My grip around the wheel tightens as I pray to God that Leon is thinking clearly. He made a promise and I trust him.
But I don't trust his heart. North is his biggest weakness, he would do anything for her.
That's why I asked Marco to keep guard. He needs to keep Leon away from Valentina.
Whatever they have planned, won't work. She's not chipped. I don't need to tell them that, they just need to obey my orders.
If I told Leon she wasn't chipped, he would tell her. And Valentina would probably still risk her life for North since they're best friends and all.
But right now, I don't care about that. I need to find a solution to this problem. I need to find a way to get North back without sending Valentina to Steel.
Because if North dies, I don't only lose my brother, the only family I have left, I lose Valentina as well.
If I haven't lost her already.
She's been ignoring me for weeks, she has barely been out of her room since that night, she barely eats or drinks anything and every time I enter a room, she leaves.
Two more hours. I have two more hours until midnight, meaning that, if they're still at the house, they won't make it even if they tried.
And Marco didn't text me yet, so I hope that everything is going fine.
Good news. I can bring her the good news. I can only think about how happy she'll be to find out that there's another way. That we have a way to save North.
I burst through the doors and stop in the hall, hoping to hear Valentina scream again. But there's nothing but silence. Total fucking silence.
'Fratello!' Nothing. No fucking response. I dial Leonardo's number, hoping that he'll pick up. But instead, there's a beeping sound coming from down the hall. Out of my office.
I run down the hall, towards my office, begging, no praying, for him to be there. But he's not there. The office is empty, but his phone is here.
'Fuck.' I run back into the hall and up the stairs, towards Valentina's room.
Marco is laying down the hall, gun in hand, on the ground. I crouch down and press my fingers on his wrist. He still has a heartbeat. So he's alive.
I get back up and head to Valentina's room, hoping that she's still there.
I locked her in there and took the key with me. The door was fucking locked. Not anymore. The entire door is bashed, wide open, and almost split in two.
Her room, the bed she ruined before I left, it's empty. 'Cataleya!' No response. Nothing.
Don't panic. Don't panic.
Nothing but total silence and something happening downstairs.
Without thinking twice, I run down the stairs, into the living room. It could be the enemy, they could've gotten in while I was with Marcello. But no.
It's the person I thought would've been dead by now. Molly.
She squirms in the chair and looks at me with tears in her eyes. As much as I want to keep her tied there, she might have some answers.
So I walk over to her and remove the piece of cloth from her mouth. 'That asshole!' She shouts before catching her breath.
'What happened?' 'Those two psychopaths tied me to a chair and fucking left!' She shouts angrily.
Her tone is bothering me. She shouldn't be talking about them like that. 'Where did they go?'
She scoffs and pushes me away from her a little. 'Is that all you care about!?'
I can tell she doesn't want to push me away. She wants me close, against her. I can tell by the desire in her eyes. She wants me. But now is not the time.
'Yes.' Her eyes widen as she steps back. As if I hit her. As if I punched her right in the throat. But I didn't even touch her. Yet.
If she doesn't tell me what she knows, I'll fucking hit her.
'Tell me where the fuck they went.' She shakes her head and rushes out of the room, to the front door. I catch up with her and turn her around, forcing her to look at me. 'Tell me where the fuck they went before I fucking kill you.'
'They held a gun to my head and all you seem to care about is their location?!'
'They did what?' She nods and starts breathing like crazy, before walking towards our room. 'They are monsters, cruel and pure evil!'
And before I know it, I turn into the perfect description of a monster. I pull her head back and press my gun against her head.
'I'm going to ask you one more time,' It takes me every cell in my body to not shoot her right now. She might know more than she shows. She might have picked something up from their conversation while they tied her to the chair. 'Where did they go?'
She trembles in fear, trying to keep me at distance by pushing her hands against my chest. But it's no use. And deep down, she knows it too.
'I don't know!' I let go of her, pushing her down so she will get on her knees before me. 'There's not much you know, is there?' 'Pl-please I was s-so scared.' As she should...
I know Leonardo better than anyone. I knew he would pull something like this. But deep down I thought that he would keep his promise to me.
