Cry Wolf

"A lot. Too much to go over in one night at least." He smiled dryly, his eyes pointed up towards the ceiling fan spinning above them. He didn't say anything afterwards, not for a few seconds. He simply listened to the sound of his breath, uneven and labored as it was. Meanwhile Elodie's was softer and filled in the silence quietly as she waited for him to continue.

He closed his eyes and his brow furrowed. He let the moment pass and regret was quick to take him. But... maybe it didn't have to be that way. It was better to look confused now than it was to grieve of his inaction. "I suppose right now... I'm mainly sorry about what I said earlier earlier.."

The local shifted, turning back to face Elodie. His eyes traced the details of her face. "When I woke up I mean. I said that we'd be both be able to handle this responsibly." He closed his eyes steelig himself quickly, perhaps she'd find the way he jumped back back and forth confusing but he had no choice. Ignoring the aches wracking through his body, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers.

Rossi was soft at first, handling her tenderly with his firm arms as he pulled her closer and closer to him. There in the darkness and in the bed they shared, his whole world became the sensation of her kiss, the way her back curved and shifted at his touch. He began to pick up, growing more and more ravenous as the seconds passed. There was something different about being with Elodie and he could feel it in the electricity of their kiss.

But he was a disciplined man now and though it was incredibly hard, he drew back once more. He didn't move as far, but their lips parted all the same. His breathing filled the air once more, just as labored as ever. Rossi thought back to the moments just before she joined him on the bed and he chuckled softly. "I'm sorry that I lied."
 
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For all she had anticipated and even wanted that kiss, it still caught her somewhat off guard. His lips met her own and her breath became a wave pulled in by his, her heart a pounding drum against her ribs, carefully, cautiously, she curled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck and arched upwards against his hands until she felt weightless. Weightless, but not empty. She felt more than she had in years, and with every passing second the sense became nearly transcendent.

He pulled away, and she shivered, her cheeks filling with color as she rested her forehead against his, her eyes still closed, afraid that if she opened them she might find everything had been a strange, vivid dream. Afraid she would wake in the hotel, alone, having stirred up the entire day within the confines of her imagination. Slowly, she peeked her eyes open, and nothing shifted or changed, nothing disappeared, and with a soft smile, she pulled away to meet his gaze.

"...You're a complicated man, Ross. And part of that still scares me. I know there's a lot that I don't know about you, and that if I pushed, you'd tell me, but I probably wouldn't like it. The warnings people gave me? They're there for a reason, and it's probably kind of stupid of me to ignore them. But I also know that you dropped everything... even your job at the hotel, to help a little boy who's lost in this city. And from the moment we met, you've done everything you can to try and shelter me from this mess. And that tells me a lot about who you really are. I think I can handle the rest, as long as that part is real..."

Trailing a finger along the edge of his jaw, she sighed and sank back against her pillow, "Whatever you want to tell me, about who you are... I'm willing to listen. Whatever secrets you need to keep, that's fine, too. As long as you promise me this is the last time I need to worry about you dying on me. I don't think I could take it, again."
 
"Well I mean to be completely fair my job at the hotel was pretty shit." Rossi jested lightly, shrugging as he laid back flat against the bed, his arm still wrapped securely around the length of her shoulder. He chuckled softly, his index finger softly tapping against her skin as he seemed to dip into his own thoughts. "I'd be lying if I said I wanted you to know more than you have."

The words came out before he had given it enough thought, and perhaps even colder than he had meant it. In the dark he gave her a reaffirming shake before continuing, hoping to clear whatever confusion that declaration had given her. "It's just that... I'm ashamed. Ashamed of a great deal of things I've done. The people I've hurt."

"I did not lie when I said I never killed someone...but the Rossi I wish you'll never know might as well have." The confession was one that had gone unspoken since the day he turned away from crime, the day he turned away from his father. Vulnerability was a dangerous thing, even in the changed life he lead, yet here with a woman he just met and grown to care for... that's exactly what Rossi couldn't help but feel. "A fresh start. That's what my father told me when we first moved back to Venice."

