The Twelve Zenati Pt. 16

"We were always going to help you, dumb-ass," Xavier chuckled. "That was a given."

"The puzzle master over there was just trying to work out all the logistics and ways to improve your plan," Dominic said stiltedly, teasing his brother. Twenty-four hours after the surgery and Dominic was recovering quickly. He was still unbalanced on his feet, but he was able to get up and walk to the bathroom with assistance, and his speech patterns were improving. The fact that Noah and Xavier had included him in this conversation went a long way to feed his determination to get out of hospital and back into his daily life as soon as possible. The tumour had been small and non-aggressive, and his prognosis was good. There was no reason that he couldn't step back into his role within the family as soon as he felt up to it. That would allow Noah the freedom he needed to pursue this woman, in what had to be the only approach that had a chance of success.

"Thanks." Noah sighed with relief and shook his head. "You couldn't have just said that earlier, instead of continuing to pull the plan apart?"

"You have to pull things apart and put them back together to see how they work, and if improvements can be made," Xavier waved his hands. "Go do your thing before she realises we've found her and I'll take care of the rest. Papa is in the hospital, Dom can get him here in less than a minute. I reckon that by the time you get to StarCity you won't even see a hint of the watchers."

"Not fully gone, just pared down and pulled right back," he confirmed.

"Trust us, we got you, Noah." Dominic landed a large paw on his shoulder and squeezed. "Just like you've always had our backs."

"Thanks," he said and stood. "Gonna go do my thing then." He chuckled nervously and caught himself. He didn't get nervous. He always knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it, and that allowed him to have supreme confidence in everything he did. Except when it came to this reckless, unpredictable woman. He strode purposely down the hall, making himself keep his pace even and slow. Not that he was walking slowly, but it felt slow when he wanted to break into a jog, or even a run, to get to his car and start his preparations.

Noah thought about what he would need, as he continued this slow pace to elevator and down through the car park. He had stops to make first, but they should only take a few extra minutes. He gunned the engine of his car and squealed out of the car park, with a feeling of satisfaction at the sound. He had a plan and it was going to work, or he would kill himself trying.

Thanks to a call from Xavier, by the time he got to their Table's base of operations Quinto had started gathering all the things that he might need for Noah to choose from, and gave quick explanations for each. He considered each and knew that he would need to make extra stops to those he had planned, but to make this work the way he wanted, he didn't really have a choice.

It took him almost two hours to gather everything he needed, go home, change and pack a bag, and then make his way to StarCity. Pulling into the valet parking, he grabbed his duffle bag from the boot, leaving his other luggage behind as he handed over his keys. Like Marcella's alias, Stevie West, Noah had disguised himself in casual touristy clothes and sunglasses. He chuckled, wondering if the lack of a suit would make him seem as different to her as she had to him, when he had seen her on the camera.

"Mr Valente is waiting for you at the concierge desk, Mr North," the valet said respectfully, and then disappeared into the car and drove away, before Noah could respond. His mouth curved into a slight smile. Xavier had been as busy as he had been, it seemed. It was strange, he thought, walking through the big doors, that it was not his brothers who had set all of this up for him, but they had their own issues to deal with where Marcella was concerned, and would have wanted to be more involved, rather than allowing him the space to do what he needed. Guilt needled at him for a moment, but he strengthened his resolve to try to make this idiotic plan work and approached the concierge desk.

"Ah, Mr North, so good to have you with us at last. We have your room, which adjoins that of your fiancé, all ready for you. The reservation and booking have all been taken care of by our mutual friend. If you would like to follow me, I will show you the way. Miss West is resting in her room this afternoon, should you be looking for her.

"Thank you, Mr Valente. Your hospitality is most appreciated," Noah said. as equally formally as the concierge.

Glancing down at the small envelope-like card he had been given, Noah flipped it open with his thumb and noted the key to his room, and the one beside it, and allowed another ghost of a smile to curl his lip. So far so good. He stole himself against what he would now have to do, and the fight that was coming his way. As he opened the door to his room, the concierge showed him around, making sure that he pointed out the adjoining door and how to unlock it, explaining that it would need to be unlocked on both sides for him to access the room that way. He also explained several other specific features of the room, with a grin, before wishing him well.

