Cry Wolf

"You must really be wondering what kind of crap I was involved in." Rossi laughed cynically as they hobbled back out into the street. He bit his lip and tasted blood, though truthfully he was just glad that the rifle wasn't aimed at his mouth. A broken nose could probably heal alright...but his teeth were permanent. It was weird how his thoughts went off into random direction, but he figured it was the blood loss thinking.

"I'm not a hit man or anything... I wasn't lying when I said I'd never kill somebody." He explained between telling his companion which street to go on and which turn to take. Knowing everything that Elodie had gone through tonight for his sake, he knew she deserved the truth. "It's just...complicated. Everything--"

He stumbled once more but with her help, they kept moving and soon enough they entered a quiet neighborhood. It was still significantly more run down and grimey than say, his apartment, but the home he pointed out looked authentically Italian and charming enough. Figuring he'd apologize later for getting his blood on the door step, Rossi let Elodie knock. His entire body was feeling weak.

An older man in his mid thirties opened the door moments later. He looked at the both of them confused before something seemed to click. "Rossi? Rossi is that you? What the hell did you get yourself into?" Rossi chuckled tiredly before replying to him in a series of Italian. They exchanged a few words, took a moment to both look at Elodie, and then finally the older man nodded.

"Here, I got him miss." He told Elodie, his English accented. Rossi felt his weight transferred from one person to the other but barely. The man invited them into his house and asked Elodie to close the door on the way in. He wasted no time, calling down his wife in Italian as he laid Rossi out on the couch and began stripping him of his clothes.

A lady in similar age then appeared at the top of the stairs, her hair still up in their evening coolers. With one hand on her night gown she joined them in the living room and shared a similar surprise at the sight of Rossi. But then she turned to Elodie and understood why her husband called for her.

The lady rushed to her side and gestured for Elodie to sit in one of the chairs in the dining room. "Are you alright? I'm sure your worried but my husband knows his stuff." Her accent was faint, unlike her husband's. "You look shaken up, would you like something to drink? Water?"
 
It was almost worse, when they arrived. When she had little time to think, she could focus only on what mattered - on getting them to safety, but when they arrived, when she was led inside and Rossi was taken off by the older man, rather suddenly, Elodie was left to do little more than worry. And she was, incidentally, very good at it. Looking down at her hands, not entirely surprised to find them shaking, covered in a thin patina of Rossi's blood, she frowned, so lost in thought she almost didn't hear the woman address her.

Looking up, blinking, Elodie nodded and finding the chair, she sank into it, hands resting palm up in her lap, "I... yes... Water would be lovely, thank you." They seemed decent, at least - the couple, though there was no real way of knowing whether or not they would remain that way. Rossi seemed to surround himself with danger, and she was learning, the hard way, that it wasn't easy to avoid the overflow from that.

As she continued to stare at her hands, at the color drying to rust, she frowned, "Is he... is he gonna be okay? He could barely walk. I don't know how much blood he lost, but he..." Swallowing, she turned her hands over and looked up, meeting the woman's gaze, "I'm sorry... I... I don't even know.. This has all gotten so much more complicated than I ever expected. I just wanted to help. But I don't even know... there's no... we haven't..." Biting her lip, she dropped her head, tears stinging again, "Sorry."
 
The older woman stood straight, a worried frown plastered on her lips. She glanced at Rossi, shook her head and then disappeared into the nearby kitchen. When she returned moments later, it was with a glass of iced water in her hands. A warmth in the way she moved and spoke, the older woman sat down next to Elodie, clasping her hand tightly in her own. "Rossi will be fine...my husband and I, we've seen him worse than this."

She chuckled lightly, turning over her shoulder to take a glance at the living room. Her husband was hard at work fixing Rossi's calf that blood had stained the fabric as well as the carpet. When she turned back to Elodie she gave her hand a reaffirming strength. "It's okay to be in shock, dear. It's alright, there's really no need to apologize.

All the while Rossi watched, unable to say or do anything. Unable to apologize for causing so much distress. Instead he just groaned as the pain racking all over his body settled in at full force. Vincenzio was a talented surgeon but not one for delicacy during his work, that coupled with the lack of proper anesthesia, Rossi could feel the pain shake all throughout his body with each damn tug.

