The Twelve Zenati Pt. 33

"I feel like I slept the day away," she whispered back. "I don't suppose this place has an early breakfast special or twenty-four-hour room service?"

"I forgot that you hadn't eaten, sorry. I'll see what this place can offer. Do you feel like breakfast food, or would you rather pizza or Chinese takeout?" Noah offered. He rolled to his back as he spoke, reaching a hand out for his phone to call one of the watchers on duty with them.

"What time is it? It's hard to tell with the curtains drawn. Why did you block off the view, anyway? Surely, we are high enough that no one but passing seagulls could see in and only if there was a light," she asked, frowning.

"Something happened yesterday while you were sleeping, and we have ramped up security until we get home," Noah explained without telling her what was going on exactly. "You gave us all a scare when you passed out during the conversation about your mother with Olivia and Ally."

"Mama!" she gasped, lifting a hand to her mouth. "Massimo, did you ask him to take her to Jessa? They will both be better off with each other than without," she said rapidly as if the words couldn't get out fast enough.

"Yes, but we couldn't organise her release in time for his flight, so she will be escorted to the Farnese family within the next day or two," Noah said in a soothing voice. "How about I order some food before I tell you about everything that happened. What did you say you felt like?" he asked and concentrated on his phone while he waited for her answer. He didn't want to tell her about the package but knew he had no choice. If he wanted no more secrets between them, then he needed to lead by example.

"Is the room service menu around?" Marcella asked sweetly. It was difficult for him to tell even now which of her personalities he was dealing with precisely. While he was almost positive this was the Marcie he knew best, he still felt she had the potential to fire up and become the warrior if he didn't play his cards right.

He got up pulled on a pair of boxers and located the hotel folders in the small sofa area. When he turned back to the bed, he realised she had followed him after wrapping the quilt around her body and dragging it over to the chairs where she curled up and put her hand out for the menu. Looking at the first page of the menu, she checked her watch, grateful that she could order breakfast at four a.m. Marcella waited, snuggled in the quilt, and curled comfortably in the chair until Noah had finished ordering and had come back to sit with her before asking a question.

"So, explain the increased security!" She demanded without preamble.

"Konrad or one of his men left a package here for you yesterday. When we returned, there was an issue with getting access to it while you were asleep to ensure it wasn't harmful. Xavier and Oscar both deemed it necessary to open it to ensure your safety, and this is what was inside." He brought up a picture on his phone and held it out to her. "It's being swept for fingerprints or anything which might tell us more about who left it for you."

"Hardly looks like I was in any danger," she scoffed as she carefully looked over the image.

"No, but when it was wrapped, we had no way of knowing. I know you're not happy that something addressed to you was opened without your permission. Still, with everything else that has happened to you recently, we thought it better to be safe than sorry," Noah tried to apologise without actually saying he was sorry because he wasn't. He would do it again if it meant being sure she was safe.

"I guess I can understand that," Marcella said slowly. "So, what are the current theories around what these three cards mean, assuming there was no other written message?" She raised an eyebrow at him, immediately wanting to investigate the package herself. "Is Miss Gold even a character in the game? I don't remember a Miss Gold."

"Not in the original set. There might be one in the newer online version," Noah shrugged. "We think that it probably means that Konrad as the Game Master is letting you know he is watching you, and I assume me by the black blade." He pointed to each card as he spoke, stopping on the observatory.

"Okay, I'll buy that theory," she said. "Konrad told me he would be watching me. I'm not so sure he would bother repeating the same thing for your benefit, do you?" she asked.

"If he thought the tables were a misogynistic cult like you used to think, perhaps he thought we wouldn't believe you and needed to make the point clear," Noah shrugged but watched her reaction.

"Who says I don't think that anymore?" she asked, tilting her head at him.

"Your acceptance of Genesis in Olivia's life even before you left to find the Suebi on your own tells me you aren't as concerned about it as you were. Vivienne and Gideon also got your blessing in the end," he explained his thinking.

