That sexy man 😍😍 It should be a sin to be that hot!!! Oh well, moving on. Enjoy!

I haven't gone over this chapter as many times as I would have liked. Let me know if you guys encounter any mistake. ❤️

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          Damn it! I bolt for the closet after placing the phone on Mr. Azallion's chest to allow him to talk to his brother while I immediately change into a spare pair of pants and blouse. I can't let him see me like this; see all the scars peppering my back and chest. I can't allow anyone to see it.

A loud thump hurriedly pulls me back into the room and I can only stare at the scene in front of me. "Did you just break my bed?" I narrow my eyes at the man as he breaks through my bedpost with a piece of wood dangling from the other end of the rope tied to his right hand. He removes his blindfold glancing over to me and then untying his other wrist.

"Why didn't you call me as soon as she got home?" Mr. Azallion ignores my question and sits on the edge of the bed while he looks for his shirt.

          "I just got home from the party Zeenat is having at her apartment and when I got in, everything was scattered." The boy yells through the speaker while his tatted brother slips his shirt on immediately. "Mom came at me when she saw me and started asking for money. She looked like a fucking lunatic and began hitting me. I pushed her off me and then she pulled out a gun. I tried to run but she shot my fucking leg and like a stupid bitch, she fucking passed out right after."

"Call 911 right now." He frenziedly puts his shoes on and continues. "I'll be there soon."

"Call the police if you want your mother to go to jail for a long time."

"What?" Mr. Azallion furrows his brows at me.

"That's a sexy voice," his brother snickers to himself.

          "Shut up!" Mr. Azallion snaps and looks at me confused. "He is shot, so I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

          "Call the cops and you can say bye-bye to your mom for years." I slowly saunter towards the bed and take a seat next to him. "If you let me handle this, I can send her to the rehab like I promised."

"I like her a lot. She sounds sexy and she's helpful too." His irrelevant flirting forces a chuckle out of me while his brother rolls his blue eyes.

"Are you even shot?" He holds up his phone and lifts himself off the bed. "You sure are talking a lot for a boy who just got shot."

"That's the thing," the boy retorts. "I don't feel any pain. It's like I'm invincible. What if I'm deadpool now? I'd make a handsome deadpool."

"Shut up and how's that possible?" Mr. Azallion and I leave the room, heading towards the elevator. "Are you even fucking shot or are you shitting me?"

"Bitch, I'm sure," the boy fires back at Mr. Azallion and screams. "I'm literally sitting on the couch and looking at mom's unconscious body. The music from Zeenat's apartment is so loud that I doubt anyone heard the gunshot."

"Sometimes it takes our body some time to send out a pain signal during stressful situations," I shed some medical light on the boys and sigh while pressing the button to the ground floor. "That's what his body is trying to do to keep him calm."

          "Is love at first phone a thing because I think I just fell in love," the boy mumbles causing me to chuckle.

          "I'm Athena," I grab the phone from Mr. Azallion's hand and speak into it. "Listen to me carefully."

          "You're Athena and I'm Roman. Greek and Roman. We're meant to be."

"Dude, shut the fuck up!" Mr. Azallion sneers as his pierced nose flares in frustration. "Just listen to what she has to say."

"Roman, don't move your leg at all. Sit still." I instruct as the elevator doors slide open. "Is the bullet still in your leg?"

"Damn right it is," he scoffs. "I'm a badass like that."

"Oh my God!" Mr. Azallion baffles in disappointment. "You're fucking shot. Give it a rest."

"You're just jealous," Roman counters back with a hint of smugness.

"You both shut up!" I shout and enter the private parking lot below the building, heading towards my Maserati. "Roman, your injury may get infected, so I need you to grab any kind of cloth nearby and tightly tie it around your wound so that the poison from the bullet doesn't spread up your leg. Are we clear?"

          "You got it, baby girl," he chuckles, shuffling sounding on his end of line. Handing the phone over to Mr. Azallion, I roar the engine to life and seat myself behind the wheel. It's been a while since I took my baby out.

"Call Cornelia and ask her to come to the apartment to help you out," Mr. Azallion suggests.

"Fuck that cornhog," Roman barks out. "I don't like that bitch. She's your girl, not mine."

"Roman," I giggle, maneuvering out of the parking lot. "Just stay put and don't move much. Try to stay conscious as well."

          "You sound really smart and hot."

          "And you're in shock," I reply, ripping down the wide city street with no care. "I'll see you soon."

          As soon as that call ends, I pick up my phone and dial Jackson, putting the phone to my ear. "I need you at Mr. Azallion's apartment down in Staten Island."