He was going to pass out but he wanted to tell Elodie everything was okay. "Margret..." He mumbled, before the sensation of a bullet being ripped clean from his calf caused him to jerk in pain. Vincenzio muttered something akin to sorry and his wife shook her head once more.

"I thought he was done with all this, you know." Margret solemnly admitted. "And the fact that your surprised tells me he hasn't told you much if anything at all. While I'm not usually the one to go about telling people's secrets, he isn't really in a position to stop me. The only thing is -- do you want to know?"
 
The sounds were enough to turn her stomach, and while she tried not to look it was difficult considering there wasn't much space between her seat and the makeshift operating table. There seemed more blood than a person could possess,and Rossi looked sickly pale and covered in sweat.

Tears blurred her vision and she was only too grateful when the woman returned with a glass of water. Grasping it and taking a sip, she listened as her hostess spoke, her heart sinking lower and lower.

Did she want to know? Rossi had told her bits and pieces, and some she had managed to fill in on her own, but judging from the woman's tone, Elodie wasn't yet halfway down the rabbit hole. Did she really want to know his secrets? Why he carried a gun and kept pop-up surgeons on call?

"I do..." She murmured, nearly a whisper, "But I think I need to hear it from him." With a shaky breath, she rose, setting down the glass, "Is there somewhere I can wash up?"
 
"Well that sounds like a plan. The last time Rossi came to us this beaten up we kept him around for a few days, you'll have plenty of time to talk with him." Margret nodded, surprised but admiring the woman's choice. The older woman stood up and gestured for Elodie to follow her up the stairs. She brought the traveler to a small guest room adjacent from what appeared to be the main bedroom.

"You can wash up and stay here. This is more or less Rossi's room anyways." She explained tentatively, pausing for a moment as she considered her next words with care. "If I might ask... how exactly do you know Adam? Miss?"

Downstairs, Vincenzio had the bullets extracted from the local's leg piled up in a bloodied ash tray. Tweezers, cotton balls, and household alcohol wasn't the most optimal surgery inventory but Rossi knew he was capable of making do. He just wished it didn't have to hurt so damn bad. The throb in his forehead was worse than ever.

"I think I might have a concussion, Vincenzio." He muttered between the gasps for air and grunts of pain. The older man laughed, but his expression remained focused as did his hands.

"You told me you only got shot in the leg, kid. Why the hell am I finding bullets in your damn hip?" Rossi's eyes flashed down at the floor in reaction to the older man's words. It was true. The back of his dress shirt had been stained red and the entire time he hadn't even noticed. The local might've laughed if only it didn't hurt to do so.

"Shit...it's really been awhile since I was shot."

"Hmph. You are your father's son, that's for damn sure."
 
Following the woman, Elodie took one last look at Rossi. The man was still working, the blood still pumping. How did she manage to get mixed up in such a mess...? All she had wanted was to help Vinny. Was it even possible, if this was what they were up against?

And what, for that matter, were thry up against?

As they reached the wash room, Elodie made for the sink, turning on the spicket. The water ran for a moment as she stared at her reflection in the glass. Her hair was a disaster, her make up half worried off, her dress marred with bright red splotches of Rossi's blood. Looking down at the sink, she ran her hands beneath the stream, the water tinged red and as the woman spoke, Elodie frowned in thought.

Adam.

"I don't..." She mused, looking into the reflection at the woman behind her, "Know him. We... We met this this morning. He's helping me with something, but I suppose it's gotten a lot more complicated than I expected. I'm Elodie... Elodie Summers."
 
"Only this morning?!" Margaret replied surprisingly only realizing afterwards how loud and insensitive of a thing that was to say. She clasped her hands, leaning against the door frame as she shook her head in worry. The older woman had seen enough of stuff like this to last a life time. Nobody ever transitioned into this part of Italy easily. It was the part few rarely got to see.

A land of crime, vice and violence just barely hiding underneath all the tourism, sunsets and beauty. Elodie Summers was a woman who had Margret's sorrow and regret.

"Helping you with something you say?" She spoke up calmly. "I guess you wouldn't wish to disclose the details to a complete stranger like myself but I...wish you the best in whatever it is the both of you are doing."

