Corrupted Values

Chapter Nine - Lies Revealed

“… Why?” I ask a little shocked by the question.

“I have doctors, nurses, surgeons, cops, and basically anyone you can think of working for us. If you tell me your address, I can send someone out to take a look at him to make sure he’s doing good. Unless you're trained for it?” He asks in an assuming tone. I think about it before giving in and giving him the address.

He hangs up before anything else can be said. I sneak back into the room and leave the phone on the nightstand where I found it. Fifteen minutes later, I’m startled by a knock at the door. I walk over and just before I look through the peephole there's another knock. I look through and see a woman standing on the other side. I open the door a crack.

“Hello.” The woman says with a smile.

“Hi?” I respond, a little confused.

“I was told you were expecting me? My name’s Nina.” She says with a smile, raising what looks to be a medical bag.

“Oh… sure… sorry.” I say as I move out of the way to let her in.

“No worries. Where’s Nico?” She asks, walking past me into the kitchen. Just as I go to close the door, a hand stops it, making me jump. My eyes widen as I realise Marco has come with her. The woman clears her throat, catching my attention again.

“He’s just down this way. I’ll show you.” I say as I start to walk towards my room where Nico is. As I enter the room, I notice Nico’s now awake. He smiles before it fades as the woman and Marco walk in.

“Marco? Nina? What are you guys doing here?” He asks, confused.

“You were shot and thought I wouldn’t come when I found out?” Marco asks with annoyance laced in his voice. Nico sits up and leans against the headboard while crossing his arms.

“Oh don’t act like a child, Nico, and lay down so I can take a look at you.” Nina says with a stern look on her face.

“I’m fine really! Azzy’s been taking care of me. I’ll be back in no time.” He says confidently as he stands, but quickly hunches over hissing out in pain before Nina helps him sit back down on the bed.

“You were saying?” Marco mockingly says, raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms. Nico rolls his eyes before laying down.

“You should be thankful to have a little sister that’ll come help you,” Nina says in an annoyed tone.

“But you didn’t have to, I'm fine.” He says as Nina rolls her eyes while she starts to unwrap Nico and tend to his wound.

“Wait, you guys are siblings?” I ask, realising what Nina said.

“Yeah. Nina here is my little sister. She became a nurse and helps us whenever we need medical assistance.” Nico says, smiling down at her. I smile before I walk out and go sit in the living room knowing he’s in safe hands. Not long later, Marco emerges from the corner of the wall.

“Squeamish around blood?” He asks, leaning against the wall.

“If I was, would I have been taking care of him the last few days?” I say a little too confidently, making his eyes widen in shock at my remark.

“Feisty today, huh?” He says in a ridiculing tone. I roll my eyes before looking at him. I don’t know what it is about him, but I don’t feel like I’m in danger when he’s around and it scares me. A man who I’m sure has killed more people than I could ever count is standing in my living room. Even though his presence is threatening and woven with power, against my better judgement, I can't help but feel safe when he’s around. He comes and sits next to me as I watch his every move.

“You know now, don't you?” He asks in an assuming tone as I look into his eyes contemplating my answer. His eyes are as black as the night sky. Upon first glance, they have a menacing and mysterious look to them, yet deep down there is also pain swimming around in them like the darkest parts of the world are trapped in his eyes.

”Yes.” I answer honestly.

“Are you scared of me?” He asks, searching my eyes. I know I should be. He’s a Caldeiro and my mom’s dead because of him but he doesn't know it’s me hes looking for. Sitting less than a foot away from him is the person I know he’s searching for. Yet I still saved one of his men. I never went to the police. What reason would he have to hurt me at all? I ask myself.

“Should I be?” I ask in a soft whisper, genuinely curious for the answer. He searches my face for a moment before sitting forward again, bringing his right hand up to cup my face. Looking deeply into my eyes, I take a breath but it gets caught in my throat. He brings his thumb down my jaw and brushes it against my plump lips and I can feel my heart skip a beat. Why am I letting this man do this to me? He looks at my lips before speaking.

“No.” He answers before pulling away and bringing his hand with him. My skin immediately missing his warm touch. Suddenly, the door swings open as Remi comes in the front door, stopping in her tracks when she sees us on the couch. We both look at her.

“Oh uhh… Hello?” She says in a confused voice, tilting her head to the right.

“Oh hey Remi.” I say with a nervous smile, glancing at Marco before looking back at her.

“Uhh Marcus what are you doing here?” She asks while she places her keys and bag on the counter.

