The Twelve Zenati Pt. 19

"Keep parading around like this and see what happens next," he chuckled in warning. "I'm only human, Marcella, and I think that you proved already just how you affect me." He bent over her to growl softly into her ear and was pleased by the shiver he felt run down her body. He pushed his hips up against her ass to prove his point, and then stepped back and turned on the shower before he continued getting undressed. He needed a cold shower before he did something that they might both regret. He knew that he needed her to come to him, for it to be her decision, spoken or explicitly implied. He didn't regret spanking her the night before. She had deserved it. Anything further than a little light punishment for being a bitch, however, needed to come from her. He would not be yet another man to take advantage of her. Or, at least, he hoped that he wouldn't. If she continued to parade around in lingerie, all bets were off. He wasn't a eunuch, after all.

Marcella watched Noah strip down to nothing, her eyes still wide as he seemed unconcerned that she was ogling his reflection in the large mirror. Tall, lean and beautiful, he was a walking wet dream, and very few men, to her knowledge, ever managed to look that good naked, but Noah pulled it off with ease. He hissed through his teeth as he stepped under the shower spray and she realised that it was cold, and unable to help herself, she grinned widely before turning back to what she was doing.

Whatever was going on between them was going to happen eventually, she admitted, if only to herself. The question was, did she take the bull by the horns and take control of their inevitable fuck, or did she make him suffer until he lost all control and took her the way he needed? Both scenarios held some appeal. She had to admit that the idea of making Noah lose his shit, and all the control he held over every aspect of his life, thrilled her. She'd seen him lose it for a few brief minutes last night in the car, but he was quick to regain the upper hand and exert his control. If she wanted a bigger and much more satisfying result, she was going to have to push him even harder.

The challenge of it excited her, but she would have to play her cards right. She didn't want Noah thinking that he could lay claim to her. As soon as she got what she wanted from Vince and found the evidence that Olivia needed to prove her story, she would be gone. Gone to wherever daredevil nature lovers dwelt and enjoyed life. Maybe she would start at Byron Bay or, better yet, Nimbin. If it was good enough for Chris Hemsworth and his family, it would be good enough for her. She could be neighbours with him or a host of other celebrities that lived there.

Marcella moved into the bedroom to continue getting dressed the moment that she heard the water turn off in the shower. She, too, was only human, and her recent thoughts left her on edge and horny enough to agree to a quickie before they left the room, if she wasn't careful. She slipped on the black sheath dress and her heels, before taking a seat to watch him dress surreptitiously as she thumbed through a tourist magazine supplied by the hotel.

Noah wasted no time dressing after his cold shower, trying to rub the chill from his body with the towel, not that the heat of desire had faded from the intensity Marcella had sparked with her lingerie show. He pulled out a dark suit, to match the professional look of her dress, and a white shirt. She stood as he was almost dressed and helped him with his tie, standing close without touching him, so that it was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Just trying to play nice with my fiancé," she laughed lightly and scooted away before he decided to take advantage of their proximity.

"Play... I believe. Nice... is another matter entirely." He gave her a knowing look. "Let's go or else you will be late."

"We have plenty of time to get there," she said, checking her watch with a frown.

"We won't if you keep playing nice with me," he growled, leaving her in no doubt that she was winning this battle of seduction.

"What happened to the unflappable lawyer who always gave as good as he got?" she teased, as they left the suite.

"He's on vacation, and I'm not nearly as calm and restrained as he usually is," Noah admitted, making her turn and eye him sceptically. He grinned at her in return but said nothing else as they walked to the entrance and waited for his car to be brought around.

Marcella sat deep in thought during the short drive. She knew that she could ruffle the usually- unruffled Noah Zenati, but she hadn't expected it to be so easy, or for him to admit defeat so soon. They had flirted and fought with equal energy in the past, knowing that it wouldn't go any further than that. He had turned her down, after all, so his warning that he would make her late for her appointment if she didn't back off, while pleasing, had surprised her. She tried to put it out of her mind but the more she attempted to ignore the man beside her, the more he loomed large in her mind, and in the car he drove with such ease. Neither of them spoke until they approached the Sailing Club.