"For your sake if not Adam's."

Just then her husband, a mountain of an Italian man appeared at the entrance to the bedroom. Margaret turned, jaded as her eyes glossed over the blood stained sleeping robe Vincenzio was wearing. Before the woman could say anything he spoke up, his voice deep and burly as he informed them that Rossi would be fine.

"All he really needs at this point is rest. I'd get him up to the bed alone if I could but I'm afraid I'm getting a lot older than I thought." He chuckled lightly, his English still heavily accented by his mother tongue. "Considering your back Margaret I was hoping that his lady companion could help me...".
 
"Thank you..." Elodie murmured, as the woman offered her reassurance. It wasn't much, but it was nice to hear someone wishing them well. It was nice just to know someone out there didn't outright want them to fail. Whoever the woman and her husband were to Rossi, Elodie was grateful for them, in more ways than one. As the husband appeared in the doorway, Elodie turned and gave him a nod.

It wasn't a simple task, by any means, carting an unconscious man up a flight of stairs - particularly when he was much larger than Elodie, and her assistant was an older man who... while not entirely out of shape, was hardly Rossi's equal in size, either. But they managed, and she soon had Rossi covered beneath the blankets of the guest bed, before she curled up in a chair beside it.

The evening had gone so wrong, so quickly that she hardly took time to consider all that had happened. It felt surreal, and in her minds he could hear her mother's voice, telling her how right she was... how little Elodie Summers just wasn't meant for that sort of worldly experience. She could hear the nagging, gnawing voice so clearly, it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Leaning forward, she looked at Rossi with a frown and reaching out, tentatively, she brushed the hair from his forehead with a small sigh, "What did I drag you into..."
 
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"Nothing I wouldn't have gotten myself into anyways." Rossi answered with a hoarse voice just moments later. He opened one eye and looked at her before grinning sweetly, if not tiredly. The local had been slipping in and out of consciousness for awhile but he gathered himself by the time Vincenzio and Elodie reached the top of the stairs.

He didn't say or do anything as Elodie tucked him in but only in hopes that he'd be able to avoid the coming conversation for as long as possible. But the moment Elodie began blaming herself, his resolve weakened.

In the ensuing moment of surprise, Rossi brought his hand up and clasped her's tightly. He moved her hand from his forehead to the side of the bed and it lingered there for a moment until he used it to push himself into a standing position. The local grunted, stopping and clutching his body in pain.

Elodie shifted, maybe to help him, but he just waved it off stubbornly. "I...I got this I'm fine." Growling to himself, Rossi forced his body to sit upright and later he tiredly laid back against the bed frame. His eyes moved to her's apologetically, before trailing downwards to the stiff chair she sat in. He frowned.

"If anything... I shouldn't have involved you as much as I have." He admitted solemnly, looking forward. "I know, I know. You were the one who found the note this morning but after that whole deal at my apartment, looking back... I should've been more adamant on you backing off."

He looked down at his bloodied bandages, coughing. "Dealing with a situation like Vinny's, worrying over a man like me... this shouldn't be the kind of things you have to handle."
 
Frowning, Elodie shook her head, "It's not like I would have listened, anyway. I'm terrible at doing what I should... At least, that's what my nanny used to say. I just never... I never imagined that it would get this bad. Rossi, you could've died. You almost did... and I..." Lowering her gaze, her eyes stinging, she blinked them, rapidly, "I don't know what I would do if that happened, so... So don't do it, okay? Don't you dare."

Tucking her hair behind her ears, she sat up again in the straight back chair. She reached to smooth the front of her dress, but found it spotted with red marks that had little to do with the floral pattern and paused, laying her hands on the arms of the chair, instead, "It's feels so hopeless. What if he's not even... What if they..."

Taking a breath, she rose, moving across the room to the small, narrow window, covered up by dark shutters. Peering through the small slit in the center, she could make out the darkened cobblestone below, street lights bathing the city in an amber gold. It was still and beautiful, and it seemed so strange that it could hold such horrors... "She betrayed you, didn't she? Your friend. We can't trust so easy, next time. We shouldn't stay here, either. We can't drag anyone else into this."