          "Are you kidding me?" He sneers through the phone. "This is the fourth time, Athena. Fourth fucking cockblock. I was finally about to get laid, but of course you had to ruin it."

"Just shut up and get there now." I hang up and turn my gaze towards Mr. Azallion who is holding onto the dashboard for dear life. "Get your nails off my car and relax. I'm a good driver."

"I don't trust you," he smirks. Slamming on the brakes and screeching my tires against the asphalt, I send him flying forward, his head hitting the dashboard. "What the fuck?" He rubs his forehead and scowls at me.

"Put your seatbelt on, Mr. Azallion. You're not a child." Placing my heel on the gas pedal, I ram it down, forcing the vehicle to whip through the air of the city streets that are quite busy even at night. "Oh wait, you really are a child though. My bad."

***

          Speeding through the streets of Manhattan and stopping in a different borough, turning a forty-five minute drive to a half an hour one, we make it outside his brick apartment building. Jackson along with a few of my men get there seconds later.

"Watch my car," I order Ruiz and walk into the poorly built structure through the black metal doors. A group of druggies sit at the edge of the stairs that we need to use to go up. They move aside to give us passage as every single one of those four men gawk me like a prey. Before I follow Mr. Azallion up the stairs, I stop and look at those filthy men. "Keep your damn eyes to yourself before I rip them out of your sockets and hand them to you."

          "You heard her," Jackson grabs one man from the group and slams him to the wall below the stairs. "Go home all of you. Now."

They scurry away like little rats as I proceed up the narrow flight of stairs. The stench of alcohol and filth scrunches my nose in disgust. I almost forgot about this filthy aroma that I once grew up in and I'm glad I got out of there. I walk behind Mr. Azallion who takes us past an apartment that blares with music. A miasma of repulsive weed wafts up my nose when that door opens right when I'm about to walk past it, making me want to hurl on the tall girl in front of me.

"Hey, Eros!" The girl sequels in excitement, her entire body reeking of cheap beer and smoke. "Umm... do you... I mean, want to join the party? Rome was here earlier."

"Zeenat, I can't right now. I have to get home, babe."

"Yeah, of course." She frowns and looks at me for a second before opening her alcohol infested mouth again. "You're Athena Estle!" She shrieks, her eyes lighting up. "I have so many of your designer clothes and I'm also trying to get a portfolio done so that I have a chance to model for your brand."

          "How cute!" I fake smile at her. "You're never getting a chance. Now get out of my face. And you," I turn to Mr. Azallion who's shaking his head at the whole pathetic ordeal. "Move your ass if you want to save your brother."

          He immediately turns away and jogs down the hall, entering the last room on the right side. My heels clack against the wooden floor as I stride down with the rest of the men behind me. Entering the tiny apartment that was literally the size of my kitchen, my eyes scan over the young man who leisurely lays back on the couch and scowls at Mr. Azallion who is looking at his gunshot wound after removing the piece of cloth that tightly encapsulated the injury a moment ago.

"Hello, Roman," I smile at the man who's growing more paler as energy drains from his body. A distinctive pool of blood lays around his right foot that has crimson metallic fluid running down his shin. A lady is passed out in the opposite corner behind us.

"God! You're so much more beautiful in person," Roman manages to grin up at me, his voice not very energetic like it was on the phone. His eyes are drooping slowly, but his charm is still intact.

          "Tell me something I don't know," I wink walking towards him and moving Mr. Azallion out of the way. "Let me." I crouch down and crawl his bloodied pants up to examine the wound a little better. A gaping hole stares back at me, the metallic bullet shining inside between chunks of muscles. "Can you get me some tweezers and alcohol pads if you have those, Mr. Azallion?" I ask, my eyes still looking at the injury. "The bullet is just stuck in your flesh here. It didn't hit your tibia and I'm guessing your pain receptors still haven't been notified yet."

          "You talk doctor really good and that's even more hot," he mindlessly admires me, cocking his head to the side. Jackson laughs behind me along with my other three men in the room.

"Here!" Mr. Azallion hands me the tweezers along with three little packets of alcohol pads. Ripping one packet open, I sterilize the tweezers and glance up at the confused boy staring at my movements closely.

"What are you going to do?" He warily asks me, his brows rising and creasing his sweaty forehead.

"I'm going to remove the bullet before we take you to the hospital because your condition may get worse if it stays in any longer."

          "No, you're not," Mr. Azallion tries to put his foot down, but he should know better.

"Are you a certified doctor?" Roman asks worriedly now, straightening his spine at my statement.

          "Do I look like a doctor?"

          "No, but you look like a sexy nurse though." He winks and smirks smugly, resembling his brother.

