315 Aftermath
“You had one task!” Desmond hissed, grabbing Zeus by the collar, seconds away from ripping his head off his neck.
“My mother was in danger. Unlike you, I care about mine.” He growled. Besides, Zaria was safe with everyone downstairs. He didn’t think anyone would think to come up here, especially since no one knew where she was. No one except Nathaniel, apparently.
“Guys,” Zaria put a hand on Desmond’s shoulder to stop them from going ballistic on each other. It was no use. Not when the people making them rage were all dead anyway.
“What’s the situation downstairs?” Desmond asked, not wanting to suggest they go over unless they were certain.
“Gabriel and Nathaniel are gone, as well as their people. Some of ours are injured but…”
“Is dad okay? And mom and Ximena, and…”
“Everyone is okay, Zaria.” Zeus assured her. “No one is gravely injured. Except Liam, that is.”
That meant Ximena and Natalie were not okay. She looked up at Desmond. “Can I go?”
He nodded. “We need to get out of here anyway. We can’t risk someone finding out what happened and coming after us.”
.....
Downstairs, everyone was frantic. Lucy nudged at the static Natalie. “We have to leave.”
She nodded and looked upstairs.
“Zaria will be okay. Des and Zeus are up there with her. Ximena, let’s go.”
She didn’t budge. She was pressing on Liam’s wound. The bullet had shot through him, leaving his blood gushing out in spurts.
“He is losing so much blood,” she cried. “I know how to do a transfusion. What’s your blood type?” She asked.
“I called a doctor, he will join us on the way.” Lucy assured her. “Let’s get him to the car.”
Zeus’s taste in huge cars finally came to good use. The backseat was big enough for Ximena and the doctor to fit without squashing the injured Liam between them. Zeus drove while Lucy sat in the shotgun, and the others took Desmond’s car.
In the backseat, Ximena was on edge as soon as the first drop of blood entered Liam’s veins.
“Why is he still not moving?”
“It takes a while. Hold onto him, I’ll stitch him up,” Instructed the doctor.
By the time he was done, Liam was yet to move. This time, Ximena couldn’t hold still.
“Wake up!” She nudged at his cheek.
“Miss…”
She interrupted the doctor. “I’m not talking to you.” She hissed, realizing she was taking it out on an innocent man and apologised, then looked down at Liam’s closed eyes. “You have a billion promises you have yet to fulfill to me. Don’t you dare think you can evade them.”
He didn’t move an inch.
She was furious. “If you dare leave me, I will bring a different man to your grave every day to see you. I’ll make a harem of a dozen lovers!”
Lucy sighed while Zeus burst into laughter even though it was not supposed to be funny. This was going to be a long ride.
______
Since they didn’t want to have to answer a gazillion questions that could land them in trouble, Liam was not taken to hospital but instead, he was taken to his villa where the doctor would keep a close eye on him.
“Will he be alright?” Zaria asked worriedly when the doctor put him in an induced coma.
“Don’t worry, he bled a lot but he will be fine now, after the transfusion.” He assured her, then asked, “Were you injured?”
It took a moment for her to understand why he was asking. Desmond had insisted on her getting checked up even though she had not been in the scene.
“He’s worrying too much. On the other hand, you need to check on his shoulder.”
She was not done speaking yet when Desmond reappeared, his shoulder bandaged. “I helped myself to Liam’s first-aid kit.”
“How do you bandage your own shoulder?” She wondered aloud, then shook her head. “Never mind. Check on him either way. As well as the others.”
Although she didn’t think there was any need, everyone insisted on her getting checked so she did just to be cautious. When she was done, she left the room to wait for Lucy and Desmond and got to the living room just in time to witness yet another hostile interaction between Ximena and Natalie.
“Girls, I thought you had come to some kind of truce.” She groaned in defeat. These two would send her to an early grave with all their bickering.
“I wanted to put the past behind us, trust me. Until the attack. I have so many questions.” Ximena snapped.
It didn’t take a genius to know what she was implying. She was accusing Natalie of being the cause for their failed plan.
“Hear me out,” she grabbed Zaria’s hand before the latter could defend Natalie. “Don’t you find it strange that Nathaniel knew so much? He knew the bride was a decoy for long enough to turn her against us. Not to mention, he knew right where to find you!”
“Because Nathaniel is a scumbag. Heaven knows who he put a tracker on!” Natalie snapped.
“Oh yeah? Okay, let’s pretend I believe that. How did you know Ciara was going to shoot Liam?”
Natalie hissed through gritted teeth. “I didn’t know. I acted on instinct and said instinct saved your man’s life. If that’s how you are going to show your appreciation…”
“Appreciation? You tried to kill everyone you pretend to care about!”
“Xim!” Zaria pulled her aside. “That’s way out of line.”
“She’s right.” Natalie crossed her arms. “You don’t trust me, I get that. But accusing me of such heinous acts without evidence?” She took a step closer to ximena so they were eye to eye. “Who is to say you weren’t Nathaniel’s secret weapon? Maybe you are only pretending to be Zaria’s friend when deep down, you are jealous of her. She has many things that you don’t, right?
Let’s see. A perfect family, good luck in business, your first crush fell in love with her first, and so did Liam. You don’t harbor a grudge, do you?”
“Enough!” Zaria glared at Natalie, then at Ximena. “One more word about your lack of trust for each other and I’m cutting you both out of my life. We have a lot going on and no time to point baseless fingers at each other so will the two of you fucking grow up?”
She wanted to make Natalie apologize for poking at some of Ximena’s deepest scars but the latter disentangled her arm and made a beeline for Liam’s room.
She debated following her and decided it was best if she had a moment to herself to calm down. Besides, something else had caught her attention. How did Natalie know so much about Ximena? She was certain that not even Desmond knew such specific details.
That, and the fact that she had pointed out things that even Zaria herself didn’t know. Well, they did have crushes in their younger years but apart from celebrity crushes, Ximena never talked about guys she was interested in, let alone ones that were in love with Zaria.
Her gaze darkened. The only one she could think about was Ryan, but how the hell would Natalie know that?
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