Turning back to the bed, she shook her head and crossing the room, sank down on the edge of it, searching his eyes for a moment, silently, before she spoke, "If you don't want to do this... you don't have to."
 
Elodie sat too far for the local to reach out, even if that was his first instinct. So instead he stared back at her for a moment, his mind racing to all different kinds of places. Betrayal? It wasn't above Elizah, no that was for certain. But there was a nagging feeling in his chest that that wasn't the case. Those men that surrounded Vinny--they were strangers. The Mancini family did not operate that way.

His eyes took her in as his attention shifted once more. Rossi thought her a wallflower when they first met, beautiful but timid. A part of him was glad to see that he was wrong, to see her dedicated to help even in face of this. But that very stubbornness he respected, Rossi knew it all to well, because in many ways they were alike in that regard.

A fit of coughs interrupted that train of thought and he looked back up to her, sighing but smiling slightly. "I'm afraid I'm in it of the long run, Miss Summers."

"With that said there's still lot we have to go over, things that I noticed, conclusions I've made, and I'm sure there are some questions you have that I can answer." Rossi began, his voice regaining a bit of strength but softening as he continued. "But before we get into all of that I need you to know that I agree with you, about involving people. I can live with myself after tonight...but only because I'm the only one who got hurt."

His eyes turned to the door, while his thoughts moved beyond it to the elderly couple across the hall. "We'll leave but I don't think I can do much moving, at least not tonight." He swallowed as a thought occurred to him. "Tomorrow morning, before they even have a chance to wake up...we'll go."

Rossi shifted, the evening wind from the window cold against his bare skin. "So until then...I'm an open book. Got questions, just shoot em."
 
Nodding, Elodie looked away for a moment, following his eyes to the door. They were kind, the couple, but there was no doubt in her mind they were also entirely out of their element. They might not have been surprised by the blood and bullets, but whatever it was she and Rossi had stumbled upon, it was no place for an elderly family, and the sooner they left, the better.

Turning her eyes back to him, she smiled faintly. An open book. Were either of them, really? Was it even possible for them to be entirely honest with each other? She recalled the way that Margaret offered to tell her about his past, about those skeletons in his closet, but she had declined. Was it genuinely because she wanted to hear it from him? Or was it because she was afraid to hear it from anyone. And why should she be afraid? Why should she care...

It wasn't as though they had ties, beyond Vinny...

Yet it hadn't been Vinny she'd worried over all night, it had been Rossi and try as she might to deny it, the simple fact of the matter was, she felt a connection with him. One that might not be there without the danger and drama, but one she couldn't ignore, now, even if she desperately wanted to.

What would her mother think?

Eyes finding his in the darkness, she shook her head. She didn't want to know anything. Not now - not when she was still coming to terms with her attraction to him. Though maybe that wasn't entirely true... there were some questions. A small smile found her lips and leaning forward, she reached to adjust the pillows behind him, so he could sit up easier, "So. Adam... hmm?
 
"God it's always weird when someone first says it, but yes. That's me, Adam." Rossi admitted, chuckling lightly as he placed his head in his palm tiredly. He sat back straight a few moments later, looking back at her with an amused sort of expression on his face. "I'm afraid I don't have some dangerous old friend or cryptic message to tell you why I rarely go by my first name...I just do."

He laughed that time around but coughed almost immediately afterwards. The local struggled to lean over to the nightstand but did it all the same and drank from one of the glasses of water Margaret had set down before turning in for the evening. Turning back to her, Rossi shrugged before explaining. "My mom was American and my father was so damn in love that he gave everything to her, including the honor of naming his first and only child."

He laughed and looked back at her thoughtfully. Rossi's eyes lingered on Elodie before shifting towards the chair by the bed and eventually down to the bed itself. A thought came to him and his expression changed, his cheeks warmed. Rossi brought one hand up and shook the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh. Before we continue with the question bit...the uh couch downstairs is in no condition for one of us to sleep in thanks to me and I know from experience that that chair sucks,"

"So..." The local's voice trailed off as he thought on how he wanted to word the next part. He squinted while he thought, and cleared his throat when he began again. "I mean we are both responsible adults...I'm sure we can handle sleeping in the same bed if you uh you know, don't mind."
 
