by Mari Sillva
-But they called us saying you had been shot, Mascot, - Blade said, his face confused.
- Out of nowhere a hooded man appeared on a motorcycle and pointed the gun at me, but Jesse stepped forward so the shot would not hit me. She was shot in my place if she died I would never forgive me. - Started to cry.
- Calm down, son, she'll be fine! - Julius enveloped him in a hug, and he cried with his face hidden in his chest as when he was a child.
-Do not cry, little brother, I brought you a present.
Estevão drew from his long black coat's pocket a lollipop of about a pound in a round shape of several colors, attached to a wooden skewer. He handed it to her and stroked Bobbi's hair still hidden inside Julius's arms.
- And I brought candy bullets. - Li smiled, hoping to cheer him up a bit.
-Stop fucking the boy, I do not want you to be diabetic. - The Mexican was angry. As he fed Bobbi vegetables, the others filled him with candy.
-Where's Maldonado? - Bobbi asked in a tearful voice, he was sobbing.
-You do not have to be too smart to know, son. Let's go home and leave the two alone. Blade will not leave here until she's sure she's okay, -Julius said, his face lit up, he had already realized something Maldonado himself had no idea what was happening to him.
The door to Jesse's bedroom was ajar, Blade could not explain how he got there so fast and how sure she was in that room, and that along the corridor should be twenty or more. He walked in slowly, he was afraid of what he was about to see. His heart throbbed fast and his breath was heavy and gasping, Carter was asleep on a bed with the soft mattress, covered by a white sheet, a large bandage on his shoulder, and his left arm pinned. Her hair was loose in a mess of rebellious curls scattered all over her pillow, some more daring on the face that could be even more delicate at that moment. Her eyes were closed with large, unopened eyelashes that seemed to be much larger than they appeared thick lips curved into a perfect heart shape breath as light as a feather. She looks like an angel even when she is sleeping, naive and delicate.
Maldonado carefully approached the chair next to her bed, but not enough for him. He wanted to be able to watch her as close as possible, not to take her eyes off her. Anyone who tried killing Bobbi to hurt him might want to go back to finish the job, especially now that he knows that only someone very close to them would come in front of a bullet to save one of them. Now she was targeted as well. He wanted her far from unfortunately anyone who was want to kill him to earn the reward would try to use Carter to get to him, alive or dead.
- Blade! - Jesse called softly for him as if she knew he was there.
She rested a little on the bed turning to the side, leaning with her good shoulder, now facing him. If he was not asleep, he would have a beautiful vision of the man who had no more room in him for worrying about her.
-I'm here, little one. - His voice was soft, almost never used that tone to anyone. -For you, for you, - he finished in a whisper.
-I'm scared, do not leave me, - she said in a hushed voice and heavy countenance, perhaps she was having a nightmare.
-I'm not going anywhere without you.
He could not resist, and he took her hand. This time she did not feel reluctant to touch her, instead, she felt something that warmed her heart. Not as if it had been heated by a blanket, but by a volcano erupting.
How can I hate someone who has saved my life and the most important person in the world for me? It's funny to know that my guardian angel is just over five feet tall.
He held her hand for more than two hours, which compared to his seemed like an adult holding a child's. It was delicate, thin and warm. Jesse shifted slightly causing some stubborn curls to cover her face. With his free hand, he removed them carefully, one by one. Again she could not resist and touched the apple of her face fondly which made her smile shyly at the warmth of Blade's touch.
-Mom came over as soon as she heard about the daughter.
Maldonado removed his hand from her face as he heard her desperate mother's voice to see how she was but did not turn to look at her. By chance, a friend of the Carter family, who was visiting her nephew who was hospitalized at the same hospital, saw the paramedics arrive in a hurry with the investigator bleeding a lot on a stretcher, asked one of them what happened and he explained that it was only one shot and that she would be fine soon. Then the friend came in contact to warn her of what happened and to know, the mother flew to the hospital.
As soon as she arrived, she saw that she was safe and that while she slept holding the hand of a man who seemed to care very much about her.
Maria approached without taking her eyes from their hands with their fingers intertwined. She tried to draw in her mind some memory of having seen him before with his daughter only to find none. She watched from the corner of her eyes as he had arranged his considerable height casually in that small chair, which certainly had not been made for someone with his physical stature, his muscles almost exploding under a black leather-styled jacket, but at the same time elegant. The confident and superior posture she did not know him, but she liked him the way he looked at Jesse. Sometimes when the world desires to be desired, a small gesture says it all, even a simple thing like holding someone's hand. She also noted the stark difference between the two, as if one completed the other. Without saying she positioned hermself next to the bed, made a slight affection on the face of the firstborn.
-She looks like an angel sleeping, - Maria said with a wet glint in her eyes.
-Yes, - said Blade. He was not a man of many words, especially when it came to someone he did not know.
- Good night son! I'm Maria José Cart ... -As soon as her mother was about to speak the last name, Jesse woke up in shock and avoided a catastrophe.
- Mom? Oh ... Aiiii ... -she tried to get up, but her injured shoulder complained about the sudden movement.