          "How charming!" I roll my eyes and hover the tweezers right over the hole in his leg. "I see you take after your brother here."

          "He takes after me." He laughs looking at his older brother.

"I'm going to take it out whether you like it or not. Stay still and you can look away if you want to."

"Oh, hell no!" He yelps, pulling his leg away from my grip. "You're not a doctor."

"Stay still," I grab his leg tightly and maneuver it in front of me, but this idiotic boy keeps moving like a lunatic. A pain in the ass is what he is right now. Damn it! Grabbing his jaw with my free hand, I set it in position and softly kiss him to take his mind off my hand that's currently squeezing the tweezers into his gushy flesh. He doesn't lose the once in a lifetime chance of kissing me back. His lips move against mine, forcing me to pull back when I feel the tweezers rubbing against the bullet.

          "That's enough." I look down at my hand movements. "Shit! Stay still or else the bullet will push deeper into your flesh."

"That. Was. The. Best. Kiss. Of. My. Damn. Life." He screams with the biggest smile on his face.

"Shut the fuck up!" Mr. Azallion hisses at his brother from behind which makes everyone in the room snicker. "Quit moving and let her pull the fucking bullet out."

          As he says that, I firmly clasp the bullet between the two legs of the tweezers and cautiously tug it out without damaging the surrounding tissue. "Wasn't too hard, was it now?" I place the little bullet on the table next to the couch and sanitize the flesh around the bullet hole with a alcohol pad before tying the cloth around it again. "Get him to the hospital now."

          "Who are you people?" A woman's voice attains our attention pulling us to look back. Mr. Azallion's mother stood with shaky hands and a gun in her hands. "Get out of my house. I don't have your money."

          "Mom..."

          "Stay back!" She points the gun at Mr. Azallion before I step forward to calm the drugged woman down. "I don't know you. Stay back." Fretting like a maniac, she waves the gun at all of us unable to decide who to shoot first. "Dije que no tengo tu jodido dinero (I said I don't have your fucking money)."

          "Baja el arma (Put the gun down)," I warn in Spanish, taking tiny steps towards the terrified woman. "No estamos aquí para hacerte daño. (We're not here to hurt you.)"

          "Mom, por favor, colócalo! (Mom, please put it down!)" Mr. Azallion unknowingly helps me out by gaining her attention. I see my chance and leap forward, taking the gun from her grip and punching her right in her face. She falls back unconscious while I fling the gun to one of my men behind me.

          "Sorry, I lied about not hurting her," I shrug and continue. "Take her to the damn rehab already." Sighing and rolling my eyes at the family nuisance, I turn around and look at the gaping boy while his older brother rushed to his good-for-nothing mother's side.

"I think I just fell in love with you. You're so badass!" Roman squealed like a child before passing out on the couch.

"And take him to the hospital right now. Call Ray and tell him I got another patient for his hospital tonight." I order the men and watch them lift the two unconscious bodies towards their distinct destination. Mr. Azallion and I are the only ones left in his apartment now. He lets out a long breath before looking at me.

Yawning from tonight's tiring events, I exit the apartment heading for the stairs. A tatted hand suddenly appears in front of me and halts me from moving any further. Rolling my eyes in frustration, I turn to face him as his towering stature backs me up against the wall while his strong arms encapsulate me, his palms resting against the wall beside my head.

          "You kissed my brother, but you won't kiss me." His brow arches, his head tilting to the side while his eyes hungrily gawk at my lips.

          "You're touching me, Mr. Azallion." I speak, my warm breath tickling his lips that are just an inch away almost tempting me to taste them, but I won't give him that satisfaction.

          "I'm pretty sure I'm not, Ms. Estle." He smiles inhaling my scent and watching my eyes intently. If I'm right, he's currently lost in them, not blinking for even a second.

          Smirking at his admiring gaze, I lightly place my hand on his chest, pulling him out of a trance. His eyes follow my hand that feathers down reaching for his crotch. "Calm your massive boner, Mr. Azallion." I squeeze his package and push him against the wall. "It was touching me." Releasing the man, I strut down the narrow aisle and skip down the stairs.

"I just find it very amusing that you kissed Rome, but you're scared to kiss me." His smug voice echoes behind me as his footsteps thump down the stairs. "Are you scared that you might never get enough of me, cocky woman?"

          Turning around immediately, my hand snakes around his neck, slamming his body to the wall behind him. "Don't make yourself the third man I have to send to the hospital tonight. Watch it." Fuming over his cockiness, I stomp out of the building and head towards my car that Ruiz is keeping guard of.

