By the time dinner arrived, Gia was in high spirits. She was chatty around Javan. They talked about everything and nothing in particular. Omri, Alvan, Renzo and Marcello were absent from the table. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood.
"Did something happen?" Gia couldn't help but ask as she watched Sophia and Francesca laugh heartily, talking animatedly. Even the cousins seemed to be more comfortable on the table compared to their stuff movements and awkward conversations.
He looked around and shrugged his shoulders, "No one really tells me anything so I don't know."
"Okay. So what have you been up to lately?" she asked.
"Trying to find out more about him and his involvement with the whole incident. I'm trying to be careful so that I don't tip him off," he replied.
"Why don't we check his office again? Maybe we'll find more there," she suggested.
"For all we know, he could have already incriminated every evidence connecting to the incident. We can't trust everything we see."
"So how will we be able to differentiate what's real and what isn't when we see it?"
"I don't know honestly," he said and put a fork full of lasagna in his mouth. "I want to talk to Alvan about it but I'm not sure if he'll take me seriously. He might listen to you."
"What makes you think he'll listen to you?"
He shrugged his shoulders at her.
"Don't shrug your shoulders at me," she gave him a pointed look.
"He will listen to you, he does. He listens to you more than either of you even realize," he told her like he was stating an obvious fact.
"So how much intel have you gotten so far?" she asked him instead and brushed off the talk about Alvan.
He chewed and swallowed before responding, "Not much. There are only a few people I know that are loyal enough to keep my personal business from my father so my hands are short. That's why we need Alvan but if there's anyone outside the Syndicate and Cobras you can trust, now would be a good time to ask for their help."
Gia looked down at her food thoughtfully, her fork moving listlessly in one corner of the plate, pushing the food around without actually bringing it to her lips. She thought of Mira but she wasn't sure if she could trust her enough to handle something like that. She didn't even completely trust her yet.
"We can't be discussing something like that here," Javan said to her and looked around.
She nodded her head and tried to eat.
Alvan walked into the dining area dressed in a grey two piece suit. The first three buttons of his crisp white shirt were undone, his tie that was stuffed into one of the pockets of his pants peeked from it, the jacket was on his arm and his inky black hair that was slicked backwards was a little out of place. Without a word, he just went straight to sit in his seat.
One of the house staff hurried to set a plate of food in front of him.
He was quiet at the table just like every other day. Halfway through his meal, he stopped eating.
"Come with me," he said to Gia and just left the table.
Gia and Javan exchanged glances and she obliged without putting up a fight. She hurried up the stairs to their room and saw him sitting at the edge of his bed, his face buried in his hands.
A little puzzled, she shut the door behind her and walked towards him. He stood up towering over her. The pads of her thumbs were tracing the dark circles under his eyes before she realized what she was doing.
He leaned into her touch and sighed. He still had his shutters on, that hard look in his eyes that made it impossible to read the emotions behind those icy eyes that reminded her of a stormy sea.
"Do you want something?" she asked softly, studying his face more carefully.
"Can I just hold you?" he asked in a low voice that sent shivers down her spine, causing the tiny hairs all over her body to stand on end as a thrill of excitement mixed with a hint of fear coursed through her veins.
It was a simple statement but it came off to her more intense than it should have. She just nodded her head.
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck, letting her scent and warmth calm his taut muscles. She wrapped her arms around his waist and drew circular patterns on his back with her pointer finger. They stayed that way for as long as he wanted before he finally pulled away.
"Do you feel better?" she asked him.
She had never seen him that way so she was just confused about what to do to help. The only thing she could do was just to be there and just be there for him.
He closed his eyes but he was still standing near her, their body only a few inches apart.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she probed gently. Scared that she would do something that might make him slip back into his shell, she just stayed by his side and waited for him. "I'll prepare a bath for you, maybe it will help in making you feel better," she said after a long silence.
He didn't make any move to stop her, he just watched her walk into the bathroom. He wasn't sure how long he stood there until he saw those blue-grey eyes that drew him in.
"Your bath is ready, there's a pair of pants and a shirt for you in the bathroom. Take as much time as you need," she said.
"Thank you," he said gratefully but stayed rooted to his spot.
She just smiled and tucked behind her ear a few tendrils of her hair that managed to slip from the messy bun she hastily threw her hair in.
"I_ I_," he tried to say something else but he didn't even know where to start from.
"Just have your bath and get some rest. We can talk in the morning. I'm not going anywhere," she told him.
He gave her a tight lipped smile and went to take a bath while she changed into a loose shirt and her pajama shorts. Few minutes later he was out of the bathroom, freshly washed and in more comfortable clothing.
She had dozed off while waiting for him, her hair was still in a bun. She was lying on her side, one of her hands folded under her head. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, so beautiful. She stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes, searching him with her eyes.
His gaze flickered to the bed where she was and to the door.
"I have something to take care of," he said and headed for the door.
She sat up and looked at him with sleepy eyes, "Alvan, you are going to get your ass on this bed, close your eyes and you're going to sleep till morning," her voice surprisingly firm.
A small smile formed on his lips. His eyes slowly assessed the woman on his bed, he liked the bossy Gia and found her extremely hot. "Or else?" he arched a brow at her, his voice having a teasing lilt to it.
"Walk out that door and you'll see for yourself," she responded in the same tone as his.
He chuckled. A deep throaty chuckle that caused butterflies to erupt in her tummy. "I am so fucking scared I might even shit my pants," he said unable to hide his amusement and climbed in bed.
She rolled her eyes at him, "You had better be."
He laid down next to her and pulled her into his arms, she stiffened at first when her back came in contact with his toned form.
"I'm not going to do anything," he said softly, his breath fanning her ears.
"I know," she said and tried to steady her breath. "I just need a moment."
"Do you need space?"
"No," she held his arm so he wouldn't pull away. "It's just my fight or flight instinct," she explained.
"I've held you before," he said.
"It just happens, sometimes. I can't really explain it."
"When did all of this start?" he asked.
"Four years ago. But it's getting better," she was quick to add.
"Mm hmm?"
"Mmm," she nodded her head and adjusted to a more comfortable position so that she could look at him as they spoke. His arm was draped around her waist and her head was on his other arm.
"Have you considered going for therapy to be able to manage it?"
She placed hands on his hard chest and just admired his perfect brows, "Yes but it didn't work out for me so I stopped."
"I'm sorry," he said.
"What for?" her forehead furrowed slightly with confusion.
His hold around her waist tightened, "For everything."
"What happened to you today?"
"Get some sleep," he pressed his lips to her forehead.
She narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing. She closed her eyes and slept almost immediately. He just watched her sleep and slowly drifted off to sleep.
"I don't think my family had anything to do with what happened to Luca," she said out of nowhere. She was half asleep and so not completely conscious.
"I don't know, Gia," was all he said and turned off the lights.