"Promise that you'll be careful in there. No unnecessary risks," Noah cautioned Marcella, as he pulled into a partially-shaded space near the fence.

"You'll know where I am the whole time," she sighed dramatically and lifted her arm, waving it to jingle the bracelet holding the tracker.

"Promise," he said again, reaching out to take her hand.

"I don't know who you are any more. What did you do with the arrogant, uptight Noah that always took over all of my plans?" she sniped at him, feeling frustrated with the Mr-Nice-Guy version of Noah that she had been dealing with for the last two days. He didn't let go of her hand when she tried to tug it away, reminding her that he could overpower her if he wanted. "Fine, I promise. Happy now?"

"No, but it will have to do," he grumbled. He let go of Marcella's hand and took a deep breath as she climbed out of the car. "I guess I'll wait right here," he grumbled, wondering if it was worth going against her wishes and plans and following her in. He knew that if he wanted his turn to be in control he had to play her game, so he pulled out his phone as soon as she closed her door and pretended not to watch her walk inside as he pulled up the app to track her.

*****

Marcella stepped into the cool, air-conditioned interior of the small club. She signed in at reception, tearing off the small paper tag from the book, and got directions to the sports bar. She couldn't see the woman described to her behind the bar, so she sat on a stool and ordered a drink. When the bartender came back with her drink and change, she placed her hand over his on the bar, stopping him from moving away.

"Can you tell me where I might find Bea?" she asked in a sweet, inquisitive tone.

"I'll let her know you're here. Your name is?" he asked in return.

"Selena Seabrook." Her smile stiffened on her face as his eyes widened in recognition of the name. She wondered if she had just walked into the missing Suebi headquarters, as he turned away and went to a phone hanging from the wall at the far side of the bar.

"You're not Selena." An older, large woman said, after approaching her and crossing her arms over her large bosom. "And you didn't come alone."

"My bodyguard is in the car. A necessary evil since I parted ways with the Zenati a few days ago. Though I am sure that you and the people you work for are fully aware of that, too. So, let's get on with this, shall we? You have an answer for me?" Marcella stood her ground in the face of the formidable woman.

"True enough," the woman chuckled. "Why don't you call Noah in to join us, and we can ask him about this mysterious leave of absence from his family first, Marcella?" she said, then raised an eyebrow when Marcella didn't move, almost frozen in shock that the woman knew exactly who she and Noah were.

"Hey, they know you're not my bodyguard. You should go, now," Marcella said quietly into her phone.

"Over my dead body. I'm coming in," Noah snapped and ended the call.

"Nice try," Bea said. "Those Zenati men are all too misogynistic to believe that a woman can look after herself. I would bet that he will be in here in three, two, one," and she pointed to the entry of the bar, where Noah stood scanning the almost empty space for Marcella.

"Bea," Noah nodded, as he approached the two women.

"I wish that I could say it's good to see you again, Noah, but we both know that isn't true, now don't we?" she chuckled again. "Let's all find somewhere comfortable to sit while we talk, shall we?" she asked, but was already leading them into the backroom before she had finished her invitation.

Noah reached out and took Marcella's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. She knew that she should be mad at him for not leaving like she had told him to, but that one small gesture, to tell her that she wasn't in this alone, meant the world to her. The only other person who had made her feel like she wasn't totally alone to suffer her miserable life had been Apollo, but he had issues of his own and they had been much better friends than lovers. She wondered briefly what Noah's agenda was, and decided, at that moment, that she didn't care, and she could worry about it later. She had to deal with one crisis at a time.

"If you would be so good as to put your phones and watches on the table," she said. "It just leaves any mistrust that we have of each other at the door," she said without emotion, as she laid her own phone on the table, turning it off. "It seems..." Bea said with a dramatic pause, as they followed her lead with their phones and Marcella dropped her apple watch onto the table beside her phone, "that we both want the same thing for now," Bea said, without preamble, once she was sure they weren't recording the conversation.

