Mara pov
I struggled with him all the way to the service elevator. step was difficult. I could feel his warm blood soaking into my clothes. My heart was breaking. I hated this man, but I couldn't watch him die. Not like this. My fingers were trembling, and my feet turned cold inside my boot. But yet I struggled to to carry him out of the elevator.
We made it to the SUV. The driver helped me pull him into the back seat. I sat there, holding his head in my lap, pressing my hands against the wound.
"Don't die," I whispered, tears finally blurring my vision. "Please, don't die." The words slipped out of my mouth, and I hated it. I don't blame myself for caring, the scenario reminded me of my dad and how helpless the young me was at that time. "I couldn't do anything." The thought of this echoed in my head.
Looking at the man in front of me,I hate him so much, but to be frank I would be traumatized seeing someone die in front of me.
The car stopped a few blocks away in a dark alley. Lorenzo suddenly sat up. He didn't groan. He didn't stumble.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a plastic pouch filled with red liquid. He tossed it at my feet.
"Stop the crying," he said. His voice was perfectly normal. Cold. Dry.
I froze. I looked at the pouch, then at his side. There was no hole in his shirt. There was no wound.
"You... you're okay?" I stammered.
"I'm fine," he said. He pulled off his mask, revealing his sharp, handsome face. He looked at me with total disgust. "But you? You're a disappointment."
I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. "A disappointment? I just tried to save your life! I thought you were dying!"
"That's the problem," he said, leaning in. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You had a loaded gun on the floor. You had a dying man who has been ruining your life. You had every reason to run, to call the cops, or to let me bleed out. But you stayed to play nurse."
He let go of me like I was something dirty. "You're emotional, Mara. You're weak. I want a partner who is cold, someone I could use. But you? You're just a girl who follows her heart. That makes you a liability."
I felt a slap of shame, followed by a roar of anger. "I'm a human being, Lorenzo! I stayed because I have a soul! Does that word even mean anything to you?"
"It means you're easy to kill," he said. "You failed the test. I wanted to see if you had the guts. You don't."
Staring at him, I realized it all made sense now—the gunshots, the attackers, even the bleeding. None of it was real. His men had acted every part. The danger had only existed in my head, and he had watched to see how I would react
"Everything was fake, right?…Nobody was hurt."
"If the blood was fake, he faced me, lifting my chin with his fingers. "What made you think I would kill my men for you?" his voice held a small mocking laugh.
"You don't have a heart, pulling my face away. "So yes, I expected the worst from you."
He rested his arm at the SUV door, his eyes scanning through the empty alley. "But since I already paid for your sister's life, I'm going to use you anyway. He sighed, "Just don't expect me to trust you. From now on, you're just a tool. And tools don't get to have feelings." He leaned over to my face.
He eyes locked at mine for a while. And gently he used his fingers to clean my eyes and I felt my heart skip but at the same time I felt rage so I shoved it away.
"I don't need your sympathy," I said, wiping my teary eyes.
"Last time I checked, your opinion wasn't required." He pulled my face and wipe off the tears on my cheek with his Palm.