-You can´t keep moving, my love, it will take a little while to heal completely, baby.
Blade looked at the kind woman in front of her, her sweet voice making her remember her mother.
-Who warned you about what happend ? - was half dizzy, sleepy.
-That does not matter, honey, I came as fast as I could to find you were alone, I was glad to get here and see your friend here taking care of you.
It was then that Jesse realized there was someone else in the room and that someone was holding his hand, fondly. And at that moment she felt special, important to him, even if it was only a little out of gratitude.
-Thank you for being here taking care of me, you did not have to do that.
She looked up at him and took a deep breath, surprised that his hand was still holding hers, Blade's large blue eyes staring at her with an inebriated expression of admiration.
-I thank you for what you have done for Bobbi, and I will always be grateful to have saved my brother's life. -This shot was for him, if you had not gotten ahead him, we could be veiling his body.
He let go of her hand, Jesse nearly screamed for missing that contact.
- I just did my job! -she looked away, the intense way he looked at her made her nervous.
-No! You did mine, taking care of him is my responsibility, not yours, -he growled higher than he wanted.
-Will not you introduce me to your friend, daughter? - Maria Joaquim decided to change the subject, noticed that the weather was getting hot.
- Mom, this is Bla...
- No one in particular. - He cut it. -If you'll excuse me, I need to see how Bobbi is after what happened it was a pleasure to meet you, Maria Joaquim. Thanks again researcher, you are braver than you think.
Jesse was embarrassed, but only a little. Saying this he left, giving them a beautiful view of their beautiful backs.
- Daughter, do you believe that your father suffered an attempted robbery this afternoon, shortly after he arrived from work, came earlier today, showered and as soon as he went to the golf club with his friends? - A hooded man removed his belt from his trousers and struck h
im several times. The funniest thing is in the same places where he hit you that time, Jesse. And the criminal did not even take the money. Fill thinks he must be a member of some gang getting revenge for having arrested their boss. The wounds are raw, can´t even walk. His sister had to stay home to take care of him. Whoever got caught with it sincerely? I found it well done for him to learn, lost were the ones that did not. Maria laughed heartily as she tried to hook up her daughter's hair with blue elastic that she found in the bottom of her purse.
-I can´t believe he did it! - Jesse thought loudly, literally astonished! Not wanting to believe it had been Blade who had done that to her father, but deep down she knew she was.
Mary spent the night with her daughter, taking care of her with the greatest love in the world as she always did. As soon as Jesse woke up, she felt no more pain, she took a shower of her own, needing her mother's help just to wear the hospital clothes, a beige dress opens behind her. Her mother had brought some of her clothes that she still had at home, but she could only wear them when she left the hospital.
After a lot of insistence from the investigator, Maria Joaquim went home to take a shower and eat something, take a look at the major and then return with Mainara who was crazy to see how her sister was in person.
In this interval, she had four very entertaining visits that made her laugh a lot, Julius, Estevão, Li, and Bobbi. They carried flowers, colored gas balloons and a box of French chocolates. She loved every minute, just missed Blade. She wanted him to come, to hold her hand again, but she believed it would never happen. As they left, to their surprise, the doctor passed by and said that he was already discharged and could go home. With great difficulty she managed to dress in her mother's clothes, she asked the receptionist - who opted for a less aggressive makeup this morning, sometimes a reality tea is a holy remedy - to tell her mother that she had gone home. As soon as Carter arrived in the street where she lived, she noticed a certain difference in her building, only the floor of her apartment had been renovated, was painted a dark brown, in a very beautiful tone. Where once there was only one window, now there were a lot of windows with grilles from top to bottom with shutters hanging from the inside.
-At least the outside is not so bad anymore. - She smiled in satisfaction. When she felt herself being watched, she decided to squeeze the steps and enter the building. As he passed the corridor, he noticed that the walls were painted white and a plaque of "Rent up" stood out on the door of the neighbor. She felt relieved, afraid of it. The surprise was when she arrived at her door that now was of pure steel. Shee looked under the rug and the key of the same material was there with a note that read:
Do not store your keys here anymore, it can be dangerous.
- My God!!! -Jesse screamed.
The apartment had also been renovated or rather it seemed to have been rebuilt. The walls were very well painted in pale blue, all furnished with the best on the market. Walls were built to divide the rooms and now she had a room with a suite and that suite! Entitled to a large shower and a bathtub with her toiletries housed in the same place that was in the old cabinet over the old sink a huge double bed with a thick mattress, who bought thought of his well-being also when he chose it... In the living room, two purple-black sofas of different sizes, an ivory rug in front of them and an eighty-inch plasma television on the wall. The best part was when he entered the kitchen, it was all stainless, everyone's dream. Small and comfortable like everything in the apartment. The cupboard was white and filled the entire length of the wall, a large sink with a microwave over it, a large refrigerator packed with food that could feed ten people for a week, the cupboards were also packed with groceries. A four-burner stove, instead of a table, a dark granite counter with two high stools, one on each side of it. Translating, it was all good and best.
