Live For It

|29|

{THIRD PERSON}

The moon glistened over the city through the night. Stars littered the dark sky, each one having a name and a story. 

Zion wished his life was as simple as the sky. The stars, the moon, the clouds. They all had a place and a reason. 

He exhaled a cloud of smoke as he waited for the familiar vibration of his phone in his pocket. Yes, he was smoking again...Something he vowed to give up so he would be able to die from a cause out of his control. And cigarettes were definitely in his control dominion. 

But what wasn't in his control was the thing drowning his thoughts. 

Zhara.

The name sparked a flame in him, somewhere in his chest or in his mind, maybe both. He could feel the name in his fingertips, in his nerves. He could see the name everywhere, in the sky that he was glaring at from his balcony. He could hear the name in wind, in the quiet, far-off sounds of the city that never sleeps. 

And now quite literally, according to the contract, Zhara was under no one's control. She technically never was. 

No one could control that woman. 

Yesterday afternoon, they had gone into the city to see the particular gang that would be giving extra surveillance to the Di Maggio's. Zion couldn't focus on anything the entire time. He had Liam addressing most of the work. Zion's second-in-command is definitely his saving grace right now. 

And the fact that Zhara is stable. 

Running a hand through his hair, he decided that he would not go see the girl while smelling like smoke. She deserved better than that. 

He stripped off his suit jacket as he walked back into his bedroom, throwing it to the nearby chair next to a clean side table. His muscles were tight and tense, the cigarette had not done anything to ease the stress he had flowing through his veins like blood. 

He tried to avoid looking at himself in the mirror of his bathroom, afraid that he would not be impressed with what he saw. His chest ached with each breath like there was something in his throat trying to strangle him. 

Ignoring the feeling, he stepped into the steaming shower, hoping the heat of the water would soothe the permanent pain. He closed his eyes, wondering what would happen if he stayed away forever. He let the water run over his face, drenching his skin and hair as his mind went back to her. 

"Fuck," he pressed a fist to the wall, running the other hand down his face. 

He had to see her, whether or not she would know he was there or if she was even awake. It didn't matter to him. 

Nothing mattered when it came to her. She wouldn't get out of his head. 

Zhara. 

Her name. The name was everywhere. 

~~~

Zion cut the engine of the newest Audi e-Tron model, making sure the parking lot was empty except for the cars he could recognize as belonging to employees and guards. He scanned his surroundings, knowing that he didn't have a personal guard with him at this time of the evening. One in the morning, to be specific. He was aware of the twenty-five guards lining the ground level and top level of the hospital. 

He made his way toward the locked entrance, content with the amount of precaution he put on this place. He typed in the passcode only he would know, then swiped the key-card most of his close-handed employees had. The tinted glass doors slid open to reveal the second entrance room where guests or approved visitors would be checked.