The Thorned Rose

39

FABRICIO'S POV

I had just had some of the best sex ever, with a woman I had deep feelings for, and I felt like I was falling, with no way of ever being able to pick myself up. I just wanted to read her mind; I wanted to know what she was thinking, the cogs that span in her amazing brain, I wanted to read them. I woke up and looked over at the time. Fuck, it was 9am, but I swear we had only gone to sleep like 2pm the day before. I had slept for so long. Sav wasn't in the bed, but I wasn't surprised, she probably got up ages ago. I went downstairs, and was met with a grinning Dimitri.

"Soooooooo," he started. I shot him a warning glare, but it didn't stop him. "You've got to tell me! Come on!"

The twins walked into the room after me, and instantly had the same stupid grin on their faces too.

"Sandrino! You and Savannah, bloody hell," laughed Rico, walking into the room.

"How the fuck do you all know?"

"You were making out all over the garden and corridor, and then went into your room, and there were a lot of noises," explained Rico. The twins snickered and Dimitri held out his hand for me to fistbump him.

"I am not fistbumping you, twat," I said, but I couldn't help but smile.

"Took you two long enough!" exclaimed my mother, walking into the room, with Loretta behind her.

"MUM!" I complained.

"Where is she anyway?" asked Loretta.

"No idea, I thought she had come down already," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," said basically everyone in the room. What the fuck, where was she?

"Sav has gone away for a couple of days," announced Nadia, walking into the room, met with a couple of glares, stares, and shocked faces. Most of the glares were from me. I strode right over to her, and pushed her against the wall, staring daggers into her eyes.

"Where the fuck is she? Fucking tell me now," my words were laced with venom. I knew she was a highly trained assassin, but I was the most feared fucking man in Italy, so when I was her hand slightly flinch, I knew what was coming, and I dodged it, grabbing her into a chokehold.

"Let her go," said Dimitri, but he shut up as soon as I looked up at him.

"Where the fuck is she?!" I demanded again.

"I can't say," choked Nadia, "can't... breathe..." I released her, and she fell to the floor, grabbing her neck and massaging it slightly. Dimitri ran over to her and rubbed her back to see if she was okay.

"Nadia, baby, can you tell us where she's gone?" he asked softly.

"I can't say," she coughed. "Savannah asked me specifically not to. You would put her and many others in danger if you knew."

"Fucksake," I sat on the nearest chair and ran my hands through my hair.

"What about the party?" exclaimed my mother.

"She told me she would be back in time for it."

"Do you trust that?" scoffed Rico.

"I trust her with my life."

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and went to call her number.

"She won't have a phone on her," explained Nadia. Angrily, I threw it at the wall, hearing the bang, and I looked at the dent left behind in the wall. I looked at the sea of apologetic faces around me, and I just felt empty, and sad. Just when I got her back, I lost her again. Just when I thought things were going in a better direction, she was actually a million miles away from where I thought we were.

The next few days were absolute hell. I had no idea where she was, what she was doing, why she had gone, or if she was even safe. For all I know, she could be locked away in a dungeon somewhere, bleeding out, or something worse. I could only think of the worst-case scenario, that and I just didn't want to get my hopes up.

The memories of that night kept running through my head, and I wanted nothing more than to hold that darling angel in my arms again. I barely left my bed for the first day; I felt heartbroken, like I had just broken up with her. I mean, we had sex, and then she ran away. Everyone always looked at me apologetically, and with a lot of guilt, and it pissed me off. My heart turned to stone the second day, and I went into work, angrier than I ever had before. Everyone was scared to even look at me, because the first man that day that did look at me funny got shot in the leg, and the second in the arm. The third day was pretty much the same, and I really was fulfilling my title of being the most feared man in Italy. The family that was trying to double cross me, I killed every single one of them, and this act alone pushed everyone back to step in line. Everything else was going well, with the drugs, the weapons and the business, but I was still missing something. I was still missing her.

She was supposed to come home at some point today, but I had no idea if she even would, let alone what time. I knew I would be so angry if she didn't turn up, I missed her, my whole family missed her, and everyone, but also my mother had spent so long organising the perfect day for her birthday, and she would be so upset if Sav missed it.

I stayed in one of the warehouses the entirety of that day, because I didn't want to be just sat at home, waiting for her to come back. I distracted myself with work, and took out all of my anger on a man who we were supposed to be getting information about some other tiny gang that was treading on my turf slightly. I wasn't worried in any way, shape, or form about him, or the gang, but I just used it as an excuse to get my anger out.

At 11:59pm, there was still no sign of her, and as I watched the clock turn midnight, I put my head on my desk and sighed loudly, just wanting the ground to swallow me up.

"Sleeping at the desk hm? No wonder you needed my help to become boss of bosses," I heard her voice. The voice I had been craving. I snapped my head up, and looked at the most beautiful woman that has ever walked this earth, leaning against the door frame, arms folded, raising an eyebrow at me.

"You came back?" was all I managed to say, feeling absolutely starstruck.

"What did you expect?" she laughed.