Leonardo fights for love. He would kill everyone just to get North back. He would even trade Valentina for her. And that's what he's doing right now.
'Please Raf-Rafael, I just want-wanted to find yo-you.' I take a deep breath, debating if I should keep her or not.
She's pretty and certainly knows how to use her tongue, but that's it. She's not smart, she's not kind, she's not funny, she doesn't fight back, she's not the fire I need, she's not my equal. She's not Valentina.
'And you found me, right?' She nods, trying not to break down in tears. 'Good.'
I lean down, kissing her head before smiling at her. She pulls me down, crying out on my chest, making me cringe. I hate when people touch me or even come close enough to touch me without my permission.
'I was so scared.' I nod and pat her head, trying to comfort her the best I can.
If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have been here. Well, actually, if it wasn't for Valentina's love declaration, she wouldn't have been here.
But, oh well. That happened.
'It's all going to be okay.' I whisper before stepping back a little. She nods and looks up at me, tears rolling down her cheeks.
I've never seen her cry before. Well, only tears of pain, not fear. This time is different. She really is scared for her life. As she should be.
'You're not going to hurt me?' she trembles with those full lips of hers. I shake my head and grab my gun again. 'No.'
She sighs deeply, relieved that I'm not going to hurt her. 'I won't hurt you.'
The look in her eyes is the most satisfying thing ever. She's so confused right now, it's amazing. 'I simply don't need you anymore, since you don't know anything.'
'So you're going to send me away?' I can't keep in my laughter at her words. She has to be fucking stupid to think I'll send her away.
'I'm not sending you away.' Her eyes widen as she realizes what I'll do to her instead. 'No-' 'I'm simply going to kill you.'
I pull out my gun again and immediately shoot, not allowing her any time to react. I watch as her body drops to the floor, staining the dark wood even darker with her blood pooling out of her head.
'Cazzo.' My heart starts beating like crazy again. I have to find Leonardo and Valentina. Because they can't go through with that stupid deal. But where do I start?
I know their location, but by the time I'll get there, she'll be gone already. Fuck. I ram my fist into the wall and feel the pain rush through my body. I've had worse before, but damn it hurts.
I need a drink. I head down the stairs, towards the kitchen, and search for the perfect bottle, which there isn't. I throw all the other ones on the floor, trying to block my mind from overthinking.
But it's the only thing roaming in my mind.
I'm trying to think ahead. Where is he going to take her? My first thought is America since that's where he has the most men. But that might not be it.
See, he might know that I would go there straight away, knowing that he'll go there. So where the fuck would he go?
Hunter Steel is not a man who has many allies. As far as I know, he doesn't have any at all. At least not in Europe.
I would've known if he had any associates in Europe.
So he has to get out of Europe first, which means he might fly somewhere, anywhere. Fuck! There are at least four different ways for him to get out of here. Plane, car, train, and on fucking foot.
I grab my phone, texting Julius to send men to every airport in France. As much as I want to throw my phone across the room, I know I can't. I have to wait for him to respond.
Don't panic. Don't fucking panic. Not yet.
And then it happens.
I hear the front door, slowly open and close.
My feet operate before my mind can even comprehend, and before I know it, I'm standing in the hall.
Of course. Of-fucking-course he did it. He went behind my back.
There she stands, the girl who my girl risked her life for.
'Rio... I-' I ignore my cousin's words and immediately lunge at him, hitting him right in the jaw. He falls back, groaning from the pain. 'You fucking traitor!'
'Rio stop!' Neveah screams, or as far as screaming goes, but I ignore her. I hit him again and again and again until my energy runs out, even then I'm trying to find ways to hurt him. He doesn't fight back at all, knowing that it will only make things worse, knowing that what he did was wrong.
He gave my girl away. He sent my fucking girl straight to the enemy.
Leonardo moves to the other side of the room and needs the support of the wall to get up from the floor. I don't care that the normally white tiles are smeared with his blood. He needs to pay.
'It wasn't-' 'You gave her to them?!' I shout at him, anger filling my entire body. I have never, in my entire life, felt this angry before.
