I. Nicolette
After a long shift at the hospital, there's nothing I want more than a hot bath and a glass of wine. Unlocking the door to my temporary home, I let out a sigh of relief. My relief quickly turned to confusion when I noticed a shadow at my back door and dark liquid pooling beneath the door. I closed the door behind me and threw my phone and keys on the table nearby before rushing to the shadow.
I opened the door a little and peeked out, seeing a tall, muscular male resting against the door. I quickly looked him over to find the source of his blood loss. His bronze skin was littered with scars. He had fresh bullet wounds in his arms. With the amount of blood he lost, he needed immediate attention. I swung the door open and caught him before his head hit the ground. Carefully, I turned him over, looking for exit wounds; I found none.
John Doe looks around 25 with 4 GSW's; 2 in each arm. He's lost a lot of blood. My vacation's going to have to wait, I thought to myself as I half-dragged, half-carried him to the couch in the living room. I laid him down and rushed to the closest bathroom, grabbing tweezers, gauze, bandages, and alcohol. Quickly, I sterilized the tweezers and went back to the living room.
I placed the materials on the nearby coffee table and kneeled before the handsome stranger. Working in multiple trauma wards around the country, I'm able to easily handle situations like this. With my body on autopilot, I scrutinized the stranger. Thanks to his short sleeve, form-fitting, black shirt, I could tell he was ripped; he had scars on both arms, most likely stab wounds or more gunshot wounds. His curly black har was messy; I had to resist the urge to fix it.
Even though he wasn't awake, I felt there was something different about him. An aura of power, darkness, and danger surrounded him. Instead of being terrified of him, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I shook my head, expelling those thoughts as I finished treating him and cleaned the excess blood off him.
Getting up, I grabbed the extra supplies and put them back in the bathroom and stopped in the kitchen, resting my hands on the sink and leaning over it. I seriously needed a break. I was beyond tired. I loved my job and helping people, but it comes at a price. Pouring a glass of water, I leaned against the counter, facing the living room to keep an eye on the stranger, and sipped it, losing myself in my thoughts and plans for a well-deserved break.
Once I finished my drink, I set the glass down, knowing I would probably get another drink, something stronger, later on, and walked back over to the stranger. I checked to make sure he was no longer losing blood before checking his pulse. Pressing 2 fingers to his wrist, I was glad to feel a strong heartbeat. Before I could retract my hand, he grasped my hand tightly and opened his eyes. I gasped in shock as my chocolate brown eyes met his cold gunmetal grey eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked, tightening his grip on my wrist. My heart was racing, but on the outside I was calm.
"My name is Nicolette. I'm a nurse at the local hospital. I found you leaning against my back door with 4 gunshot wounds. What is your name? Do you remember how you got here?" I said calmly. The stranger released my wrist from his grasp and furrowed his eyebrows, sitting up. Recognition flickered in his eyes and he looked down at his arms.
"Xavier. Thank you," he said, his gaze softening slightly. I tilted my head before blurting, "Why this house?" I have a habit of not thinking about what I say before I say it. Note to self: Work on filter, I thought to myself.
"Pardon?" he inquired. I shook my head. "Never mind. I assume you have people looking for you," I remarked, grabbing my phone. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion as I unlocked my phone. Handing it to him, I said, "Call whoever you need to."
After giving him my phone, I walked away to give him some privacy and to clean the blood that still sat at my back door. When I was finished, I disposed of any waste and washed my hands. Feeling the curious gaze of the stranger, I turned to him, raising an eyebrow.
"You're curious. What's on your mind?" I asked him, crossing my arms.
"You're not afraid of me. Why?" he questioned. I shrugged, "Why should I? I don't know you and you haven't given me a reason to be afraid." He smirked, getting up and walking towards me, as if his wounds were nothing but a scratch.
"I am a dangerous man, tesoro," he said, tucking a lock of my shoulder-length curly black hair behind my ear. My breath hitched; my heart pounding in my chest. Why did I feel like this around him? Who was he to make me feel this way? Is it fear or desire? My thoughts were haywire. I couldn't think with him this close. "You should fear me."
