𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓟𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱𝓸

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷

𝓐𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓸 𝓟𝓞𝓥

The first thing I noticed whenever I woke up was that my leg felt like it was being boiled in acid.

The second thing I noticed was the sea-spray scent of Luca, right at my side.

I blinked my eyes open and squinted, groaning as lamplight blinded me. I blinked the spots out of my eyes, slowly pulling myself out of the drugged haze I was in. Then, I heard a soft, sweet voice say, "Alberto?"

I tried to get up, but a burst of pain in my leg made me grit my teeth and fall back. Then, I felt Luca's hand, holding mine. I gave it a squeeze, letting him know that I was there. I heard a gasp. I opened my eyes a bit more, seeing Luca's blurry face above me. I heard him whisper again, "Alberto?"

I reached up and patted his cheek. "Luca..." I said, smiling despite the pain in my leg. 

Luca grabbed my hand again, pulling it close to his heart. "You're alright..." he said softly. I grimaced. "Well, I mean, my leg feels like it's on fire, but other than that, I'm okay," I said. 

There was a sudden burst of pain in my shoulder. I yelped and flinched away, then yelped again when I jostled my leg. "OW! What the heck?" I glanced to my side and saw Giulia, standing with a disappointed expression on her face. Behind her, Massimo chuckled at my expression.

"That's for being dumb enough to get yourself kidnapped," she said condescendingly. Before I could protest, she came over and gave me a hug. "I missed you, fratello," she said. I sighed, then pulled my hand away from Luca and hugged her back. "Yeah, yeah, I missed you too, sorella," I grumbled, trying to sound annoyed despite the warm happy feelings welling up in my chest.

Massimo came over to the bed and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad you're safe, figlio," he said, smiling at me. I felt a wide grin spread across my face, and I put my hand on top of his. "I'm glad to be back. I missed you guys so much," I said, trying not to get choked up. 

I realized that Luca's weight had disappeared from the side of the bed. I looked up and saw that he was almost at the door. I shifted and called, "Luca!"

He stopped. "Why are you leaving?" I asked. 

He sighed. "You need to be with your family right now. Besides, I have a lot to take care of. Maybe I'll come visit you later," he said. I snorted. "Whatever business you have can wait. Please stay," I asked. He paused, then turned around and walked back over. I felt my smile fade when I saw the guilty look on his face. 

Massimo was the one who broke the silence. "So, you said you were the one who took Alberto?" he asked. His tone wasn't prying or suspicious. It was curious and friendly. I saw Luca relax slightly when he realized Massimo wasn't going to be mad. 

"Yeah, I was. My boss ordered me to kidnap him to hold him for ransom. That certainly didn't go as planned," he said, grinning. Massimo smiled. 

"If you were holding him for ransom, how did you get to know him?" he asked. Luca froze, and I felt my cheeks heat up. "Well, that's the interesting part..."

I sat there awkwardly as Luca recounted every event from the past week and a half, starting with when I had been tied up in the interrogation room. Massimo only grunted at certain parts, but Giulia punctuated every pause with either a snort, a gasp, or a snicker. I had to resist the urge to smack her to make her shut up. 

Luca finally ended with how he had taken down Ercole and brought me here to get my wound treated. I felt dizzy when he said that the bullet had been coated in corrosive acid. Certainly does not make me any more excited to see what's under my bandages, I thought bitterly.