Leon is my blood, he betrayed me and I want to kill him for it. But unlike him, I won't stab blood in the back. I won't kill him. Not yet.
'We had a plan! We just have to look at her location.' He seems scared for his life, as he should.
'You better get her back Leon, because dio aiutami! I will kill you if she dies!' Neveah gasps for air, grabbing all my attention.
This all happened because she got abducted in the first place, all of this is her fault, and I hate her more than I already did. But she's my only link to them, to her.
And I can't completely blame her. They invaded the place she thought was safe, I told her was safe. The only person I can blame for this is Leon.
I told him not to, no, I forbid him to even think about it, and yet he did it. He risked the life of the girl I care for, just to save his stupid girl.
Neveah looks like she hasn't showered in weeks and her hair is all over the place. Her arms are covered in bruises and she can barely stand up straight. And her bones. I can see half of her bones as if she hasn't eaten in months, even though she's only been with them for twelve days.
It's clear that they starved her, barely gave her enough food to make it through her stay, but they did so much more to her.
'We have to save her.' My eyes shoot her way again. 'No shit.'
She stumbles my way and looks me dead in the eyes. I don't know what the fuck they did to her, but they didn't break her yet. She still has that anger in her eyes. That spark.
'I don't get how you could let this happen, but we need to get her back. Now.' I look at Leon in the back, he's still trying to make his nose stop bleeding, and back at Neveah.
Again, she would risk her life for Cataleya and she doesn't seem pleased by the fact that Leon let Cataleya slip out of his hands either.
'Where are they?' 'They left as soon as they got her.' My blood starts boiling again.
Whatever they had planned, doesn't matter. They didn't think it through. That's exactly why I told them to let it go.
I pull the gun from my waist and put it against Neveah's head, pulling her fragile body against mine. The sudden movement startles her and she winces when her back crashes to my chest.
'You send Cataleya to those psychopaths and have no clue where they are?!' I shout at the person I thought was my brother.
'Rafael please...' He takes a step our way, raising his hand a little to show me that he doesn't mean any harm. But he did. He caused all the harm he ever could. He took the only thing that made me feel in a long time and gave it to the enemy.
'Feel that, Leon?' I press the gun against Neveah's temple a little harder, making her wince again. She doesn't seem scared. Just in pain.
'Rio stop! Please!' I step back, making sure that he's not getting too close. 'Do you fucking feel that!?'
'Feel what!?' He's panicking, scared that I'll shoot the girl he loves. 'This!' I pull Neveah's hair a little, making her look up. A tear streams down her face, but she didn't even try to escape. It's not a tear of fear, but a tear of pain.
Whatever Steel did to her, almost broke her.
'Fear?!' Leon snaps at me, ready to run at me if I even think about pulling the trigger.
Instead, I lower the gun and let Neveah rest against my chest. She certainly needs it. 'That's what I fucking feel right now!'
I can't shoot Neveah, since she's not at fault. Even if she was, I couldn't kill her. Not because of Leon's love for her, I'm certain he'll get over her at some point, but simply because it would break Cataleya. She would hate me forever.
Neveah's body feels so fragile against my chest, I'm afraid they broke every bone in her body. She's exhausted and turns around slowly, looking at me with tears streaming down her cheeks.
'You love her?' My heart stops at those words. Did she tell her? 'You once said, your biggest fear was to fall in love with someone since they become your weakness. Love is the only thing you fear'
I've never said it out loud. But yes. I love Cataleya. And if we don't get her back, I'll lose my shit. I'll kill anyone who was involved with this mess, including my own blood.
They both look at me, utterly in shock by my lack of words. They know what my silence means. The words don't actually have to be said, because they know. And I think they've known for a long time. It just didn't seem real until now.
'We have to get her back.'
I drop my arms and walk towards my office, cutting everything off. I need to go numb. I need to feel nothing for just a few seconds before I decide to burn this whole place down. For fuck's sake...
Leon takes his time, probably sending Neveah to a room to get changed and go to bed, but I know he's coming down here to talk to me.
