged. Have you talked to her about it?”
Gino shrugged. “She’s been pretty out of it. She’s just getting to the point where she can go longer periods with lower doses of painkillers. The travel did her in. When she wakes up, I’ll bring her out of the room so you can talk to her. She was very anxious to see you.”
“She didn’t know Zeke and I are married, did she?” Bellisia asked.
Gino shook his head. “There wasn’t much chance to talk about anything, Bellisia. She was in bad shape when we got to her. All I cared about was getting her out of there and letting her body heal without pain. The first couple of days, she could barely stand a sheet on her body and even lying down hurt her. I kept her out of it for long periods of time to give her a break. There isn’t really a comfortable position for her. She’s doing better though.”
“Ezekiel and I can look after her now, Gino,” Bellisia said. “It must be difficult to take her to the bathroom, and she’ll be needing showers and baths soon. I can do that and Zeke can see to her medical needs.”
Gino stared down at her for a long time, letting her see the devil in him. Very slowly, he shook his head. “Not happening, Bellisia. I’m taking care of her. She’s my responsibility now.”
Bellisia scowled. Ezekiel tightened his fingers around her hand, but Gino could see she wasn’t going to take the warning. “She’s my sister. My responsibility.”
“Yeah, I could see that when we pulled up and she sat in the car waiting while you were all over your husband. Zara’s mine. She wants to be with me, in my care, and I’m not going to relinquish that just because someone says so—or I have something better to do.”
Color crept into Bellisia’s face. “I can’t believe you just said that. I had to make certain Zeke was all right.”
“I got that. So did she. She wasn’t all right though. She’d been tortured, unlike Zeke.”
“Gino.” Ezekiel’s warning was just that one word. His name.
Gino didn’t give a damn. “She’s mine, Zeke. No one’s taking her from me.”
Bellisia tossed her hair, eyes flashing. “She isn’t a doll, Gino. She’s a living, breathing woman with feelings. And she’s fragile. Vulnerable, especially now. You’re not taking advantage of her.”