Savannah deserved better.
Chapter Twenty
"You need to shower," Elio said, looking at her body.
She was still only in her underwear because he decided to take off her clothes. They were completely drenched in blood and should be burned. She was beautiful and Elio almost wished he could touch her, hold her and make her feel great. But it wasn't the right time for any of this and he almost felt disgust that such frivolous thoughts had made their way into his head.
He walked up to his wardrobe picking out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that she could wear. He handed them to her wondering whether she was even able to manage on her own. She'd gone through a lot in the past few hours. Elio sometimes forgot that people usually were bothered by things like blood, dead bodies or torture. That was an everyday thing for him and he had never realized that it went way beyond others' comprehension. It remained glued in their minds, the scenes playing over and over inside their heads. And for him, it was just like a piece of gum under the table that had to scrub off.
"Do you want my help?" he asked.
A question to which he already knew Savannah's answer. For someone who’d been forced to become independent so early in her life, she would never accept anyone's help without a solid reason. Or if she was with her back to the wall. Which she wasn't.
She shook her head, breathing out. Her internal struggle reached her eyes. She felt just as absent as she felt present there in the bedroom with Elio. It was almost like she worked on autopilot.
Elio walked her to the bathroom and left, however, he kept on listening just in case Savannah actually needed his help after all. Looking at the bedsheets, they were smeared with blood. Certainly not such a splendid idea if he wanted the girl to be able to shake off the terrifying image of her boss’s lifeless body. He quickly changed the bedding to a fresh one then grabbed Savannah's bag that he had taken from the diner along with the unconscious girl. He reached for her phone, ready to be the responsible one at this moment. He sent a message to Kate knowing that she must probably be babysitting Aiden still. He informed her that Savannah was good and asked whether she could stay till morning.
It was already four in the morning and in a little bit over an hour the sun would rise. The girl still needed sleep to recover even if ever so slightly. Thinking about others wouldn't be a good idea. She had to take care of herself. Just like Elio decided to take care of her. He wouldn't let her leave just yet. He wasn't afraid that she would go to the police. If she’d wanted to, she had enough to tell even before what she had seen today. It seemed as if she had no trust in law enforcement. Rightfully so. With how deep bribery went, the system was broken. You could get away with almost anything. The Las Vegas Famiglia was a great example of that. They rarely had any problems with the police.
Savannah emerged twenty minutes later, finding Elio sitting on the edge of the bed, his face hidden in his hands. He heard her coming in but didn't bother to check. She glanced at the nightstand, seeing a holster resting there.
She bit her bottom lip until she tasted metal. Blood.
Again.
She moved towards the man, settling next to him. Their legs brushed against one another. "What happens now?"
Elio rubbed his face before meeting her gaze. He offered her a small smile, however, with the bags under his eyes it was evident that he was exhausted. "We keep on living. It's over. Now Father will most likely appoint someone else to take over the diner. I'll make sure that you keep your job," he promised.
It wasn't at the forefront of her head but she was thankful that he thought about it. Having a normal, every-day job was rather far from something he was used to acknowledging. He led a different life. However, Savannah needed protection so she wouldn't worry where to get money from. But she was thinking of their relations. Somehow, she couldn't imagine Elio disappearing at this point. Whether he liked it or not, the last events had bound them to a secret that couldn't be spread around. Not in the outside world. And if he was true to his words of her being safe with him, he didn't intend to kill her for what she had seen and all she knew.
His back slumped on the mattress, his legs still hanging, feet resting on the floor. Eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Savannah surprised him by doing the same. He would think that she would beg him to drive her home to her brother. "Kate is to stay with Aiden till morning. I will take you to him later," he said, knowing that sooner or later the girl would realize that there was someone she should have been thinking of.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice mellifluous. Then she closed her eyes.
Silence fell upon them. It caressed her skin like a breeze, smoothing the jagged edges of her soul. It had been one hell of a rough day. Straight out of a horror movie.
The guilt was still there. From this day on, it would always be there.
"Russians will retaliate, won't they?" she asked another question.
Yes, they would. With everything they had. Not because they cared about Hunter and that he had been killed. Simply because they'd lost another opportunity to fight Noah Falcone by stealing his businesses. They didn't give a fuck about casualties. That's why it would be a vicious retaliation aimed at the Famiglia. The Bratva would leave