“Azzy called me. She said Nico got shot so I brought our medic to look him over.” He says in a flat tone unlike how he was a moment ago. Just then, Nina walks out getting all of our attention. I look over to see Remi almost taken aback by Nina, but in a good way?

“Who are you?” Remi asks.

“Hi I’m Nina. I’m a nurse, I just came to look over Nico.” Nina says, smiling at Remi.

“So how's he doing, Nina?” Marco asks.

“He’s doing well for being shot. You’ve helped my brother out a lot, making sure to keep the wound clean and clear of infection. The wound looked like the bullet only grazed him but I actually found it lodged in his hip bone. It fractured his hip but didn’t break it. He’s a lucky bastard. I fixed him up and gave him fresh clothes to change into. I also gave him some morphine for the pain,” Nina says.

“Is there anything on the bullet?” Marco asks. Anything on the bullet? I ask myself.

“Yes, actually an old English S engraved.” She says, handing it to him. He inspects the bullet before nodding for her to leave. She nods and smiles in response.

“It was nice to meet you both,” She says as she makes her way out. Remi looks at Marco and then toward me, wondering if I'm okay with Marco. I smile, letting her know I'm okay alone with him.

"I’m gonna shower.” Remi says, making her way to the bathroom. Marco walks back to me and I look at the bullet. He hands it to me, noticing my curiosity.

“What’s the S for?” I ask as I inspect it.

“It’s the symbol of a mafia family from back in Houston, Texas. We’ve had some problems with them.” He says as he holds it between his thumb and index finger.

“The S stands for Selvera, their family name.” He says and my heart drops. Selvera? As in my family? Could it just be a coincidence? But then how big of a coincidence would it be that they are also from Houston, Texas? Is my family in the mafia world? My mind is running wild with thoughts and before I can stop myself, I find myself asking “Who runs the Selvera Mafia?” I ask before looking up at Marco.

“Sergio Selvera.” He answers in disgust. My breath hitches in my throat as I realise my father is alive and shot at me.

“W-why would they s-shoot at us?” I stutter out, holding back tears.

“He was probably aiming for Nico. We’ve been going after each other for years.” He answers.

“But why?” I ask, looking in his eyes waiting for an answer. His face goes emotionless while he looks down at me.

“I think that's enough questions for today. Get some rest Azzy.” He says before I look at the clock to see it's already eight, but I’m not tired. He turns away but before he can take a step, I grip his arm and get into his path.

“Why are you going after each other? What happened?” I ask firmly, holding both his arms in my grip, looking up at him. Tears threaten to fall but I don’t care. I want to know the truth.

“Azzy let go. It’s late, you need some sleep.” He says, looking down at me. I let out a sigh as I look at the ground and my arms fall from him. He walks around me and out the door. When I hear the door click closed, I fall to the ground letting tears fall as they may. I feel arms tightly wrap around my body but I don’t look up, I just wrap my arms around their neck and cry.

“Are you okay, Azzy? What happened?” Remi’s voice whispers.

“They did it.” I whimper out.

“What do you mean? Who did what?” She asks, pulling away and wiping away my tears before more fall to take their place.

“The Caldeiro Mafia killed my mom.” I cry out. A floorboard creaks behind me.

“You're a Selvera? You're the one we’ve been looking for?” A deep shocked voice asks. I quickly turn to see Nico staring down at me. I feel terror rise in me. How could I forget he’s here? He’s been staying here for days and now he knows who I am. Is he going to kill me?

“Yes.” I squeak out, looking up at him, trying to hold back more tears as I stare at the ground, not wanting to meet his gaze.

“Sergio and Gianna Selvera are your parents?” He asks in a shocked voice. All I can do is nod while I try to hold in my tears. It’s the first time anyone has said her name since she died.

“Please don't kill me! I didn’t know anything, I swear!” I plead while he still stands there shocked. I look down, feeling anxiety rise to my throat. I sit in silence for what feels like forever waiting for him to speak.

“I won’t kill you.” He says, breaking the silence while rubbing his temple.

“You won’t?” I ask looking up at him.

“No. You saved my life, now I owe you one. Plus, if you wanted to kill me you could’ve just left me on the street and not taken time off work to care for me.” He says, leaning against the wall. I let out a breath of relief knowing he won’t hurt me.

“Thank you.” I say breathlessly while softly smiling up at him. He smiles back before he turns and slowly walks back to my room.

“And you know I'd never sell you out, girl,” Remi says with a smile while bringing me back into a hug. I calm down and Remi lets go.

“We should get some sleep.” She says with a smile and I nod.