"And in the beginning, it seemed that way. My mother was gone, yes, but that just meant he was more involved in my life than ever." To speak about his father was an uncomfortably painful topic but he hoped that soldiering through it would show his dedication to do what the former rarely did, to do right. "He's always had ties with the crime families, the likes of Elizah and such. It was only a matter of time before they found him again."

"You know what they say. You can't teach an old dog new tricks." He bit his lip. "A kid like Vinny...the kind of kid I was they just want someone to feel proud of them. They'll do what they say, they won't make a fuss. I saw too much of my younger self in those damn eye of his that I just...couldn't you know? I had to do something."

He sat up, soldiering through the pain. Hunched over he looked forward, emotional and fired up.

"We came so close tonight...he was at that damn night club! If I had been more prepared maybe..." Rossi shook his head, clutching his side as a wave of pain washed over him. "Agh...sorry, sorry. I'm getting carried away."
 
His reassurance was welcome, but unnecessary. Even if he had meant it the way it had come out, she understood. It was difficult to keep skeletons in your closet - it was harder to open that closet and let anyone see them, particularly if it was someone you were fond of. For all her sheltered nature, Elodie wasn't naive enough to think that life worked the way for everyone that it had for her. That the greatest difficulties, until now anyway, that she had faced was being disowned by her rich parents, or having money stolen by a friend.

Rossi had delved into darkness she likely couldn't imagine, and it made all the sense in the world that he wouldn't want to share that... Least of all with her.

And she almost told him as much, but then he began again and she sank back against him with a soft frown as she listened. The way he spoke about his father - there was a reverence there, but fear as well... and even before he said it, she thought she understood entirely why he felt so obligated to help Vinny. He saw himself in the boy, in the worst possible way, and it only made sense that he would want to save Vinny from the same damaging lifestyle...

But as he continued, Elodie found herself sitting upright, her eyes widening slightly at his words, "He... he was there?" She breathed, a lump rising in her throat, "Then he's alive? Oh... thank God." Rossi grimaced and she reached out, covering his hands with her own and with a small shake of her head, she eased him back against the pillows, "...Easy."

 
Rossi leaned back into the bed with little more resistance than a grunt, but he was far from settled--the frustration remained, as did the anger. Elodie being there for him... without a doubt it made everything better, but Rossi knew he wouldn't be able to feel completely at peace until Vinny was safe. The local let out a long sigh.

"He looked... healthy. Vinny, I mean. Whoever has him they don't want to hurt him, at least not yet." Lying against the pillows he turned to her, his brown eyes incredibly worn as he motioned for the woman to come a little closer. With her body against his, Rossi buried his face into the back of her head--whispering against her hair as he realized what he now needed to do. "I'm going to figure this out, Elodie. I won't be able to forgive myself if otherwise."

When he woke the signs of the early morning made it through the cracks in the blinds. Elodie was asleep and he was careful not to wake her as he stepped out of bed. It hurt like hell trying to be discreet the way that he was, but Rossi felt himself getting a little more used to the ache... it wasn't his first dance after all.

In silence he left the room and painstakingly made his way down the staircase. He wavered for a moment in the living room, transfixed on the dried blood stains all over the couch and floor. Shaking his head he pushed forward, finding his torn shirt a moment later and slipping it on.

He felt horrible about what he was going to do but if their positions had been reversed last night and Elodie was the one bleeding out...

Rossi opened the door, stopping to lean against the frame as a wave of pain washed over him.
 
Generally speaking, Elodie wasn't a deep sleeper, but that night had been so thoroughly exhausting, that with the comfort of Rossi's arms around her, she had drifted off without really intending to. And she had slept, perhaps not well, but better than she had in days. With her mind a mess of confusion, her heart and head so twisted, it was little wonder that she was just far too spent to fight, too spent to dream.