"Oh, and what might that be?" Marcella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't play coy with me, Marcella. You can't seduce me the way that you did Vincent, to get what you want. So, I suggest that you play it straight with me today, and you might be pleasantly surprised by the outcome," Bea said.

Noah stiffened but said nothing. This was Marcella's show, and he was determined to keep to their bargain, even if he felt sick at the thought of Marcella using sex and her body as a bargaining chip with the manager of the marina, Vinnie Vegas. What she had expected from this meeting, and what price had she been trying to renegotiate with him, drove Noah to distraction as he sat listening to the women.

"You'd give us the location of Hermione's?" Marcella asked, sceptically. "Because that's what he was going to give me."

"Perhaps, though there would be conditions, which would include orchestrating a raid on the premises on a particular night and time to coincide with the information I give you. You see, some of the people who were key players in Remington Royce's death frequent Hermione's and are trying to lay claim to his legitimate empire, as well as the scraps of his more-criminal establishments. It should be enough for me to see them go down with everyone else, but I want something only your sister can give me, once the dust settles. I want my home returned to me."

"Why didn't you just tell the AFP when you were in custody?" Marcella asked, not quite understanding this woman. "They would have taken care of the people and the place, just by your say-so alone."

"And admit that I knew more about what was really going on?" Bea chuckled. "I was a housekeeper, a cook. How could I know anything about the inner workings of Remy's organisation? I imagine they will let Kairos go too, once they are convinced that he knows very little, because he was kept out of any sensitive meetings," she shrugged. "Truth be told, I didn't know exactly who had betrayed him and why, until I had the freedom to pull our network back together. Besides, I want my home back and telling them every little secret would leave me nothing to bargain with."

Noah doubted that Kairos would ever be freed. He was Remy's right-hand man, and his only chance at freedom was to turn on those arrested with him. He would have to lay it all out for the authorities but he hadn't. He had steadfastly clung to the story that he was chauffeur and bodyguard and nothing more. Noah didn't voice his opinion though, allowing Marcella the time to put it all together, and just sat close by her side, so that she knew she wasn't alone in this bargaining.

"I can't promise anything on behalf of my sister, but tell me what you can give her or me, in return for the house, in excruciating detail and I will set up a meeting with her," Marcella offered.

"Noah can make those assurances. He is her lawyer, after all. You are assisting him with the case, are you not?" Bea challenged, surprising them both. "Do you honestly think that I would expose myself like this to you alone, Marcella? That Patriarchal society you belong to will never listen to you alone, but with him to back up what you say..." she indicated the silent Zenati, and Noah broke the silence.

"You're right, as far as the family goes. However, I think that you underestimate the woman who sought you, and this bargain, out at high risk to herself and her sister. I am here, just as Kairos always was, just a driver and bodyguard.," Noah said quietly, allowing a small smirk to escape. "If Marcella asks for my advice, which I am doubtful of, I would tell her what she already knows. The meeting she proposed would need to be with Genesis, as well as Olivia, because he is more than a little overprotective of her, and he won't be happy to let her agree to anything that he doesn't know the details of, even if she insisted."

"I imagine that the jealous prick would like nothing more than to be rid of the house where Selena or Olivia," she waved her hand, as if annoyed by the change in names, "lived and loved Remy," she challenged. "Ignoring that bonus to him and the girl, there is a gathering of the remaining power brokers set to occur in a few days at Hermione's. You have two days to get a written assurance from Olivia Royce, and I will hand you Hermione's and most of the missing people from her story, including the girl, April, whom I know you have been searching for, as well as a few other unknown important players," Bea said.

"What about my deal with Vincent? How is it that you are here, and he isn't?" Marcella asked, her brow furrowing. "How did you know that I was contacting him?"

"Vincent, like many others, is part of an intricate information-gathering network that Kairos put together, to warn those of us who stayed in the shadows if the bright shining stars were about to explode and become black holes in our universe," she chuckled. "Those of us who served those stars probably know more about their world than those who dwelled in it. Vinnie is at the bottom of that network. He had to ask questions to get the information you wanted and, once found out, explain why he wanted that information. The legal contracts you Table men force on your staff is probably the only smart thing that you do. I imagine they would be harder to sway and gather information from than those who served the elite of the Northern Clans," she chortled happily.