I pour myself a drink while I try to come up with a plan. Montpelier.
I feel stupid for thinking that she would still be here, that Leon would listen to me, that... Fuck! I throw the bottle across the room and take a deep breath, before grabbing a new one and walking back to my chair.
A knock on the door and I grin. Leon never knocks, but now? Now he wants to knock? 'Get in here.'
I stare at my cousin, the blood I trusted with the only person that made me feel like I was alive again.
'Go look at the location on her tracker, we can easily-' I throw my head back and chuckle softly, making him look at me strangely. 'Adriano, I-' 'She's empty.' You idiot...
'What?' He asks, a little confused. 'Celine never chipped her.' I explain since he's dumber than I thought.
'Why didn't you say that?!' He shouts suddenly panicking a little. 'I didn't think I had to since I told you not to go behind my back!'
My cousin, my fucking family, stumbles back and looks at the ground. Ashamed of what he did. Ashamed of the trust he broke.
'I'm sorry Adriano, I truly am.'
Of course, he is. As he should. But him being sorry won't bring her back.
'I'm going to make you a deal, fratello.'
'Anything.' He answers instantly, eager to set this shit straight.
'You're going to leave this place and help me find her.'
'Alright, I'll tell Neveah to start packing and we can-' No.
'North is staying with me.' She's my only link to Hunter's sick thoughts. She must know something. Anything.
'What? Why? I just got her back.' The desperation in his voice is sickening, but if he thinks I'm letting her go with him, he must be insane.
'If you don't get Valentina back to me, it will be the last time you ever see her.'
His eyes widen a little, he knows I'm not playing around.
I would never kill her, but that doesn't mean I can't separate them until one of them dies.
'You wouldn't.'
'Don't tempt me then.' I sneer, almost breaking the glass filled with scotch in my hand. 'You're not coming back until we're close to getting her back.'
I finish my drink and enjoy the burn going down my throat. It helps with my anger. A lot.
'I can't look at you right now. Go and find her before I do. Because if I find her first, I'll make sure you never see North again.'
'Adriano.' He looks at me with desperation in his eyes. He doesn't want this. He doesn't want to leave North or me, but he knows I won't let him stay until he gets Valentina back.
'I'll get her back. I promise.' A chuckle leaves my lips. It's the funniest shit ever. 'Your promises are empty, Leonardo.' He looks away, at the ground, and sighs deeply.
If he thinks that I give a single shit about his feelings right now, he's terribly wrong.
'Not this one.' Leonardo is deeper than I thought. 'You better, because all of this is your fault.'
He sighs and heads back to the door. 'I'll leave tomorrow morning.'
I want to tell him to leave straight away, we can't lose more time than we already have, but I know he won't listen to me.
I know he needs to say goodbye to North, so I'll give him one night. Just one night.
'You better be gone when I wake up. Now go.'
And he does. He walks out of my office and leaves me alone with my thoughts again.
After emptying another bottle, I head to my room and undress myself.
I need to get as much sleep as possible, which is going to be impossible, but I need to be ready for tomorrow.
Instead of heading to bed straight away, I head to the bathroom, to brush my teeth before I head to bed.
I stare into the mirror and take a deep breath. I look like an absolute mess. Like I haven't slept in months.
I can hear her call my name, begging me to save her, and I want to run to her and save her. But I have no clue where to start.
They could be everywhere. And since Celine didn't chip her, I can't find her.
I hate her for doing this to me. It's all her fault. Fucking hell...
She made me feel shit for her. She made me hurt her to keep myself safe. I told her, that one night when Neveah got shot and I got wasted.
I should've kept my mouth shut. Ever since she knew, she's been trying to change me. With or without the intention to do so. She fucking did.
And I hate her for it. I hate her for wanting to change me. As if it was a challenge for her.
But then why am I so afraid for her life? The fear of not knowing what he might do to her?
Hunter is a cruel man. He would kill her just to get to me, out of revenge.
My heart aches at the thought of it. And it's all her fault. It's all her fault for making me care for her.
But I can't stop it.