Without understanding all that, she went to the owner of the building on the top floor, who told her that her apartment had been sold and that she was not authorized to tell whom. He had everything reformed in one day and furnished everything. He asked to tell the resident not to worry, because nothing would be included in the rent, and that he could live there without paying anything on the condition of just taking good care of the apartment. But Jesse made it clear he would never accept that! Who was? She wanted to get in touch with the new owner and ask for an account number to which she could deposit the money, she was too honest to live at the expense of others. For her, to be poor was not a defect, but to take advantage of the goodness of others, yes. Then he came home amazed, did not know what to think, had only one suspect, but soon dismissed the possibility. Blade would never do that for her, it was too absurd a great goodness to come from someone cold like him. She preferred to believe that there were still other good people in the world and that she would find out who did it for her and thank her in person. Taking a more detailed tour of the new house, which looked like a doll, sporting even an electric heater, the cold nights were over, she realized that all his personal belongings were intact, but only one thing was missing.
Where is the music box go? Now I can no longer deliver it to the real owner, Jesse thought sadly, not knowing that it had been in his hands for a long time.
Chapter 12
Maldonado rolled back and forth on the bed without being able to sleep he had a damn thing, or certain a person, that did not leave his head at all. That night and the next to come, the four "brothers" decided to watch Bobbi full time. They wanted the young man to feel secure in their company, be sure that they would not let anyone harm him in any way. They gave a good scolding at the younger brother and increased the punishment indefinitely was only allowed to leave home with one of them and would not use the cell again so early to learn not to disobey them again.
Li, however, went to Bobbi's room in secret and gave him a new-generation gadget. Since he could not leave, he would have at least something to distract himself. The young man had heard the sermons of the brothers in silent, with their heads bowed, staring at the ground. Even though they were a bit "exaggerated" about their concern for him, he knew it was for their own good, and even though, in an unusual way, he was sure that the situation was more serious than they let it show. In fact, for the dangerous criminals they were, they had done a good job of creating the young man, who was gifted with extreme education, a newly formed lawyer, passing the first test, above the genius Maxmilian Thompson, who satisfied with the second position even more because the former was his best friend. Even though it grew, it would always be their "Mascot" and would give their lives to protect it and keep it safe this was always a priority even if the enemy was just a grippe or a cold night. Bobbi had not even had time to miss a mother because they filled any gap in the family matter, they were protective beyond consideration.
In the morning, Blade stared out the window at her family's visit to the hospital, when the first caller was called "No" right away. The day dragged by when they come back nobody bothered to speak a word about such a visit, instead, they paid attention to the game of chess in the office. Only Stephen came out saying he had an important subject to solve.
-Are you going out, Blade? - Asked Julius with a smirk on his face, he had gone to the kitchen to drink water when he saw Maldonado all dressed up, holding the car key but not the Impala. He decided to give it a night off since there were many who had never made it yet.
-I'm going, do not wait for me. -He passed the Mexican shot.
-Send a kiss to Jesse.
Blade paused in the doorway as soon as he heard the name he had been avoiding thinking all day, to no avail. The way his back swelled was nervous.
-And who said I'm going to see her with so many other important and fun things to do in Los Angeles? - He turned his head back, annoyed at the direction of the conversation.
-What we do not have the courage to say, our face reveals. - Julius winked at his side, took the glass of water to his mouth, and walked toward the office, where there were laughs of Li and Bobbi, animated by the old game
of chess.
Blade drove off "three hundred miles an hour" feeling the wind slap at his face nor did he know where he was going. He passed several casinos, was sung by several beautiful women, who did not please him. He drank a little, looking at everything around him, a scene that held him until late into the night, but now it was simply so unfunny. He paid for what he had consumed in the bar and was discouraged with emptiness in his chest. When Maldonado found out he had already driven his black BMW into the most dangerous neighborhood of the city, in front of the building of the most innocent person he had ever known.
Jesse's mother and sister took the day off to begrudging the girl. They were impressed with the renovation that the new owner of the apartment did, they found strange, but they did not say anything as it would be for the comfort of the resident. They made homemade cookies for the debut of the new stove, the investigator's favorites, and spent the rest of the day laughing and talking about day-to-day platitudes. They left already late.
Soon someone knocked on the door. Carter who was dressed in a sweater that looked more like a windbreaker, rose up lazily to open the door. A tearful Nayla practically jumped on her neck in tears, totally disheveled, her clothes all disheveled and with no trace of makeup on her face. When Jesse looked at her friend's foot and saw a pair of old slippers and not the usual killer needle heel, she realized that the matter was really serious.
-I was so worried when I heard you were shot, my friend, I came as fast as I could, - Nayla said in a pitiable, heart-breaking voice.
-Do not worry, Nay, I'm fine. The shot was just scratched, I'll be ready for another soon enough, -she joked.
-Do not joke about it, Jesse. -Her friend raged.
-But this sadness is not just concern for me, I know. -she pulled her inside and closed the door behind her, placing her seated on the dark purple couch of the living room.