"I hate to shatter your bubble, and while some of you may have stepped into the twenty-first century, I don't trust any of the Tables enough to entrust my life to them. I would need a lot more proof than just you and your brothers showing that you can be reasonable and good men to shift the wealth of experience I have of the misogynists in action. Olivia and Vivienne don't have that same experience, and I would hardly go out of my way to spoil their happiness if they are sure it lies with your brothers," she shrugged.

"Exactly my point. Your life was a horror movie directed by your father and uncle. The Battaglia returned you once they discovered their mistake, and..." he stopped as she cut him off.

"But they didn't believe me, did they?" she hissed, getting angry at his continued defence of Table men.

"Think about how many drug addicts who tell them the same story about abuse of power by their parents and then cut them some slack for needing to check out your claims before releasing you," he sighed, realising he was back to fighting Marcella for every inch of leeway she gave him. He glanced at the bed, wondering if that was the last time, he would make love to her and have her love him back in the same way. The word love made him blink, had they made love to each other? She had been there with him that time, and he had felt her love or at least her desire for him.

"What's with the strange frown. This is what we do. We argue to work shit out. I may not trust all Table men, but I have come around to your immediate family at least. I trust your father as I could never trust mine. He helped me at risk to himself when I was trying to find Hermione's. Shit! That reminds me, whatever happened to that paperwork Olivia signed gifting the house to Bea? Was it on the boat when you found it?" Marcella asked as if her mind couldn't help jumping from one thing to another. "God knows you try to take over everything else I do. I can't imagine you weren't the first on that boat when you found it."

"I thought you were one of the dead when I got there," Noah said quietly but needing her to hear it. "I was living my very own nightmare as I waited to find out if you were among all the bodies we found."

"Shit, really?" Marcella asked, hearing the anguish in his voice. "I suppose there was no way for you to know what happened to all those people or that I had been taken." She looked down, feeling wrong about the heartache she heard in his voice, knowing he and Zanto had been shot only days before. "How's Zanto?" she asked into the silence his proclamation had left.

"Recovering, not happy at being left behind when we heard you were with the Farnese," he chuckled. "He'll be happy to see you again. He blamed himself when you left us and saved my life by taking that first bullet. You don't seem to understand, Marcie. We love you, all of us, though I don't love you like a sister as they do," he gave a slight quirk of his lips. "When you left us to seek out the Suebi alone, I wasn't the only one living a nightmare and believing you had been killed."

"You couldn't come with me, and you knew it even though you tried to convince me otherwise," she sighed. "I had to go alone, or I would never have gotten what we needed to free Olivia. I'm so sorry you and Zanto were hurt because of me," she said sadly and looked down at her hands.

"I don't want to argue with you, Marcie, haven't we done enough of that already," Noah sighed. "I survived, and Zanto survived, and it seems you did too despite still being in danger. I just want you to trust me to help you stay safe. If I see you wanting to go off and take huge risks alone again, I'm not sure I could let you go, not alone anyway."

"I don't need you to take over my investigations the moment it gets a little tricky. If I thought you would honestly let me lead, it might be different. Still, our week together only proved you couldn't let me lead alone," Marcella said without inflexion. She was just delivering the facts as she saw them without letting emotions colour the conversation.

"I really don't want to argue with you here," Noah sighed. "You have to know I never meant to take over anything; I was just trying to help and protect you. I think I did a pretty good job of letting you lead for most of that week," he grumbled.

Marcella looked at him as if she would argue but seemed to chew her lip as if holding back the retort she wanted to let out. Noah reached out his right hand to take her left and stroke over the ring she still wore.

"You tried to protect me in the same way I was trying to protect you. That tells me you care if nothing else. Keeping this," he stared down at her ring. "It tells me everything we have shared has meant something to both of us, or am I truly in this alone?" he asked quietly, trying to keep the anxiety at hearing her answer from his voice.

"Pfft, you know I was just using you for your body," Marcella grinned at him, lightening the mood and avoiding having to answer his question.

Noah chuckled with her but continued to hold her hand as they talked about the week they spent together, avoiding talking about how it ended. They stopped their teasing banter only when the room service arrived.

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