"You run this network now?" Marcella asked carefully.

"Not at all, but I am far further up the chain of command than Vincent, who I trust about as far as I can throw. He has his uses, however, as you well know," she grinned and winked at Marcella, who shot a glance at Noah and blushed deeply.

"Alright, I'll take your proposal to Olivia, and meet you in two days with the written assurance. Where?" she asked, letting Bea set the rules, as she was holding all the cards that Marcella wanted right now.

"Wait," Noah said quietly. "Can I ask Bea a quick question before you agree?" Noah deferred to Marcella, surprising Bea, who raised an eyebrow at them both.

Marcella masked her own surprise and slowly turned to look at Noah. In the past, he would have just jumped in and taken over the negotiations, such as they were, but he was giving her a choice this time. He had told Bea in no uncertain terms that he was the driver and bodyguard and that she was in charge of this negotiation. She found herself nodding slowly, curious as to what he would ask the woman.

"If Marcella does this and gets you the assurance you want, then when she alerts the AFP, how would we know if she is alerting those in your network, and thus endangering the whole arrangement and putting not only herself but her sister in danger of retaliation," Noah asked, looking directly at Bea. He watched her, looking for any sign that she was laying a trap for them by dangling the bait of what Marcella wanted so close that she could almost taste it, before snatching it away and making her a suspect, as well as her sister.

"I am sure that your family has as many men they trust within the AFP. If you leave it to the last minute, then there will be no chance to alert the agents who may well be attending the meeting, along with the small number of powerbrokers who remain free and want the wealth and power that goes along with Remy's estate. Of course, none of them was prepared for the announcement that the marriage to Olivia was made official, and that she had a legal claim to the wealth they wanted for themselves. If they had found out earlier, they never would have left her alone in the hospital, and your brother would never have gotten close to her. When April failed to reach her, they let it go. If they aren't taken down this time, Olivia will always be in danger of retaliation." Bea pulled no punches about the situation now that she was dealing with Noah. He would want and expect the hard truth from her.

"Are you threatening Olivia?" Marcella growled, hearing the threat in the words just spoken.

"Not me, but the men who seek to own her, and all the wealth and prestige she holds as the widow of Remington Royce, are a threat whether you recognise it or not. Genesis knows this much. Those bodyguards he has dogging your sister's every step are not for decoration," she chuckled.

Marcella frowned, and Noah took her hand, squeezing it. He wanted nothing more than to wade into this conversation and take over, shielding Marcella from the ugly truth that her sister was still in danger despite his family, led by Genesis, and their influence over the situation. He said nothing else, letting Marcella come to terms with what she was doing and who she was trusting.

"Alright, you've given me a lot to consider. I'll meet you in two days. You can name the place and time." Marcella had begun playing this game with the Suebi weeks ago, and knew the risks inherent in it, but she needed this information. If this woman was being truthful, she could negate at least part of the threat that her sister faced, while gaining the information she needed to ensure Olivia's freedom.

"Mindil Beach Night Markets, after six," Bea answered, without much thought. "The Roadkill Cafe."

"Sounds portentous," Marcella agreed with a nod of her head, then rose to her feet. "Don't get up, I can show myself out." She gathered her belongings from the table.

Noah followed her lead, his mind working quickly over the situation. This meeting held more than he expected, and he needed time to consider all the angles before trying to talk to Marcella about what she wanted and hoped for from this bargain. He knew that he couldn't just take over the plan. She had worked hard to get to this point but he had more than just a few concerns about her safety, and now the safety of Genesis, as the colleagues who had turned on Remington Royce fought over the scraps of his criminal empire.

"Don't say anything just yet," he said in a quiet voice, as he unlocked her door and looked over the car meaningfully. He doubted that they would have bugged his car, but better to be safe than sorry, especially as they had made sure that he was in the building with her. "I need to have Val check it out. Would you like me to drop you off at our room first?" he asked, as he helped her into the car using the same quiet voice.