***

          We arrive at the huge hospital that belongs to Ray Marino, a friend of mine who works under Leo and is also his cousin. Roman is already being treated on one of the criminal floors of the hospital where no police is allowed to enter and where Leo's injured men can be treated without any irrelevant questions or headache of being exposed to any snitches or enemies.

          "He's going to be fine. He needs to rest for a while, but his leg will be sore for days or weeks possibly," Dr. Reynolds informs Mr. Azallion about his brother while I ready myself to go see her on the other criminal floor. My anxious heart races, but I have to see her soon anyways.

"Let's go, Jackson." I start backing away towards the elevator.

"Ms. Estle, can I have a minute?" Mr. Azallion's voice stops me. He runs up in front of me as I motion Jackson to wait by the elevator. He smiles at me through his beautiful blue eyes and steps closer. "Can I have a minute?"

"I'm listening." I cross my arms over my chest, waiting for him to continue.

"I mean I need a minute," he stresses the last word and tips his head towards me. "A minute of the contract vanishing."

"Why?" I narrow my eyes at him as a smirk creeps on my face.

"For God's sake, just agree," he retorts. "I'm not going to touch you inappropriately unless you want me to."

"Thirty seconds," I agree and uncross my arms. "And your time starts now."

A surprised gasp escapes my lips as his arms blanket my waist and lift me off the ground effortlessly. My arms instinctively wrap around him, my face searching for a safe place in the nook of his tatted neck that just smells so fucking good; the type of scent that sends tingles to all the good places. A certain warm sensation starts in the middle of my chest, spreading out like wildfire. This foreign feeling scares me, but it feels so damn good.

Before I know it, I'm placed down on my feet once again. The warmth of his face is snatched away from me, but his hands still rest on my waist. "Thank you so much," he genuinely smiles before placing a tiny kiss right next to my mouth, not quite on it. Unconsciously, I lean into it causing his head to grow bigger. He chuckles and steps back. "Thank you for everything. I owe you a lot. There's a better person hiding under your bitch façade."

"You're a funny little boy, Mr. Azallion." My nail runs along his sharp jawline meeting the wound I inflicted earlier tonight. I smile and kiss that wound. "You should know that the bitchiness is all natural. A façade is what I put on when I try to care about someone." Winking at the man, I turn on my heel and meet Jackson at the elevator.

          "You like him, don't you?" Jackson comments as soon as the doors glide shut and elevates the metallic compartment up.

          "He's different for sure." I admit, clearing my throat. "He actually has the balls to talk back to me and that's very intriguing."

          "I thought so," he sways back and forth before looking at me with a smirk. "If he wasn't different, you would have buried him alive six feet underground for touching you, but that man even kissed you like damn."

          "I honestly don't know what's going on. He's a smart man and really good at working. I think I should change the contract and get myself a new toy." The elevator halts on the floor above and forces us out into the wide hallway.

          "Do whatever you need to do." He suggests, yanking me back by my forearm. "Wait, are you going to see her?"

          "Yeah, it's been a while since I last saw her due to all the work stress and I have a good reason for seeing her. Birthday time." I remove his grip on me and continue to walk towards her room. "She's going to be mad, so I think you should stay back while I talk to her, then we'll go to the rehab to see..."

          "I know who," he interrupts and stops me once again by pulling out a little plastic bag that has a pill in it. "Take your medicine first and then do whatever you want to do."

          "Why do you have my medicine in your damn pocket?" Shaking my head at him, I snatch the pill from his palm and swallow it down instantly.

          "Because you forgot to take it last time. I even have an alarm for it now." He winks before I saunter into her room at the end of the hall.

          My heartbeat is rapid due to the unwanted anxiety of seeing her. This happens every time which is why I hate coming here, but I have a responsibility. She leisurely sits on her bed, her legs crossing in front of her and a book in her hands. Sliding her glasses up over her head, she looks at me, her eyes the same as mine, a light hazel brown under the dim lights in her room. She flashes her best smile at me, patting the side of her bed. Thankfully, she doesn't look mad which is good. Her temper is what I fear for others that have to be with her at all times, but I also adore this woman to death.

          "About time," she arches her brow, cocking her head to the side and studying me. "I've been waiting for you all day so that we can cut the cake together."

          "I'm sorry," I apologize, closing the door behind me and nearing her bed.

          "You should be." She answers curtly and looks at the little cake sitting on the table by her favorite couch. "Get the cake and let's start the party of two. I have to take my medicine after that and you don't want to be here for that, so let's get this over with quickly."

          "Anything you want. I'm always here for you."

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Was this yay or nay?

Who do you think is the girl at the hospital that Athena is visiting and who does she plan on visiting at the rehab too?

You guys like Eros and Athena's relationship so far?

Much love ❤️
~Reet