It's my desire she feeds. Something I've never felt before. She knows just what I need, better than anyone else. And I hate it.
I hate her.
And she doesn't know she has power over me. A power I can't fucking describe. Something so strong that the word hate isn't even strong enough to describe it.
I was lost but I found myself in her. I didn't want to, but I did, and it's all her fucking fault.
She made me see a side of myself I was scared to. It was the side I feared. The side I wanted to keep in forever.
She made me weak. And I hate her for it.
But I want her with me. I want to hate her from nearby and never let her go. Simply because I would much rather have her here with me than let her be with someone like Hunter.
She's seduced me with her beauty and locked me in with her charms. Weak...
I always knew she would be trouble. From the moment our eyes connected in the club. That was months ago, but it feels like that was yesterday.
All she did was confuse me, but I guess I did the same to her.
I didn't tell her how I felt, I didn't show her how I felt. I did the opposite. I pushed her away or at least tried to.
It worked for her, but not for me. I regret it more than faking her chip or forcing her to get that tattoo. And it makes me feel weak.
She makes me weak. And I hate her for it.
But I have to get her back.
So if Hunter won't hand her back within the next twenty-four hours, there will be a fucking war.
I will hunt down every man involved and kill them. Not just them, but their entire family as well.
I will burn down everything and everyone that gets in my way. Because I need her.
But I hate her for doing this to me. I hate her for making me love her.
The one thing she knew I feared.
Love.
So how do I get her back? How do I know where to fucking start any of this? How do I-
And then it clicks.
Celine.
Fucking Celine Elloise Dufort.
The girl I threw in a car to keep her safe, to make sure she had her rest. She knows all of it. She must know where Kai is because she loves him.
And Kai knows more. I know he does. He has to know more. There's no way that he doesn't know what's going on at all.
I reach for my phone and dial her number, not caring about the fact that it's barely three in the morning and she might be asleep.
Of course, she doesn't pick up. It's either because of the time or because of the fact that I gassed her and made sure she had no idea of what was going on. To keep her safe.
I call Vincenzo, knowing he'll pick up, and wait for him to do so. Just when I'm about to hang up, he picks up. 'Ciao boss, che diavolo sta succedendo?'
'Celine Elloise Dufort, send me her address and make sure that everyone is at the compound in Paris tomorrow, we have things to take care of.'
It takes some time until he responds, he was probably sleeping, but I don't have time for any of this shit. 'Vincenzo-' 'What about Skull?' Shit.
I sent most of my man to England to work on that. That was my priority. Was. Not anymore.
Valentina is my priority now. Getting her back and ripping Hunter's head off, is my priority right now.
'Drop that, this is more important.' Right. She needs to get back to me first. Then I'll be able to focus on Skull again.
'Okay, I'll take care of it.' And he hangs up.
Everything will be fine. We will get her back before Steel even gets the time to get out of here. Everything will be fine.
So why can't I sleep? Why am I thinking about the worst things possible?
Fucking hell. I sit on the edge of my bed and stare at the door.
All of this is a joke. A stupid joke. Or a dream.
She'll walk through that door to shout at me again, she's not with Steel. There's just no way-
Someone knocks on the door and I flinch out of excitement. 'Come in.'
The excitement fades as soon as I realize who it is.
'What do you want Barsetti?' Marco stumbles into the room and stares at something on the floor. 'What is it?'
'When did that happen?' He points at a pile of clothes on the side of the room. Or at least, that's what I thought it was.
I follow his gaze and sigh deeply when I realize he's talking about Molly.
She's still here. I didn't really have the time to get rid of her body yet, because it's not a priority right now.
'When I came back and found you unconscious in the hall.' He rubs the back of his neck and walks over to Molly. 'So what are we going to do?'
He wants to help. Marco wants to help. Not because he has to, but because he wants to. Because he still wants her.
The desperation is clear in his voice and I hate it. But who am I to turn his help down?
'I need you to get in touch with Camilla Rosario, ask if she can send a few men this way. We need as much as we can get.' He nods and pulls Molly up a little.
He's going to clean up my mess, and I didn't even have to ask.
