A target to avoid

She gingerly sat down on the white sofa closest to her, a few inches from the foot of the bed. She still couldn't push down the pangs of sharing a room, a bed with another person…...a man.

She felt the weight of the box on her lap, her eyes looked forward and she bit the side of her lip, curiosity morphing into her features. She wanted to ask what it was but the fronted look Talon gave her showed that he wanted her to open the box herself. Which she did.

Her fingers made quick work of the box’s lid as he pulled it off, staring at pile's of neatly stacked files inside the box. Files containing information on Zorro Ashwood.

Why did he give her this, and why did this seem important?. Talon saw the confusion on her face and he sat in front of her, crossing his long legs. Dismissing the butler.

"Why are you giving your brother's files to me?"

Talon paused before leaning towards her, the space between their noses just a little. Halo instinctively leaned backwards, maintaining distance between them.

"Halo, we're more or less strangers. I know that. But now, you are my wife and to the public my supposed better half. If anything, I'd like to know if I can trust you?"

She bit her lip, repeating his question mentally in her head before speaking.

"Can I trust you?"

He cocked his head to the side not expecting that, didn't she view him as trust worthy enough?.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean.....if you're giving me this then you want me to learn something about your brother. I am willing to learn and if it isn't a wrong thing, then I could do more for you. But in return I need to know, can I trust you?"

She placed her hand on her box and blinked, leaning forward as if to establish the dominance of her question by having their faces so close to each other. Her tongue came out and did the little swiping thing it did across her lip. And Talon was........dare he say, distracted.

"Yes, yes you can trust me. Although I do not know what type of trust you require"

She opened her mouth to speak but she wasn't quite sure of what to say. These papers inside the box on her lap looked like a report, in the manner a detective would make up of a suspected criminal. She had heard speckles of their rivalry and it was obvious to her now that Talon wanted her to be aware of Zorro.

But for what reason?.

"Nothing" she settled on saying instead. "I just require mutual trust. You can trust me, but it would assure my loyalty if I knew that I could trust you too. This might be a contractual arrangement, but we both know that we need to see eye to eye, at least we need to be somewhat friendly”.

"Fair enough, you have my word Halo. If I can trust you, then you can trust me"

"Okay" she whispered, that was reassuring. "So what do you want me to do?, in regards with showing me this"

"Sooner or later, you'll meet my family. Probably not the whole family because of distance and non importance, but you'll meet my father....and Zorro" he paused before continuing, "Zorro and I have a rocky relationship as brothers, I don't want to go into details. The box contains files that contain everything you need to know about him. To keep you on your toes and informed about who you'll be dealing with"

"Dealing with?" Halo repeated questioningly, "With due respect, I'm not part of your......supposed rivalry with your brother"

Talon chuckled and closed his palm around Halo's clothed knee.

"From the moment you signed those court papers and became an Ashwood, things changed a lot and likely, knowing Zorro, he will see you as something shiny to poke"

Her lips parted.

"I feel violated by your words. Are you implying that your brother might want to do something cruel to me?"

"Yes", He replied without mincing words, not skipping the unease in her eyes. "But I won't let him. Don't feel startled or uneasy, all you need to do is be cautious and go through these files. It'll help you understand why you need to avoid Zorro, he can be very manipulative"

"I often would need to hear from both sides before I judge on who has the bad traits and who is good. I know you said that I should trust you but, what if you are bad mouthing your brother simply because of the rivalry going on between you two?"

"Bad mouthing my brother to you won't do me any good. It's just a heads up Halo, feel free to do whatever you wish with the information about him in the box”

"How do I know that these documents aren't fake?"

Talon chuckled and pointed to some of the aged looking papers beneath the stacks. They didn't look fake. At Least not to Halo.

"Alright, I'll be cautious of Zorro Ashwood when I see him"

"You say it like you're doing me the favour. Staying away from Zorro is for your own good Halo, not mine"

"Are you saying it would be beneficial to you if Zorro Ashwood was to do anything to me?"

His lips curled up at the edges, and he tapped his chin in a playful manner. Holding their gaze.

"I mean if Zorro was to do anything bad to you, it would give me the perfect excuse to be at loggerheads with him again, so in a way Halo.....it would benefit me"

She gasped, involuntarily clutching the box’s lid to her chest.

"But you just said that…..you wouldn't let him do anything to-"

"I did say that wifey", he pulled his hand away from her knee. Standing up from the foot of the bed and arranging his sleeves "But you ask too many questions"

"My apologies" she docked her head downwards. "I'll shut my mouth"

"And where is the fun in that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You need to keep talking, so that I have the opportunity to test just how perfectly my mouth can shut you up".

She was mortified, and he found amusement within her wide eyes.