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I was numb watching as the front of the casino burned. Red and blue lights lit up the car park, with paramedics helping the ones in need, firefighters trying to put out the blaze and police taking statements. Patrick hugged me tight, watching the building burn along with me. I hugged his jacket, tighter around me which brought me warmth and comfort.

I had no idea if everyone got out safely, I was surprised that we all did.

Well most of us anyway. Alberto pretty much had to be thrown in the back of an ambulance for the paramedics to get a look at him. It was a scrape, but it had taken a gush out of his arm that even he had to admit that it needed seeing to. It was the very reason why he couldn't lift the rubble in the first place.

"I have a contact in the police force. I'll go see what I can find out," Patrick told me, kissing my cheek before stepping towards the police cars.

"Hey," I stoped him just before he let go of my hand, "please, try and not get yourself arrested."

He smiled at me before kissing my cheek again before heading in the same direction.

"Eliza," my head turned at the sound of Eagle's voice and found not a scratch on him.

"I'm sorry about this," he apologised, surprising me by the sincerity in his voice, "this was not the plan of the evening."

I nodded, accepting his answer, "and I apologise for any offence I caused. I didn't mean to insult you."

He shook his head, "no need. I have tougher skin."

I smiled, grateful for his forgiveness.

"I will agree to your offer," he stated, almost knocking me from my feet, "you showed great courage giving up your mother's necklace and that courage should be rewarded. So, you may have your casino and fifty-percent into my deals. But, I would like fifty-percent of profit your casino makes."

I agreed. I don't know if I would regret it or not but at this moment, all I could focus on was my family.

"He's good for you as much as you are for him," he stated, sounding more like a man than a drug lord, "the Yin and the Yang. The light and the dark. Two opposites attract and complement each other, no side superior to the other. He gives you strength while you give him hope."

I couldn't help but blush, feeling proud of my relationship with Patrick.

"You will have a strong marriage, Eliza. Patrick is loyal and as you've seen, he will protect you at all costs. In return, you give him comfort, love and in time, perhaps a family."

Almost instantly, a hand went to my belly where I could one day carry his child.

"Mr Yeung," one of his security guard interrupted, "your car is waiting."

"Thank you," he said, before turning back to me, "we'll be in touch."

I nodded, before he walked away into the darkness.

"Eliza," Patrick called, taking my arm and pulling me into his embrace, "what did he want?"

"He was sealing a deal. I'll tell you later," I sighed, nuzzling my face into his chest, "what did you find out?"

"It was a car bomb," he sighed.

I pulled back, looking in his eyes. He couldn't be serious?

"It was probably a timer, we won't know right away," he told me.

"Did everyone get out okay?" I asked.

He sighed, not sure if he should tell me the truth, "a few staff were hit. One's in a critical condition."

I gasped, cupping my hand over my mouth, "this is all my fault."

"Of course it's not, we have no idea who was the target. Eagle could have been for all we know."

But we did know. The casino just so happened to be targeted when we were there. It wasn't a coincidence.

I moaned and collapsed onto his body, my own not being able to support myself.

"Take me home," I begged him, "please, just, take me home."

"Garrick's on his way," he told me, "Alberto's refusing to go to the hospital but, that's not new. Antonio has the means to take care of him, anyway."

"What? He's going to make him go to the hospital?" I asked, in disbelief.

"No. He has a sowing kit."

I frowned, but didn't dare question it.

"Here's Garrick," Patrick told me just as a white light blinded me.

A black door opened and a figure stepped out.

"Did someone call for a car?" Garrick's voice rung out from the darkness, "Lizzy, didn't anyone teach you not to piss off the mafia."

When Patrick and I got to the front door, I groaned at the sound of Zoey's yelling. It was too late for this. Patrick gave me an annoyed look, telling me he had little patience for this as well.

"She's been on the wall path since you called," Garrick told us.

"Great, and I thought having a gash out of my arm and bruised ribs was the worst part of my night," Alberto spat, leaning on Piero for support.

Patrick groaned, before pushing opened the door and gesturing us through.

My eyes widen at the sight of Zoey locked in Nickola's arms and Antonio sitting on the stairs, looking very amused.

"This is my friend we're talking about. My best friend. If you don't let me go, I'm going to rip your balls from your body and feed it to rabid dogs!" She roared, making my jaw drop.

She did not just say that.

"Why don't you tell her, herself?" Antonio stopped her, standing and walking over to us himself.

"Lizzy!" Zoey yelled, pulling out of Nickola's grip and running over to me.

I winced as Zoey wrapped her arms around me, my shoulders burning in pain.

"Oh my God, I was so worried. What the hell happened?" She yelled at me.

"Zoey, please. Eliza needs some rest - we all do," Patrick pressed.

Oh crap. Oh Patrick, never tell Zoey what to do.

She let go of me, her firry stare turning on Patrick.

"You promised her father that you would take care of her. Twice now, she has been shot at. She's had none of this before she married you!" Zoey shouted, pointing her finger at him.

Patrick remained cold and hard like a statue, taking her insults.

"God, please Zoey, stop," I begged her, "it wasn't Patrick's fault."