During the quick tour, the adjoining door had been silently unlocked, so that it would only take him unlocking it from the other side to be able to access the things that he had no doubt he would need. Still, he hoped he wouldn't need anything to convince her to work with him, not against him, this time. No time like the present, he thought, and, placing a few items in the large pockets low on his cargo shorts, he stepped out of his room and walked the half a dozen steps to Marcella's room. Bracing himself, he took a deep breath, and using his key, he swiped and quickly opened the door, stepping into the room and leaning back against it to make sure it closed. Her head swung around from where she had been reading on the couch and her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Hello, Stevie," he purred in a deep voice, then grinned, and realising that she was momentarily frozen in shock or fear, he approached her. Her deer-in-headlights moment was just that, a moment, and she was up and running toward the balcony, not bothering to say a word. He had guessed this move, and he cut her off, gathering her in his arms with her back to his chest. "Not even a hello when I've gone to so much trouble to find you and make sure that you're safe?" he asked. It was the truth, but for some reason, he couldn't help the teasing tone in his voice.

"Let me go, Noah!" she hissed, and when his arms tightened at her continuing flailing, she spoke again. "Why are you here? What do you want from me?" she spat, still struggling against him, albeit only a token gesture, once she realised that he was not letting go and was far too strong for her to win in a physical battle against him.

"I needed to know you're safe and well," he said calmly. "You left the hospital with a severe concussion on a hot and humid day. I was concerned that you might not be looking after yourself properly. Have you been drinking enough water, Stevie?" The concern in his voice was real as he spoke quietly into her ear and breathed in the scent of skin and hair. "By the way, I like the new look you have. Are you planning on keeping it? It takes years off your age. Did they card you when you booked a room, Stevie?"

"I can look after myself," Marcella spat. "You can stop calling me Stevie. How did you find me?" She sounded resigned now, as she accepted that she had been found, even with her full alias package in play.

"By chance, actually. I was looking for someone else when I saw you here. I almost didn't recognise you. This is quite the disguise. I think I could like getting to know Stevie better," he chuckled, and audibly breathed her in. It wasn't a lie. They had been looking for Stevie West, they just didn't know it was Marcella. "I'm sure that every other red-blooded male who saw you by the pool today thought the same thing," he teased.

"Who else is here?" she asked, and he noticed that her voice had turned breathy. He was unsure if she was trying to play him, though.

"No one. We tried to do the right thing and look after you, keep you safe. Anthony banished Apollo and sent the Battaglia men packing. Did you know that? No, because you didn't bother to stick around to find out that you can trust us to look after the people we care about." His voice deepened to a growl, despite himself. He didn't want to do this yet. He didn't want to have this fight so soon, but his rage bubbled up in him. "We aren't the enemy here Marcella. we never have been."

"So, what do you want then?" She tried to gently wriggle from the arms that banded around her body, holding her tightly against his hard body.

"I want to talk to you, and I want you to listen for a change. No one else is coming, no one knows I am here. I told them that I needed to take off for the afternoon, after the drama last night and searching for you all morning. They don't know I found you. They are all looking outside of the city and covering the transport routes," he lied easily. It was his first real lie to her. It was a necessary lie, but he didn't like doing it. "I'm afraid finding you has become a high priority because of the involvement from other Tables in your accident."

"Who were you looking for, here?" she asked, and when he stayed silent, she prodded. "When you found me, you said you were looking for someone else."

"Someone who could help me with something I need to get done, it's a personal matter," Noah said evasively. He had been prepared for this and had an answer for her, but he wasn't sure he wanted to lie any more than he already had. That would defeat his whole purpose for his plan to get her to trust him. "Will you stop trying to run for a few minutes and talk to me, or do I need to tie you to a chair to make that happen?" he asked.

"Do I have a choice?" she hissed, though she sounded calmer to him than she had been moments ago.

"Yes, we can sit comfortably on the couch and talk like reasonable people, or I can tie you to a chair and talk until you have heard me properly, instead of assuming that you know me and what I want," he grumbled, close to her ear.

"Fine, I'll talk," she practically barked at him abruptly and tilted her head away from his mouth, his warm breath and crooning soft voice confusing her as she squirmed for freedom in his arms again. "Just put me down. I don't have anywhere else to go now, anyway."

Noah relaxed his arms, running his hands down her arms until he captured one wrist, still not entirely trusting her. Then he pulled her toward the couch and sat, not letting go of her wrist, even when she tried to pull it from his grasp.

"I think we need to build trust, don't you?" he asked, tightening his grip on her wrist as she yanked it away, trying to dislodge his hold on her. "The offer to tie you to a chair still stands, if you dislike my touch so much." He smirked at her.