It was only a moment of lightheartedness, but she was glad for it, all the same. It meant a great deal to her that he was honest, and in fact, it was nice to know that much about him, even if it was just a first name. She was consciously aware that to all intents and purposes, he was a stranger, but he was also the only person she knew in Venice, and the more she knew about him, the more she could trust the connection was more than just a fickle tease.

Her smile brightened at his response and she shook her head, "I was named after my great Aunt on my father's side. I'm glad it wasn't my mother's... Her name was Bertha, and that isn't easy to pull off in any century. My cousin Nicole used to call me Eddie, and it appealed to me, but probably only because my mother absolutely hated it." Looking him over, she chuckled, "But I'll be honest, I think Rossi suits you. Adam is nice, but it's too plain for someone so thrilling."

He continued, and she caught sight of the color in his cheeks, her own lightly tinged as she sat back a little, "I wasn't planning on sleeping in the chair. The floor, on the other hand... But you did buy me dinner." Her eyes met his and she smirked, teasingly. It would've sent her mother into an epileptic fit, to hear her say such things, to know she was even considering the offer, but truth be told, she had no real intentions of leaving him alone, and it wasn't as if he was in any state to do anything inappropriate as it was.

Her expression softened for a moment, and quietly she shifted to the headboard, leaning back against the free set of pillows, "I'm glad you're okay, Ross. I really am..."
 
"Same here Eddie, I never really fancied the idea of dying after all." Rossi replied comfortably. He moved himself a little closer to the edge in order to give Elodie room but knew that unless one of them would be willing to dangle halfway off the bed, their bodies would remain quite close. The local glanced down at her in thought, wondering if she could feel the warmth between them. For a split second he wished his body was more able.

He discarded the thought just as quick as it came. It wasn't hard for him to see that she was beautiful but he refused to prey on whatever vulnerability tonight's events might have evoked from his companion. Even then Rossi knew she was the type of woman who wouldn't allow something to happen if it wasn't what she wanted.

What she wanted...Rossi went down that line of thought for a few seconds. Vinny's safety, a life of her own far from her controlling mother. Those were the things he really knew so far, and it wasn't much. Yet, as he laid there resisting the strongest urge to just wrap his arm around Elodie's shoulder, Rossi realized that it was she who he trusted the most.

It was always safer to keep everyone at arm's distance but in the matter of a day he managed to share and show more about himself to her than he had anyone in years. The craziest part? He had absolutely no idea why. But suddenly an urge he could not ignore rose in him. His cheeks still colored, he painstakingly turned to his side and propped up on one of his elbows so he could look her in the eyes.

"There's really no graceful way to say this...so I'm just gonna say it." He began cautiously. "I need to pee."

It took him all of his energy to not break out into embarrassment-induced laughter. He was smiling, but looked away and shook his head shyly. "I can't...I'm gonna...I need help--just walking to the bathroom and back of course."
 
She could feel his eyes on her, and she felt the warmth creep into her skin as he stared for a moment, in silence. Why was in, in those moments, it was always so difficult to think of anything of worth to say. She'd known him only a few hours, at best, yet almost desperately, she wanted to believe that there was something of worth beneath their unusual relationship... some layers, worth exploring. So it was only natural that when it came to what might have been an otherwise intimate conversation, she could think of absolutely nothing useful.

And perhaps it was for the best, because when he opened his mouth to speak, the words that followed were not at all what she expected. A brow lifted at his request and the laughter came a few seconds later as she nodded, pushing herself up and coming around to the other side of the bed.

"Come on, then..."

Tension was a dangerous motivator, and she was glad that at least one of them had some sense in their head. That, or a relatively full bladder. Reaching out, she cupped her hands around his biceps and carefully, bracing herself, she helped lift him upright, to his feet. The extent of his injuries was great, and she was as cautious as possible, not releasing him, even when he was fully upright.
 
He was grateful for the support, even if the expression on his face spelled out little more than embarrassment. With Elodie to steady him, Rossi began the awkward and slightly painful process of moving across the room. He shuffled along slowly, the sound of his feet dragging making up for the silence that found the both of them.