'Are you sure that it's a smart idea to involve her?' He asks as I get up from my bed to help him carry her out of my room. 'She's the only option left.'
I don't even think it's enough to prepare for what's about to come, but it's a start. 'I'm on it.' We drag Molly's body down the stairs and part ways, Marco heads out the front door to get rid of the dead body and I head to my office.
I grab the map of France and head to the kitchen, placing it on the table in the corner of the room.
They went to Montpelier. The haven. But so far I heard no movement there, so they're either still in France, or Hunter bought their silence.
I hope it's the first one because if they're gone already, this is going to be a pain in my ass.
I circle all the other havens and text Vincenzo to send some people to every one of them.
Names. I need names. Names of the new people Hunter hired. And for that I need North. And maybe Celine, if she's even willing to help.
She has to. I won't stop until she helps.
The sun slowly arises and I know I need to get some sleep, but I can't. I need to get a text from the men in Montpellier, they need to tell me that nothing is up there, that no boats left yet.
But nothing. No news yet.
I hear footsteps going down the stairs and don't even bother looking up. 'Adriano?' It's Leonardo.
He just woke up and carries a bunch of bags with him. He's leaving.
Of course, he is, I sent him away.
I just didn't think that it would feel this... Weird?
'I'll let you know if I find anything.' He states, trying to make this as quick as possible.
He could help me here, sending him away might not be a good idea, but I feel like I have to. I feel like I can't trust him, so instead of dropping him entirely, I need some time away from him.
We need some time away from each other.
'Take care of Neveah for me.' A chuckle escapes my mouth and I tilt my head a little. 'If Valentina ends up dead, I'll kill her.'
'You wouldn't dare.' He stammers, clear panic in his voice. 'Guardami.'
He takes a sharp breath, drops his bag, and walks towards me. 'We'll get her back. Everything will be fine.' We'll see.
'Get her back to me, then we'll talk.' He nods and takes another sharp breath. As if his lungs can't fill completely. 'Just keep Neveah safe.'
'Now why would I do that?' I ask, grinning at this stupid conversation.
I asked him to keep Valentina safe, to ensure that she would stay in that room, but he lied to me. He still went through with that stupid deal that resulted in this mess.
So why should I keep North safe? Why should I do the thing he couldn't do for me?
'Because if she dies, you'll be alone.' He whispers. What? I look straight into his eyes and almost gasp for air at what I see.
He's... If something happens to North- he'll follow her into the grave if she ends up dead. Idiot.
He'll leave this world, all we build together, just because she would be dead. Weak. That's something I won't be able to do.
Not even if... God, the thought of Valentina dead is too much to handle right now. If she dies, I'll kill everyone.
But Leon will kill himself if something happens to North, so he's trying to threaten me into keeping her safe. He's threatening me with loneliness. Too bad.
'Good thing I already am, since you betrayed me.'
He clenches his jaw before looking at me again and slowly walks back to his bags. 'Goodbye, Adriano.'
'Get out.' And he does. He leaves without making too much sound, probably not wanting to wake up precious North.
And I turn back to the scribbled map of France.
Love. Fucking hell.
She made me love her and that's why I hate every second of this.
I see why they call it falling in love. Because it's hard to catch yourself past a certain point and once you fall it takes a fucking long time to pick yourself back up. But when you're in love you feel as if you're flying, soaring out of the cliff you fell down.
And I didn't realize I was flying, until now.
Or maybe I did and I just tried to ignore it, afraid of the crash I'll make when I hit the ground, afraid of becoming like Luciano, and Valentina ending up like my mother. Dead.
No. She's not going to die. She can't die.
But I don't know what's worse, me realizing that I actually care, which scares me to death, or the fact that Hunter Steel, my enemy from before I was born, has her. Oh god...
And I have no clue where to begin.
Fuck.
----
A/N: Okay so the first three chapters will be a little weird because they're all kinda at the same time, so sorry if it's confusing!
What do you guys think so far?
Please don't forget to comment on what you liked most and vote if you liked this chapter! I can't wait to read all your comments again!
Have a great day and until the next chapter!