It wasn't immediately, waking, and it might not have happened at all, were it not for the sudden chill in the room that came with Rossi's absence. For a moment, Elodie lay there, staring up at the plain white ceiling with a sense of comfort, but lying there too long, she realized with a small frown Rossi had been gone for a while. Straightening, she folded her legs over the side of the bed and rose, making her way to the door.

He was injured, and it was going to take some time for him to fully heal, but a trip to the bathroom on his own shouldn't have been grounds for concern, and for a moment, as she slipped out of the guest room, she was fairly certain that was what he was up to... But even with that certainty still only her mind, she started for the stairs. Instinct was stronger than rational thought, and she descended swiftly, hearing the click of the door open, as she neared the foot.

"...Ross?" She asked, her voice unsteady, as she gripped the railing, "Rossi..." Moving quickly, she approached him, and put a hand to his back, one to his arm, giving him a gentle tug, "Listen here... I'm gonna pretend for a minute you were just getting some fresh air, and that you weren't just about to walk out that door and leave me behind. But either way, you are in no shape to go anywhere. Come on... You need to sit."

 
Rossi's eyes closed and he let his head drop, barely shifting even when Elodie came and rested her hands against him. He let out a long gruff sigh, doing his best to resist the initial tug but eventually succumbing to the ones that followed. He let her usher him to the couch he had been bleeding out on just a few hours ago.

"You couldn't have just slept in Elodie?" He sighed, leaning back and pressing himself against the sofa. His hand came up and massaged his temples as the throb in his forehead worsened for a moment. He wanted to leave, to make sure that whatever happened next... Elodie would be safe from the retaliation. Rossi should've expected she wouldn't make that easy.

As meek as she may have seemed there was a fire in that woman... he knew that.

Steel blue eyes moved to watch her all over and he smiled wearily. "Doesn't matter what shape I'm in. I came here knowing that I'd need to leave before the sun's fully up... because if not--"

Almost on cue the dog that had been long asleep when the two of them arrived last night began to bark. A wave of concern washed over his eyes and without warning Rossi shot up--much to his body's visual displeasure. He keeled over, the ache running through every corner. Still, he remained adamant in moving and motioned for the backdoor.

"Get out. We gotta get out." Rossi huffed quietly, shuffling towards the other exit and grunting through the pain. "The woman detective from yesterday... she, this is her--"

"Ma? Pa?" Detective De Luca's word froze him as they came from just outside the door. It was followed by a knock and even more talk. "You guys left the gate open again... and what the hell is this? Blood?" With an officers posture her heard the sound of a gun being draw and the detective taking a few steps back.

Rossi cursed to himself as the door kicked open and wide.
 
She opened her to address his concerns, knowing full well it would probably she in vain. There was something to say for a man who was determined, and if Rossi had it in his head to try and leave there was little telling how much luck she'd have convincing him otherwise. But she meant to try... She meant to try and make him understand that she couldn't back down. More now than ever... knowing Vinny was alive.

Knowing she'd never be able to escape the way she felt about Rossi... To walk away from. Him and leave him to this mess on his own. She was a lot of things. Sheltered. Naive. Out of league. But she was also stubborn and she might have told him all of that... Had the dog not started barking.

The sound sent her heart peeling against her chest, like a bell rung too hard, and rising swiftly at the sound of the familiar voice, she stepped almost protectively in front of Rossi.

"Detective De Luca!" She called out, "It's okay! We... we're in here!" Because whatever Rossi was thinking, she was sure of two things... De Luca did not hate him half as much as she might have wanted him to belive... And running was not the right choice.
 
Detective De Luca's dark brown eyes were hard and her brows furrowed while stood at the entrance of the doorway. There was of course, an initial surprise at seeing the two of them there but it quickly melted into an absolute distrust. She had given the woman a warning, that Rossi was a dangerous charmer, but it seemed her words had fallen on deaf ears.

