*Bruno*
I felt sore all over my body. I was lying on something soft. I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. Opening my eyes felt like a chore. I moved my fingertip. From the smell of the bedsheets, I knew I was in my room. I had a hard time trying to remember why I was lying here.
Fuck.
My memories came flooding back to me. I was supposed to get married to Lucia. We didn’t get married. I opened my eyes. It wasn’t as hard as it was before. It was as if I was filled with a different energy. The room was bright from the bulbs that hung in the middle of the room. I blinked twice in succession, adjusting to the light.
Lucia
Where was she? Why was I here? The last thing I remember was being shot and Lucia; I couldn’t see her; I didn’t know what happened to her. Did Rave come to save her? And that bastard, Steve, I’ll rip him limb by limb. I sat up slowly, my shoulder aches to my hand. My hands were bandaged. This wasn’t the first time I was shot; it wasn’t much of a big deal to me. All that mattered was that Lucia was safe because if she wasn’t…
No.
I didn’t want to think about that, she should be safe. Rave would have found her, and I was sure he had taken care of her. Maybe she was in the kitchen making my favorite. I stepped down from the bed. I gritted my teeth from the sharp pain I felt. The room was well arranged, from the curtains that were parted at the side, which revealed the dark sky with few stars lit on it, it was clear that I had spent quite some time on the bed.
I turned away from the window to the door.
I needed to ensure Lucia was safe, so I took the first step, the second, and the third. Each step came with more pain, but I ignored it. I walked to the door. I slowly moved my hands to grab the knob before opening it. I stepped out, closing the door behind me. No one was in the hallway.
I started towards the stairs. My step is slow and unsteady. I was soon at the start of the stairs. Rave came into view, and seeing me, he rushed towards me. “You are finally awake,” he heaved a sigh of relief. “But you shouldn’t be walking around. The doctor said it would take a few days to get your strength back,” he said. I noticed he was avoiding my eyes as he tried to help me walk back to my room.
I pushed his hands away. “I’m fine. It was just a shot,” I said, wondering why he was making a big deal out of it, take me back? He sounded like I lost my legs. “Where is Lucia?” I asked. “I can’t remember what happened to her,” I said, still berating myself for not being able to protect her. If not, I am a very selfish man; after all, I do not deserve her.
“Why not go inside first,” Rave said.
“You think you can tell me what to do now?” I asked Rave, my brows furrowed. “You were able to save her right, and that bastard, is he locked in the dungeon already?” I asked. He kept avoiding my eyes, “Don’t tell me…” what I feared most.
“I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have taken all the men out to fight the bastards that he brought in.” He said, “After I returned, I didn’t see her. You were the only one lying on the floor unconscious. I don’t know what happened to her; I didn’t know who had taken her at first. I sent men out to find her, but it had no results,” Rave said.
I felt like I was hearing things.
“I’m glad his shot wasn’t so serious.” He said. His lips kept moving, but I didn’t hear him. I walked past him. “Wait, you can’t leave.” He tried to stop me, but I didn’t stop, nor did I try to turn to him as I walked. I know he cares, but he doesn’t get to tell me what to do.
We walked to the car park.
“At least let me come with you.” He said. I stopped, then turned slowly to him. He wanted to help, it wasn’t like I didn’t need his help, but I wanted to find Lucia myself. “I sent some men out to find her; they should be here soon. I promise we’ll find her,” he said. I wanted to believe him, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t.
How would Lucia be feeling now? She must be scared. I don’t know what Steve was capable of doing. He had snuck into the wedding despite the tight security. He had taken Lucia out, but no one knew when. He was a psycho. I had thought my throat was enough to keep him in his place. I had thought that it was enough to silence him, and when I heard about Sarah’s autopsy results, I was glad. Lucia was free not only from guilt but from the fear of someone coming back at her, but that dick came.
I gritted my teeth.
I will find her. I’ll find Lucia even if it means turning the entire country over. “We will find Lucia. Going out like this won’t help. I already sent some men to look for her. We need a plan, and even if you find her, she will still be with him. There is not much you can do to him in the state you are in right now,” Rave said.
I knew he had a point. There was nothing I could do. My hands still hurt like hell. I needed to be patient and calm, though that would be hard. I didn’t want to act rashly. Who knows what that fool was capable of doing?
