Chapter 8
8
ZARINA
It turns out that having someone follow you everywhere you go isn’t exactly something that you get used to very easily.
For a whole week, Theo had stood in my shop like a fucking statue, twitching and reacting with every man that dared walk past.
He was on guard and overly excited.
“Down, boy,” I had rolled my eyes once when he nearly snapped his neck to turn towards the sound of a motorcycle going past.
Even now, it was the weekend, and my little shadow was still right behind me.
“Theo,” Larissa slowed her pace to fall in line with him while he trailed behind us in the shopping centre. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be on a Saturday morning?”
“Not really,” he shrugged, flashing a smile as I glared back at them from over my shoulder.
He was dressed down a little this morning, a change from his usually more formal attire. Today, it was simple dark wash jeans and a tight black shirt paired with a bright red snapback that he wore backwards.
He looked far from his usual mafia rookie self and just looked like any other Italian-Australian fuckboy.
“Your girlfriend doesn’t mind that you’re hanging out with us?” Larissa nudged.
I sighed, falling back in line with them so I could better direct my glare at her.
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Theo adjusted his hat, a shy little smirk ghosting his lips as he looked down at me.
“Probably because you spend so much time stalking us,” I teased, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice.
I knew logically that it wasn’t his fault, that he was just doing his job. Hanging around Lawefield Shopping Centre on a Saturday morning was probably torture for him.
In general, it was hell.
It was busy and there were people everywhere, but it was the only time I really had to go anywhere. Eventually, it just become a tradition for me and Larissa.
Of course, it was much more fun when Larissa was being Larissa , instead of whatever persona it was that she seemed to put on whenever there was a male of interest around.
Sure, I made up identities and personas when it came to men too, but it was more for protection and hiding myself from them. I had no interest in getting to know them, just as they had no interest in getting to know me.
So why bother?
Once they found out who I was related to, they either fled or started begging me to get them a job with The Family anyway.
It was easier my way.
“Let’s go get breakfast,” Larissa rolled her shoulders.
Though I kept my eyes trained straight ahead, a flash of black leather caught in my peripherals, and I bit my lip to stop myself from smirking.
Amateur.
“I’m going to get my nails done,” I said. “Theo, can you go with Larissa to the food court? Riss, bring me back a coffee? Thanks.”
“But—” Larissa started.
“Thank you!”
I turned on my heel and headed into the nail salon, talking to the young girl behind the counter who always seemed to get shafted with the Saturday shift.
She slotted me in quickly though, and I took my seat, soaking my nails in the small bowl of warm water. I finally felt like I could relax without Theo playing pretend as my shadow.
“Stalker, much?” I said over my shoulder, feeling a familiar presence behind me.
The sound of the chair scraping across the floor hit my ears and then he plopped into the seat beside me.
“Stalk is such a… strong word,” Ashe rested his head on his fist, leaning in close and looking up at me.
“I think it’s the perfect amount of strength.”
“Mmm?” he smirked.
The lady doing my nails looked between us, her back stiff.
“It’s okay. He doesn’t bite,” I assured her.
“You don’t know that,” he hummed thoughtfully and scooched the chair closer.
He smelled fantastic.
Like tyres, like leather, like amber.
All the subtle notes that followed Ashe whirled into one strong and fucking intoxicating scent.
I’d recognise it anywhere.
“From what I remember, you’re actually quite gentle.”
He bit the inside of his lip and narrowed his eyes. “You don’t miss much, do you?”
I looked over at him for the first time.
“Maybe you’re just shit at stalking.”
Ashe shook his head. “Nah. That can’t be it.”
I let out a huff of laughter, and his arrogant smirk grew. He watched me with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. Like he couldn’t figure me out, but was having fun trying.
I’d never been very good at the mysterious girl thing, I was too bold, too outspoken. But Ashe watched me like he was studying something very interesting.
“What do you want, Ashe? I’m assuming it’s not acrylics.”
Again, he didn’t say anything and just continued to stare.
“What?” I snapped, my irritation rising.
“Nothing,” he chuckled. “Don’t often hear that name.”
“Sorry, you want me to call you Henny like your bros ?”
He pursed his lips and considered for a moment. “Nah, I like the way it sounds when you say it,” he dropped his voice another octave, leaning in closer so I could feel his breath against my neck.
I pressed my thighs together and shuffled in my seat.
Jesus.
He’s the enemy, Zarina.
“My brother will kill you if he finds you near me,” I said as quietly as I could.
Secretly, for some psychotic reason that I should probably have sought therapy for, I hoped he wouldn’t be scared away that easily.
This particular stalker I could get used to.
The corner of his mouth twitched and he scooted back an inch.
“How is our almighty Don Antoni?” he asked, fiddling with the spare soaking bowl as the nail tech finished a layer of polish.
I didn’t answer.
I just let him sit there in silence.
“Sir,” a voice from behind us chirped. “You’re going to have to leave if you’re not a customer.”
“I think I’m fine,” Ashe said, leaning back in his seat to shoot the manager a cocky smile.
“It’s okay, Kim,” I said over my shoulder. “He’s getting a clean and buff.”
Kim stared at him for a beat longer before looking towards me. I nodded to assure her that I was okay, and she returned the gesture before walking away, keeping her eyes locked on us.
Another woman came and sat in front of Ashe, motioning for him to give her his hands.
He shook his head.
“Don’t be a fucking baby,” I snapped. “Give her your hands.”
He stiffened, but obeyed, and the small, older lady began scrubbing at his fingernails, shaking her head at the state of them.
I watched him with a satisfied smirk while he watched the ordeal with a disgusted scowl on his face.
“Ow!” he snapped, pulling his hands away as the lady began trimming his cuticles.
“Big baby,” the woman muttered, snatching his hand back.
“Why the fuck do you do this?” Ashe hissed at me.
“It’s relaxing.”
“Getting your skin fucking chopped off?”
I rolled my eyes. “Big baby.”
Ashe was silent again for a little while, busy scowling at the lady who was now buffing his nails. He was still being worked on by the time mine were finished.
The coffin-shaped matte black was something different for me, but I couldn’t stop admiring them.
“So,” he said, voice tense like he was very uncomfortable. “Where’d your protection go?”
The older woman who had been assigned to Ashe was known for being a little rough, and I knew that Kim had probably done that on purpose. But the way that she filed, scraped, and buffed at his poor hands was almost enough to make even me cringe a little.
Still, he sat there and took it like a champ.
“Getting breakfast and coffee.”
“Oh, I thought he was a bodyguard, not an errand boy.”
“He can be both,” I shrugged.
Ashe chuckled at that.
“You knew I was here. Why send him away?”
I studied him for a moment, looking at his face and waiting to see how my body reacted. There was no weird feeling in my gut, no warning bells that were usually so accurate.
The only body part that seemed to react was my vagina, as if she remembered this man well and missed him dearly.
“Because I’m not scared of you.”
He leaned closer, his voice low and rough and stirring as he asked, “Why not?”
Yep, my pussy definitely remembered him.
But I wasn’t about to let him know that.
I just smiled, eyes still locked on Ashe’s hazel ones, before I got up and walked out, leaving him there to enjoy his non-consensual manicure.
I drifted towards the food court, knowing that Theo and Larissa would probably still be either in line or sitting down eating. Larissa would be trying to extend any alone time she got with him.
Mindlessly, I shuffled through the crowds and wondered if I even had an answer as to why I wasn’t afraid of Ashe.
Everyone had warned me.
People I trusted and people who loved me had explicitly told me that he was dangerous. Was I that stupid to blindly follow my gut in this situation?
Or was everyone else wrong?