"I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? Having me all tied up and at your mercy." The anger in her voice had dissipated, and she looked up at him with hooded eyes as her voice turned into a husky purr. "I bet you'd like to punish me for running away, too. Tell me, Noah, what's your weapon of choice?" she purred, moving closer while using the hypnotically sexy voice. "Do you like to tie women up and use a crop or cane? Or are you more of flogger and whip man? Do you make them call you Master while you punish them for their crimes?" Her lips were just centimetres from his now. He was more than a little aroused by her display, and he considered letting her kiss him briefly, but instead chuckled, making her blink those hooded eyes wide as she stared in disbelief at him.

"Sounds like that's what you want, Stevie," he continued to chuckle. His grip tightened around her wrist until he saw her wince. "But you will have to do better than that to distract me. I just want to talk to you and make you an offer. Whether you take it or not is up to you, but at this point, it is probably the best offer that you will get from someone who is in a position to help you deal with the problems you are facing.

"Fine, talk." She threw herself back into the couch petulantly, making him chuckle all the more. He really did like this Stevie persona she had going on.

"Okay, then here's how I see it and you can correct me if I am wrong," he began. "You don't want to go back to Perth yet for two reasons. First, you haven't finished what you set out to do for Olivia and secondly, because, in order to come up here and receive our goodwill to help your sister, you had to reclaim your family name, and everything that came along with it, including Apollo Martino. That's why you asked me to pretend to be dating you in the beginning, so your father wouldn't tell him you had taken your name back. True?" He paused so she could argue the facts if she wanted.

"Close enough." She waved her hand, as if she didn't care that he understood her motivations. Then, to Noah's surprise, she began to talk and explain a few things. "Although I had concerns about my mother, and what my father might do to her if I didn't do as he asked and come home after identifying Olivia as a fraud." She added in a resigned voice. "I didn't even consider Apollo. We'd moved on, or so I thought. We still saw each other on our birthdays, or at least spoke, but that's it. We were friends who had shared a close bond once. He doesn't want to marry me. It was probably just some weird alpha-male way of trying to protect me."

"I think you're wrong about that, but while you stay in Darwin, you won't have to deal with him," Noah said. "Anthony has banished him, and he will face a panel at the Battaglia with the evidence we sent them. You may not believe that he would hurt you, but from the other witness statements, not just Val and Fab, he looked angry, and he threw your arm up as he let it go, pushing you further than you might have gone otherwise."

"I guess that could have happened," she said. "I never believed Apollo would just straight up push me in front of a car, but an accident like that, where he didn't mean to do it, or even realise how far I would stumble," she shrugged. "Maybe, but it was an accident. I still don't believe he did it on purpose, no matter what else he did to get banished." She didn't believe he would be banished for accidentally pushing her.

"Okay, back to the first reason you're here. Olivia. I know you well enough now to realise you stayed in the city because you have something going on and you need to be here. You're biding your time until you can pull it off, and had hoped to hide out here for a few days. True?" He paused again to let her speak, hoping she would continue to be as open with him as she had been about Apollo.

"Why do you even care what I do? Why can't you just leave me alone and let me do what I have to do for my sister?" She reefed her hand from his grip, and he quickly captured the other wrist, pulling her closer, so that she tumbled into his lap, looking furious and ready to fight like a wild cat. He grabbed the other wrist, holding her arms by her sides, before she could hit him.

"Well, that answers that question," he said. "But I need you to listen to me. I haven't even made my offer yet!" He tried to keep his voice calm, but it was hard with her struggling against him and looking and smelling as unbelievably sexy as she did right then. How had he gone so long without touching her? How had he turned her down that first night, when she had offered more?"

He couldn't get her to stop fighting him, and it became harder and harder to control his own impulses. In the end, he leaned over her and kissed her, brutally mashing his lips against hers. She stilled her movements, stunned by the force with which he kissed her. Feeling her soften against him, Noah took that moment to let go of one of her wrists and stroke her jaw while he ran the tip of his tongue over the seam of her lips, trying to coax them apart. Noah felt Marcella tense as her senses came back to her, and he sat back up, regathering her free wrist in his hand.

"Are you ready to listen to me now, or should I get the chair?" he asked with a smile. Then Marcella did something completely unexpected. She sat up and kissed him back, this time deepening the kiss on her terms. Noah retained his grip on her wrists, pulling them behind her back so her body melded flush against his as she kissed him. "Fuck!" he whispered as she leaned back, breaking the kiss.

"Not yet, finish what you need to say to me, and then we'll see," she said haughtily with a smug grin, flexing her wrists to test his grip on her, and his determination to have this conversation. "Maybe it's you who will be tied to a chair," she challenged, fully prepared to use any means to get what she wanted from this conversation.

"Let the games begin," he chuckled.

*****