“I’ll help too. We need to find her.” I heard a familiar voice say. I squinted my eyes, what the hell was he doing here? I turned back slowly. Jason was here. “I forgot to mention Jason. He helped in taking the men down.” Rave said.
“I promise I didn’t know Steve would come back. I didn’t hear from him for a long time. Who knew that fool was targeting Lucia.” He said.
I knew I was supposed to be angry that he was here. But then, I was too weak. I had no more strength to hate on him. And I wanted as many hands as I could get. Maybe Jason wasn’t much of a jerk, “I know you don’t trust me. But don’t worry, I am not doing this to make you trust me; your trust is not needed. I just want to help Lucia. I’m doing this for her,” fuck that, he was more than a jerk.
“Fine,” I said and started walking away. “We need a plan,” I said. The footsteps were soft behind me as we left the dimly lit parking.
We walked to my study.
I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, one hand dipped in my pocket. “So what is the plan?” Rave asked. I took a deep breath. The wall clock at the side ticked slowly. I closed my eyes; where on earth had Steve taken Lucia to? I had thought about it, but I just couldn’t figure it out. “Did they leave any signs on where they may have taken her to?” I asked. “No, they didn’t. I never thought it would be Steve,” Rave said.
“I knew it was Steve. He called me, that was why I came back after leaving. But it was too late; he was already here,” Jason said.
“You could have warned through a call,” I said. If he knew that Steve would be at the wedding for selfish reasons, why did he not call? “As if you’d have taken the call,” he said sarcastically.
I turned to him.
I knew this wasn’t the time to argue, but I couldn’t help it.
“Please, this isn’t the time. You can do this after Lucia is saved.” Rave stood between us immediately. I glared at Jason, ready to kill him with my eyes if I could. I looked away. I’ll deal with him after finding Lucia. “Where do you think Steve would take her to? You are close to him; at least, you should know.” I said to Jason.
“I was close to his sister. He was never a friend,” Jason corrected, not that I cared about the relationship they shared.
There was a knock on the door. Rave opened the door. Whoever it was didn’t come in. No one called into my office, not even to deliver any message. They could do that with Rave, who would pass it on to me.
“They caught one of his men,” Race said.
“Lead the way,” I didn’t want to waste another minute. Maybe we didn’t need to figure out where Lucia was. This man would take us there. I hoped Lucia was able to hear whatever Steve put her up with. I hope she is alright.
Whoever the man was, he wasn’t severely injured. His hands were tied together. He was placed in the middle of the sitting room. His clothes were torn, with patches of blood stains all over. I took a long look at him. The men around him all stood at ease when we got down. He was found after a rough fight,” one of the men said.
I raised my chin, motioning for his head to be raised so I could have a good look at him. “Where is Steve?” I asked.
He shook his head violently. “I have no idea.” He said.
“You must be ready to die.” I knew men like this. They would rather die than betray their boss. “But I won’t give you what you deserve. Of course, you will die, but you would rather live,” I said sternly. I meant every word. I would make him beg for death or beg to live. But the latter was not an option. He would die either way. Allowing him to live sounds like a crime, and I wanted to be civil for once and spare the state from such a crime.
“I promise, I don’t know. He came yesterday evening and asked for a few men. I am the boss of street thugs. He offered more money and did the first time I tried to do something I have not before,” he begged.
“And you expect me to believe that,” I asked. He wasn’t making sense, and even if he was, I couldn’t care less about his back story. “I promise,” he begged on the floor, crawling towards me with his bounded hands. He was stopped before he could get closer to me.
Rave walked and whispered to me. “He is right. Steve did hire men from someone,” he said.
“Did Steve come alone? The man who came to hire men from you,” I asked him. He nodded vigorously.
“He came alone and had his face masked.” He said. So this prick didn’t even see his face-such a waste of time.
“Get rid of him,” I said, walking back to my study with Jason and Rave behind me. “And clean the mess.” I heard the man scream, begging and wailing, but I didn’t care. The mere fact that he had come across Steve and had come to disrupt my wedding was enough reason to end him and his entire family.
We needed a plan.
I couldn’t rest. My chest was heavy. I could only imagine how Lucia was feeling. She must be so scared. I wish I were with her. Steve would not treat her right.
No.
If he dared to you even a strand of her hair, I would kill him. I’ll finish him by myself with my own hands.
My phone on the table beeped. I walked towards it and picked it up.
It was a message from Steve. He was finally making another move.