"To hell it wasn't," she ignored me, taking a step towards him, "this is all his fault."

"Zoey, stop," Garrick snapped this time, "You have no idea what your talking about."

"I know that my friend could have died last night!"

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for him, I'll be dead right now!" Alberto argued with her, now being supported by Piero and his brother.

We fell into silence as we contemplated what could have happened tonight. What if that car bomb had gone off closer to the building? What if it was bigger? What if the bullets had hit one of us?

Coughing, Patrick broke the silence, "look, Zoey, I get your anger. But you have no right to come into my house and excuse me of things that were out of my control. Now, I protected my wife as best as I could, while trying to help my friend. I am also tired and past my limit of tolerance," to me, he asked, "are you coming with me?"

Everyone's eyes were on me and I was met with another decision. This time it was between Patrick and Zoey.

"I'll be up in a minute," I told him.

He nodded, accepting my answer before making his way up the stairs.

"Come on you big hump of stupid," Antonio groaned, supporting his brother as he limped up the stairs.

"Big hump of stupid, really? That's all you got," Alberto snapped.

They bickered up the stairs with Piero snickering behind them. Nickola shot Zoey a look before he followed them up as well.

"I'm happy your okay" Garrick told me with a smile, before he made his way up the stairs.

All that was left was Zoey and me.

I couldn't help but scoff and shake my head at her.

"Seriously, Zoey?" I snapped.

"What? What did you want me to say? Everything I said was true. Look at all that's happened since you've met him. Tonight, the shooting couple of weeks ago, your father -."

"None of that was his fault," I told her, "look, I get it. Your worried about me. But you don't have to be."

"Why, because you have a man upstairs that will protect you?"

"Well, yeah," I cried, my anger bubbling over the top, "and maybe you would have one too if you could actually open yourself up to someone, instead of just screwing the first guy you see!"

I didn't realize what I had said till I had said it. My heart broke when I looked at her angry eyes, forcing herself to be furious so that she wasn't upset.

"Wow, Lizzy. Who knew you could steep so low? Maybe you and Patrick are made for each other," she spat, tears slowly starting to fill her eyes.

"Zo, I didn't mean -."

"Go to hell," she snapped before turning and sprinting for the door.

I wanted to go after her.

Everything inside of me screamed for me too. But I couldn't. Too much had happened tonight that even the prospect of climbing the stairs was too great. I hated myself. She was my best friend in the whole world and I had just tore her apart.

Climbing the stairs, I forced myself not to think about it. Not now. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry.

I went to my room first to remove my dress. My breasts never felt so free now that they weren't trapped in the dress. I changed my thong for simple Bonds panties, before snatching my robe from where it lied on the bed. Tying it, I headed back into the hall.

I found Patrick, in sweat pants, sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me. I forced a small smile on my lips when I saw him, trying to lift his spirits if not my own.

"What happened?" He asked, standing and slowly making his way over to me.

I shrugged and sighed, running my hands over his smooth chest, "nothing that can't be fixed."

I hoped anyway.

"Your hurt," he stated, pulling opened the robe a little, revealing cut along my shoulder.

"It's from the glass," I told him, not wanting him to worry.

"Come on," he sighed, leading me into his bathroom.

He sat me down on the grey stone bath before walking over to the black floating basin. He took a towel from the hand rack and placed it in the dish and soaking it in water. As I waited for him, I looked around the room. It was in an L shape. As soon as you walked in, there was the basin and the toilet. To the right was the bath and the double shower with a glass door. Grey titles covered the space, giving that modern feel.

Soon, Patrick returned to me with the towel and pushed the robe off my shoulder. I hissed when he pressed the cool towel to my cut, both shivering from the touch and the sting. He began to dab the towel against my skin, trying to soak up the blood.

"You were a hero tonight," I told him, hoping he didn't take Zoey's words to heart, "Alberto was right. We would all be dead right now if it wasn't for you."

"You would have figured something out," he reassured me, refusing to take the acknowledgement.

"Please don't take what Zoey said personally," I begged him, taking his hand, "she was just angry. And when she's angry, she says things without thinking."

"Don't worry, amore," he said, brushing my checks, "anything that Zoey said wasn't anything that I hadn't said to myself."

My heart broke at his words. Why must he always be so cold? Why wouldn't he just accept that he had been a hero tonight and not the villain?

"There," he smiled, "done."

Just as he stood, I snatch his hand. He froze under my touch, my eyes glue to my fingers that brush his knuckles. They followed my fingers up his arms and to his elbow where I frowned. He had been hurt?

"Your bleeding?" I cried, latching into him harder before he had a chance to run, "were you shot?"

"No, I scraped myself when I helped Alberto. It's nothing," he tried to convince me.

"Hand me the towel," I demanded, holding out my palm.

He groaned, but complied and handed me the towel.

"Turn around," I ordered, watching as he rolled his eyes but did as I asked.

As I washed his wound, I remembered the last time we were in this position. It brought a smile on my face, remembering how we treated each other only four weeks before.

"I thought you said being ordered around was a onetime thing," I teased him, making him snort as the memory resurfaced for him as well.

"Maybe I like it when you order me," he chuckled.