"What the hell do you think you are doing here?" She hissed, lowering her gun but not holstering it. The detective's eyes remained pointedly on Rossi, a flick of understanding showing in her expression once they landed on his wounds. Rossi came to her father for help... again. She sighed, her gun dropping to her side as one had raised to rub her forehead. "Don't. Don't answer that, I already know Adam.""

The detective holstered her firearm, stepping inside the building and slamming the door shut behind her. She made no move to arrest them, instead she began to undo the makings of her dark leather boots. She commanded them with a less than amused tone. "Both of you--sit on the couch. It's too damn early for this and I need some coffee before I figure out what the hell is going on."

Rossi complied though he was hardly happy about it. Both the local and the detective were surprised that the older couple upstairs hadn't woken over the shouting... but neither seemed excited at the thought of the two joining them downstairs. De Luca disappeared into the kitchen and Rossi took the opportunity to try and get ahead of things.

"Alright I know this looks bad and confusing but I can explain," He began, leaning in to whisper. "Vincenzio and Margret are De Luca's parents but... I mean I knew them long before I knew her. She knows about me, about the things I've done. But there's a reason why I'm out and walking free..."
 
Things had gone less than swimmingly that morning, and while it could hardly be said that thus far they had been looking up in general, Elodie was almost surprised to find just how messed up everything had gotten, so quickly. He had been ready to leave her behind, and now this? It was a wonder that she hadn't cracked beneath the pressure as it was, but the added stress of the angry cop, of knowing that Rossi was trying to do this on his own, it was almost too much.

She sank onto the couch, though not because she was told to, but because she was relatively sure her legs weren't going to hold her up much longer, and dropped her head into her hands as Rossi began to explain himself. She wasn't angry, per say, at the explanation, or even the situation, but it didn't exactly fill her with unreasonable joy, either. There were way too many unanswered questions, and way too many skeletons in his closet for her to keep up with.

And not enough time in the world for him to sit down and explain it all. She wanted answered, yes, but it seemed they were either in constant flux of running, sleeping or dealing with the angry women in his life... and there didn't appear to be much room for it that morning, either.

"Don't worry about it..." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose where a headache had begun to form, "You getting shot didn't scare me off... She isn't going to either, okay?"
 
"We were together before." Rossi admitted abruptly, his tone somewhere between ashamed and relieved that the truth was now in the air. He made no attempt to move closer to Elodie--experience taught him that the last thing a woman wanted when it came to a man admitting former flames, was for that man to try and coddle them afterwards. Instead the local sighed, before continuing. "I got arrested Elodie... and the only way I could stay out of jail was to work as an informant."

"You're forgetting to mention the part where we were married for a few years." De Luca interjected, her tone more remorseful than angry despite the hard expression on her face. The detective leaned against the frame leading into the dining room and kitchen, twirling a single spoon around the length of her steamy coffee mug. "Or did I come back a little quicker than you expected?"

De Luca rolled her eyes and joined them in the living room. Sitting opposite to them on another couch she took a sip of her coffee before continuing for both her and the local.

"It was our cover. Like Adam my father once had ties with the underground scene her in Venice, but unlike Adam I chose to fight crime rather than fall into it. I caught him a couple years back." De Luca explained--the man of the story leaning back into the couch and burying his head in his hands. "Instead of throwing him in prison we figured we could use him as an informant."

"I went through the painstaking process of getting a hold of a new identity and was sent with Rossi back into the scene to make sure he behaved and, of course, do a little information gathering myself."

"We were married for three years and even though it wasn't official... it really did feel like a partnership. Until he walked away that is." The last few words were laced with more regret than she had intended but De Luca was quick to steady herself. "He told me he was done with it all. Crime, police, our relationship... which brings us to right now, where you two seem to be at the wrong place, wrong time all the time."

"I'll give you one minute to explain what the hell are you two doing in my parents' home before I call in my partner."
 