All the while he took a few moments to steal glances of Elodie. She was so much smaller compared to him, it made it easy to observe her without him noticing. Even now her expression remained as determined as ever. Attraction was a weird thing. Trying to figure out if someone was feeling the same thing was a weird thing. What he was beginning to feel about her was a weird thing.

When they reached the door and Rossi pulled away to steady himself on the frame. "I got it from here, really. It's fine. If anything I think I'd be mortified if I needed help...uh yeah."

He disappeared into the bathroom and came out moments later as hesitant and as awkward as ever. Whenever Elodie moved to help him, Rossi waved her off stubbornly and insisted that he was fine. The local only made it halfway across the room before his body crumbled underneath the self inflicted pressure.

Rossi hit the ground with a loud thud and shortly afterwards he groaned in pain. He clutched his side as he rolled out onto his back, but surprisingly enough when he turned around he was smiling. Afterwards he even began to laugh. One hand came up to hide his face in embarrassment but the smile remained there all the same.

"Yeah...no. I think I'll just stay down here. It'll hurt like hell trying to get up." He laughed heartily before moving his hand slightly so one eye could meet her's. Smirking, almost mischievously, he continued. "You know it's not nearly as dusty as I thought it'd be...still I doubt you'd want to keep me company down here as I writhe in pain."
 
It wasn't so discreet as he might have hoped - his observation of her didn't go entirely unnoticed. Her cheeks reddened, but in the darkness she was sure it wasn't visible. She guided him to the washroom and left him outside of it, but as he exited a minute later and waved her off, determined to make the return trip on his own, she could almost see the fall before it happened, and with a mingled mixture of concern and amusement, she went to his side, shaking her head.

"Men are inherently stubborn, aren't they? Come on... It would do you no good to sleep down there." She reached out and with a little more effort than it had taken to get him up from the bed, she helped to right him, gently leading him back to the mattress. When he had eased back onto it, she swung his legs around, then shaking her head, crossed to the other side.

It was after she'd sunk down, and a sense of fatigue began to leech into her bones that she realized she had reached out, almost automatically, to take a hold of his hand. Looking down, she blinked, and turning her eyes up, smiled dryly, "I'm sorry... Force of habit, by now."
 
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"I'm pretty sure I'm a cut above the rest in that regard." Rossi grinned. The local was being perfectly serious when he said he'd stay on the floor but he shouldn't have been surprised to see Elodie wasn't having any of it. He was right when he said it'd hurt like hell to get up, but with her help and a rough grunt he did it all the same.

He didn't say much as she helped him settle back into the bed because fatigue began to settle in strongly. It had been a good couple years since he had a day as...eventful...as this one and while apart of him definitely missed the rush, he had come too close to death's door for his liking.

Looking back at Elodie as she slowly made her way around the bed, he realized that it was his companion who made all the difference. She had saved his life just as much as the surgeon.

His eyes blinked down as her hand brushed against his and they slowly trailed back upwards as she spoke. They then remained for awhile on the curve of her tired smile, before finally stopping to lock her gaze. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of their breath and in the quietness Rossi's didn't turn away.

Kiss her. The words repeated in his head as his heart began to pick up in his chest. Just fuck it all and kiss her. Rossi leaned in ever so slightly, it was too dark to see but his lips ached to find her's. He swallowed...and then pulled away. "I uh...there's no need to apologize. We're both very tired."

Cursing himself in his head he sighed and laid flat on his back, turning away from her. He spoke, not really sure where he intended to go with it. "I...sorry."
 
For a second or two, Elodie was sure of what was going to happen, and maybe somehow had even unconsciously been leading them to it... She couldn't ignore that he was a good looking man, and more so, that there was an unbidden attraction there that had been bourn of tension and danger, but over the last few hours had whittled down into something more sincere...

Nearly losing him... knowing how close they had both come to dying, the thought occurred to her that she didn't want him going anywhere but right where he was.

And in those few seconds, she had been so sure that he felt something, too. That he was going to act on it. But then the second passed, and he pulled away.

Breathing out, not realizing she had been holding it in, she sank back, and glanced over at him with a small, thoughtful frown.

"What... what do you have to be sorry for?"
 
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