"Well, I definitely know you like it when I tie you up," I reminded him, my cheeks burning at the memory.

His grin widened as well, "I seem to remember you liked being tied up too."

I snorted, burying my face into his shoulder blade. It felt good to laugh with him, to at least have a smile on my face for a bit. Today had been so stressful that it was good just to be us for a moment.

That moment soon passed as Patrick stood, taking the towel and moving back over to the sink to wash it. As he did, my mind wondered back to the casino, feeling the room shake as if we were back there. I remembered the mushroom cloud that filled my view and the fear I felt when Piero pulled me from the room. I couldn't get his words out of my head. Get her out of here! Even in the panic, he was cool headed. He knew what needed to be done. He knew he needed to get me to safety and help Alberto even at the cost of his life.

the Yin and the Yang. The light and the dark, Eagle's voice echoed through my head, just as Patrick's did.

I'm afraid that I'll be the one to take that light away from your eyes

You won't. Maybe I can bring that light back into your eyes.

Don't wish for that, it's not going to happen

As Patrick went back into the bedroom, my mind forced myself to think. What if there was another reason why Patrick didn't think the light inside of him couldn't return? And it didn't have anything to do with his soul.

Leaning on the doorframe, I asked, "when you said that, that light inside your eyes couldn't return, was it because you didn't think it could? Or because you didn't want it too?"

Patrick froze at my question, his eyes not meeting mine.

"I mean, I get it," I told him, "not many people could survive this world with it."

"Please, Eliza, can we not do this now?" He begged.

I wanted so much to put him out of his misery, but I couldn't. Not after today.

"I'm sorry, but yes we do," I pressed, watching him struggle in his own body, running his hands through his hair, "you said earlier that marriage to you was about being equal. Well marriage to me is about trust and honesty and I want you to be honest with me."

"I have been honest with you, Eliza. I've been more honest with you than I have been with anyone my entire life! And that's including the boys," he admitted.

"Then trust me," I begged, taking a step forward.

It was the big old question that I had been battling with since we got married. Could he trust me?

Sighing, he nodded, "fine. Sit down."

I didn't protest the order and sat on the edge of the bed. Patrick sighed, rubbing his hands through his hair as he started to pace the room again.

"When I first started, I had one thing in my mind. Build an empire that would be strong enough to protect me and my future wife. Everything else didn't matter," he explained, "at the time, not having a soul didn't seem that big of price to pay. So, yes, I killed people. I've killed people who betrayed me, who wanted to hurt the few people closest to me and the people that stood in my way. I've tortured people to get the answers I wanted and I've looked into a man's eyes and watched the life drain from his eyes."

I swallowed, struggling to see that side of him. Maybe he was testing me. Maybe he was trying to reveal the worst side of him as a test to see if I could handle the rest of his story.

"Soon I had my empire. I had all the contacts I needed to secure any business deals I wanted. I had respect from the Russians, even from the Mafias that I wasn't involved with. And I had an inter-circled filled with men that I trusted my life with. All was missing was my queen," he stated, crouching down so far so that we were eye level, "to be honest Eliza, I thought you would fall into place like everything else. I thought I could order you like everything else. And if I couldn't control you than you were at least as dark and soulless as I was and the only thing you would want from me was sex because that's what my relationship was with women."

My eyes dropped not able to hold his stare.

"But you weren't," he breathed, cupping my cheek and forcing my eyes to meet his, "you were this beautiful woman that had a light in her eyes that made me ashamed of how I had lived my life. And I didn't know what to do."

He backed away, beginning to pace again.

"That's why I continued to pick fights with you. I was so angry that I couldn't even talk to you like you were a human being, that I couldn't give you what you wanted. I was so caught up with wanting to have a physical relationship with you but not giving you the emotional one you craved. And I didn't know what to do."

I didn't know what to say. I was frozen in his anger and frustration.

"And then we were shot at. And I was scared. For the first time in nine years I was scared. For the first time in nine years, I had something to loose. And that scared the crap out of me," he confessed, throwing his arms about, "I didn't even know how to react, how to process. So I slipped back into my arrogant, cold routine. But I couldn't get that night out of my head -."

"The shooting in the study wasn't your fault, Patrick. I was the reason we were in there in the first place," I told him.

For the first time, he stopped, frowned and shook his head, "I'm not talking about the shooting."

Now, I frowned.

He knelt down in front of me again, "I'm talking about when you slept in my bed for the first time. You were the first person that I've ever just slept with, no sex."

My heart warmed and broke at his confession. Broken at his confession of a loveless life but warmed by the sweetness that I was his first.

I managed a smile, running my hands up his arms, to his shoulders to his neck.

"I want to give you what you want, Eliza," he admitted, not looking me in the eyes, "but it's not that I don't want to love or don't believe that I can. It's that I don't know how to."

"You do, I've seen it," I told him, squeezing his neck, "maybe not in the hearts and roses type way. But, in the way you defend me, the way you believe in me when I don't, the way you protect me -."

"Eliza, there's a darkness inside of me thats been put there a long time ago," he told me, perhaps an argument to stop my cause of ever seeing something good in him.

All I could think about was what Eagle had said.