"And if I don't?" I asked breathlessly. He only chuckled in response before backing away from me and walking out the door.
I looked at the door with disbelief. The man really walked out like he owned the place and didn't have any injuries. I couldn't believe it, but I knew it wasn't a dream. I kept looking at the door, expecting him to march in at any moment. I shook my head, dismissing any hopeful thoughts about the handsome man returning.
Sighing, I locked the doors before running a bath. I refilled my drink, lit some candles, and put on some music before sinking into the hot water. My muscles relaxed and the built-up tension was released. Today was a day like no other. From patients with life-threatening injuries to needle-fearing patients who needed stitches, I treated them all, even though I was supposed to be on vacation. I love what I do, but sometimes, I need a break from it all.
I cleared my mind, sinking deeper into the water. Or at least, I tried to. I couldn't get off my mind. So many questions and theories ran through my mind. Clearly, he was an important person, but how important was the question. Was he a CEO or something like it? How did he get here? Why was he shot? Why did he walk out like nothing happened?
My thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing loudly. I huffed, giving up on relaxing. Putting it on speaker, a smile graced my face.
"Hey, Jaz," I greeted my friend, Jazmine. Though we're miles apart, we couldn't and wouldn't let anything end our friendship. "How are you?"
"I'm good besides missing one of my best friends. It's been so long since we've seen each other," she complained.
"We just facetimed last night. What are you talking about?" I laughed.
"I meant in person, Nikki," she said sadly. I sighed, "I don't know when I'll be back home. But, I do have three weeks before I start my next job. You're welcome to join me."
Jasmine squealed excitedly, going on about all the things we could do together. Listening absentmindedly, I found myself replaying the encounter with the stranger earlier. I had most of the pieces, but I didn't put it together. Dangerous aura, fear he instills in others, scars, and fresh bullet wounds add up to... My eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Is he who I think he is? I gasped, the picture crystal clear. My phone pinged with a message form an unknown number.
Figured it out yet, Tesoro?
I narrowed my eyes, replying, Did you think I wouldn't?
"What?" Jazmine asked worried. Oh, nothing. Just that there was an extremely attractive man in my house who happens to be a Don, I thought.
"Talk to Ren and Ves. See if they want to come also. Don't rush. It's three weeks," I proposed, ignoring the repeated pinging of my phone.
Just the opposite. I knew you would.
You knew? That doesn't sound creepy at all.
I know a lot about you.
Still sounds creepy.
I sighed tiredly, drained of all energy from today's events. Right now, I was ready to sleep for the next 2 weeks.
"You sound exhausted, Nikki. I thought your job ended yesterday?" Jaz pointed out.
"It was supposed to," I huffed, "But for some reason I was told to come in today for a 16-hour shift. They better pay me extra for that. Not to mention, all the nurses on the floor wanted to gossip about Xavier Capone, whoever he is. The nurses were going on about how he's some kind of bachelor playboy trillionaire and how there's rumors of his involvement in a mob. I was so glad it was my last day. I dare them to call me in tomorrow. I'm not going. They'd have to pay me triple my normal salary for me to even think about going."
"Oh, wow. Let me go so you can rest. I'll talk to Vesper and Serenity tonight. I'd talk to Kendrick, but I have no clue where he is right now," Jaz offered.
"Don't worry about Ken. I'll text him to see where he is, but I doubt he'll come up for a couple of days. Thanks for offering, though," I appreciated.
"It's not a problem. Talk to you tomorrow. Get some rest," Jaz said before hanging up.
Left to my thoughts, I wanted to scream loudly in frustration. Instead, I sighed again and got out the tub, draining the water and drying myself. I needed time to clear my thoughts and what better way to do that than sleep? Slipping into my clothes, I threw the towels in a hamper and crawled into bed, determined to get some much-needed rest.
