The Italian Vow (Croesus #1)

Chapter 23

Lucca Giovanni's POV

"Come on man, when are we going to save Laura? I have been fucking patient with all the international laws and bullshit that you spat at me. Now, it is time to act!" I screamed at Nate before he looked at me boringly.

"You might not be breaking the laws, but I am as I am using the government database to track our kidnapper. Here it is. His name is Leonardo Vincent Ricci. 23 years old and just got bailed by his sister after he committed a crime in Cote d'Azur, France.

"He was a wanted criminal but with a family background like him, he would be untouchable, even with the law," Nate said as he read the information about this guy that had kidnapped Laura.

Laura. My precious woman.

"Dammit! Who is his sister?" I asked. Nate went silent for a moment when I asked him.

"Who is she, Nathan?" I asked again, impatient this time.

"You're not going to believe this," he said before he turned his laptop toward me. I looked at the screen and cold sweat was tingling on my back.

Lucia Rose Ricci. My ex-girlfriend. The person that my mum thought she would fit to be my bride. Fucking hypocrite.

I read her information to see what I have got myself into. Ex-con artist, manipulator, ex-military, and involved in a mafia. Shit! I thought as I never knew that someone dangerous as Lucia could get past my security and I let her into my bed. I felt disgusted with myself right now. After saving Laura, I needed to perform an exorcism.

"Not just that. She once plotted to kill the president of the United States under the alias Alesia Russo, an assassin that was trained by the KGB. She was dangerous, that woman, and now she had Laura and we sure need a miracle for Laura to save from her," Nate said as he crossed his arms and looked at me with concern.

I gripped my knuckle so tight that I was sure it was as white as paper. I can't hold it in any longer. I needed to save Laura now. I went out of the room, taking my coat on the way out of my mansion.

"Luke, wait," Nate called me from behind.

"If you want to talk about international law again, just stop. You're either with me or just let me do this shit," I said as I was looking for someone to punch and it sure as hell that Leonardo guy.

"Relax, man. I'm coming with you. Besides, you would not survive the ambush if it weren't for me," he said as he patted me on the shoulder before heading down the stairs.

"White," I screamed before I follow pursuit.

Laura Conti's POV

I did not know how long I have been out, but one thing was for sure, it was only for a few hours. After Lucia knocked me out, I was in my subconscious as I watched Lucca and Lucia together for all those years since I have gone from his life. I was so jealous that I went after them but they kept disappearing in my face until I realized it was only a dream.

"Wake up, wake up, sleeping beauty. It's time for your breakfast," Lucia said as Leonardo was pushing the trolley in front of me. I might as well starve rather than eat that piece of shit that they called food.

"Eat, you bitch," Lucia said as she was about to smack my face in the food. I was embracing the impact when nothing happened. I opened my eyes before I looked Leonardo was holding her hand. He tried to reason with her as he volunteered to feed me. She did not like the idea but proceeded with it anyway.

"Make it quick," Lucia said before getting out of the room. Leonardo took a seat in front of me. He took the spoon and scooped the soup to feed me.

"I'm sorry if my sister treats you badly. She is just jealous that Lucca Giovanni would take interest in you rather than her. She was competitive that way," he said as he tried to feed me when I keep refusing. He sighed before trying to reason with me.

"Look, you need to eat. You need all the strength that you can gather as she will torture you again and again and again until you would surely die of slow death. In the meantime, why not enjoy the food that was served to you," he said as he tried to make me eat again. I thought about his statement before asking him.

"You did not poison me, did you?" I asked, arching my brow at him. He chuckled.

"Now, why would I do that since I fancy you?" Leonardo said as he kept feeding me. I just kept quiet after that statement. I just wished that Lucca would find me as soon as possible before this nightmare continued to get worse than it already was.

Nathan White's POV

I just looked at my duke friend that was pacing back and forth on the airplane as we were flying toward Albania. He was restless as he refused to sleep, eat, relax, or anything until he found his bride.

"Dude, chillax. Everything will be fine," I said as I was relaxing on the seat. He stopped pacing. He looked at me with anger. I wished I take back what I just said. Well, too late. Lucca pulled me by the collar before he started screaming at my face.

"Chillax? Chillax? CHILLAX?!! You FUCKING chillax when your bride is in danger!" He said before throwing me back onto the chair. My back hurt with the impact as I massaged my butt.

"Okay, okay, sorry," I said as I shook my head at his aggressive behavior.

"How long we will be there?!!" He shouted at the pilot. Even the stewardess was surprised that she jumped in her wake.

"We will be there in 30 minutes, Your Excellency," the pilot told him, afraid as the Duke of Rome would take no answer when his bride was concerned.

"Well, make it quick. I want to punch that shit head more than ever," he said as he took his seat and looked out the window. I did the same and I can see the green meadow of Albania and its mountain that had a lot of history. It was a beautiful country.

Why do I never travel here? Oh yeah, because of my work. I sighed as I wanted so badly to get out of that agreement and just lived a normal life, as Lucca did.

"What are you thinking about?" Lucca's voice penetrated my eardrums. I looked at him when he was looking at me intently. I shrugged before looking out the window. I hoped someone will heal me from this wound of loneliness.

And it did, the night of the party. That glossy mane and enchanted forest eyes.

"We're prepared for landing, sire. Please put on your seatbelts," the pilot announced in the speakers.

"Finally," Lucca said as he fastened his, and I did with mine.

"Let's kill that bitch," I said to lighten the mood for a little bit.

We set our feet in the hot summer of Albania. It was dry and hot, much hotter than what I would have experienced back in the States. I don't even know why I was still in Italy. I needed a new assignment as soon as possible.

"Do you know where to find her, Nate?" Lucca asked me as we were wandering around the street of Buthrotum. It was deadly deserted as there were not a lot of people that were camping during the summer in this weather.

"Where is the coordinate showing us now?" Lucca asked me as I was the one that was holding the GPS and the reliable one in this mission because of my expertise and also my experience in these kinds of things.

"Relax, will you?" Bad move. "I mean, we'll get there. It is much harder when you landed in the middle of nowhere, out of the service region," partially of what I said was true. Now, I wanted to get to the front door of this site.

It was a lot harder when you go on foot and were unfamiliar with the site. I was always given a briefing before any assignment that I had to do.

"Okay, where to now?" Lucca asked me as I was looking into the GPS and trying to triangulate our position.

"Geez, I don't know, maybe we stuck in the middle of somewhere," was the last thing I said before we were being ambushed by the kidnapper's guards as they were surrounding our area and we have to put our hands up in surrender position.

"Well, this defeats my day off," I said as I looked around at those masked attackers.

"This will be fun," I said before I smirked at them all.