"How do you expect a person to change... If you refuse to accept it's possible?" The words came out to swiftly, and in truth, she hadn't meant to say them at all, but she wasn't as embarrassed to have stood up for him as she expected. Her whole life, she had been held beneath impossible expectations and repressive limitations, no one trusting that she could rise higher than those things... Yet in her own way, at least, she had. And she believed with all her heart that Rossi could, too.

"And we don't need to explain anything to you. We aren't doing anything illegal. Your parents chose to help, and gave us a room for the night, and as soon as Rossi is able, we're leaving. Unless sitting on the couch... Or pissing off your ex girlfriend is against the law in Italy, I'm pretty sure you'd be wasting your time... And your partner's time for that matter, and he doesn't seem the type to want to be woken early for no good reason."

Looking to Rossi, she frowned gently, and absently, she reached for his hand, her fingers sliding through his with an ease, giving it a comforting squeeze. She was hardly pleased by all that had been revealed, and they were certainly no done discussing it, but at least in De Luca's case, she was done listening for the time being. It wouldn't do them any good to stop trusting each other... Not when they were the only ones who might be able to get Vinny back safely.

"We don't have to stay here, Ross. We can go, if you want."
 
There was a subtle twitch in the detective's eyebrow, her expression remained civil if not a little aggravated though in her head she wanted to be anything but. De Luca set her coffee down against the table roughly, splotches of the dark hot liquid spilling over the side. She cleared her throat before leaning into the both of them--her eyes remaining pointedly on Elodie. De Luca laughed--almost mockingly.

"You really think he cares for you?" The detective asked coldly, her laughter taking a backseat to a sudden coldness in her tone. "Rossi is a conman and user, Miss Summers. You might think that whatever is happening between the both of you is some kind of romantic fate--that somehow through the thick of it all you found each other-- but I know Rossi and I know how he works."

"Do you honestly believe that you are the first tourist he's--"

"That's enough, De Luca." Rossi interjected gravely and for a moment the local and the detective stared each other down with more than a little hate laced in their gazes. The man had come to a standing position though his arm remained wrapped around his own chest in pain. Finally the woman leaned back into her chair, breaking the standoff as the corners of her lips curved into a bittersweet smile.

"Get the hell out of my house." De Luca spat.

Despite his injuries Rossi was quick to gather what little of their possessions they had brought along, refusing to meet Elodie's eye the entire time. Before heading out the door he left a note for the detective's parents, apologizing that he wouldn't be around to help clean his own blood.

Stepping back out onto the streets he grunted, finally speaking to Elodie as he clutched his side once more.

"Where to?"
 
As Rossi moved away, Elodie remained in place for a moment. It wasn't usually in her nature to handle conflict with anything but the urge to flee. She was terrified of arguing, and having the last word was never something she strove for. But De Luca was out of line, and maybe Rossi deserved it, in some small way, for hurting her... But this wasn't the time or place for her to try and get back at him for her scorn.

"Maybe being a detective works differently here in Venice, but somehow, I highly doubt that. And I can't imagine your superiors would be too happy about you allowing your personal vendetta against an ex to get in the way of an active investigation over a missing child. You wanna threaten us or try and paint Rossi as some hardened, unchanging creep because you're still bitter over how things ended, you do it after you've found Vinny."

Rising, she shook her head, "I care about getting that boy back home, and whether you believe it or not, so does Rossi. You don't take a bullet for something that doesn't matter to you. And maybe you'd have seen that, if you weren't just thinking about your own bruised ego."

Turning, without another word, she trailed after Rossi, finding him outside. Stepping close, she moved to loop her arms through his elbow, but hesitated, her arms dropping to her side. Looking up, she met his gaze, "We need to go back to that club. But I think it needs to be me. You're too recognizable, Ross. Me? I'll blend in. Just a dumb tourist. I can get away with asking questions..."
 
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