Wolves of War - Nick Sorrentino

1x07- Stalking

James: 

We were all standing there in the basement around the table talking and trying to come up with a strategy while I was trying to keep Nick calm. All of a sudden, Elena's phone rang and when she answered it Daniel Santos was on the line making Nick softly growl. 

Daniel Santos and Jeremy made a deal to meet at an old abandoned camp ground off of Route 35 much to the argument of Nick and myself. Elena hung the phone up before turning to Jeremy who sighed "we need to figure out how to turn this meeting to our advantage. Clay and Elena, head there now and find stake out points." They nodded before running off to do just that as Nick just shook his head before heading upstairs. 

I looked at Antonio who looked at me "follow him. You may be the only one capable of calming him down." I nodded before following Nick up the steps and into his room where he was laying on the bed and tossing a tennis ball up in the air. 

I looked at him "Jeremy will be ok Nick, you know he will." 

"I know," Nick stopped throwing the ball up in the air, in favor of looking at me. "I know that he'll be ok, but I can't shake that something bad is going to happen and I don't know if I can lose anyone else." 

I nodded as I looked at him before we headed downstairs and to the great room. Jeremy then got a call from Clay and Elena that there was a package delivered. Nick looked at them "could be Joey's body parts." 

"Or it could be a booby trap." Antonio spoke as he looked at his son. 

"Well, either way." Jeremy spoke. "Nick and James, stay here and watch the property. We're gonna head out there." He and Antonio headed out to the meeting place as me and Nick stayed there. 

Nick and I stayed in the great room as we just lounged around and spoke to each other about our life over the past year. We were interrupted by the fact that Jeremy, Clay, and Elena came rushing in with Antonio who was hurt badly. 

Nick and I looked at each other before we followed them down to the basement. Jeremy tried everything but it was too late. Antonio was dying. Jeremy, Elena, and Clay left the room while me and Nick stayed so that Nick could say goodbye to his dad. 

Nick had tears in his eyes as he watched his father bleed. Antonio asked Nick to go closer and Nick did. I was able to hear a bit of what Antonio was saying to him. "Nick, sometimes you have to forgive in order to heal" I heard Nick let out a sob and instinctively put a hand on his back. 

Nick then left the room to get a cup of water as Antonio looked at me. Antonio spoke then to me "James, I know that you love Nick. I know that you regret leaving a year ago. I need to ask you one thing before I die." 

I nodded with tears in my eyes that were threatening to fall but I wouldn't let. 

He spoke again labored and barely above a whisper. "I'm going to ask you one thing and one thing only. When I die will you swear to take care of my son and never leave him?" 

"I swear," I spoke to him. "Leaving him would be like leaving my own heart and I won't do it again." As I finished that sentence Nick walked back into the room and Antonio pulled Nick close enough to whisper in his ear so that no one could hear it before dying. 

Nick let everything go at that point and broke down crying on his father's chest. I immediately put my hand on Nick's back as he was completely breaking and the tears threatened to spill down my face as well. 

We all met in the great room after where it was decided that we were done going easy on these mutts. Clay and Elena headed to the campground to sniff out the scent while me, Nick, and Jeremy stayed to deal with Antonio's body. 

Jeremy was stitched up by Nick before the sheriff came to the door looking for Jeremy. Jeremy let her into the house before I saw Nick's face change and he headed out the back door and to the shed where I knew the punching bag was. 

I followed him and watched as he took one swing at the punching bag and it broke straight off the hinges and fell to the ground with a thud. I watched as he picked it up and tied it back on before taking hits to it repeatedly. After about the tenth hit, I watched as the bag broke in half almost completely. 

I took that time to walk in there "you keep going you're going to break every punching bag we have." 

He chuckled a bit making me crack a smile "well, what I really want to do is rip Daniel Santos's throat out but I figured that this was a better option." 

I nodded because he was right "well, when we get the chance I'll help you kill him." Nick looked at me floored before grabbing me and pulling me into a searing kiss making me smile into it before pulling away and smiling at him. 

We headed back inside to see that the sheriff had left and Jeremy was unstable on his feet. I stayed in the kitchen as Nick came to join me when Clay and Elena came back with Cain. Clay left Cain in the cell and Elena called Phillip before we all heard a thud and ran in to see Jeremy on the ground passed out. We realized that there was no way that Jeremy was this hurt with just blood loss and that it had to be something else.