The basement
Lucas
It was the third night I had to spend at the station, trying to understand what little Italian I knew as I helped the cops find the mastermind that had turned my entire world into a whirlwind. The third night I spent doing anything else but taking care of her.
Not like she'd let me. Not like she'd speak to me. Not like she'd look at me.
In a way, pouring my efforts into finding Sarah was my way of distracting myself from the bitter truth that I failed her. That I failed them both. Chris may never forgive me for this, and while that hurt like hell, the pain of knowing I could never forgive myself was on a whole different level.
My chest squeezed at a fresh memory of Chris under that bastard with his disgusting hands around her, taking her breath.
No level of restraint could have prevented me from tearing him apart limb by fucking limb.
To give him a lesson not only on how to treat a woman but more importantly, to make sure his eyes never did so much as look at mine in any way, shape, or form.
At least with his eyes temporarily dysfunctioning from the blows I lashed on them, he would not be seeing very much either way.
Rage shook from deep inside me when I heard that this was the same bastard that had threatened—hurt—Chris before.
It did not matter that we had not met then, I wanted to end the motherfucker for even touching a hair on her skin, I needed to watch him suffer, make him beg at her feet, apologize for every damn thing he ever did to Chris.
And even though my brother had saved him from me the day he attacked Chris, not even God would save him from all I had planned for him if he did not tell me exactly where that bitch was.
Sarah was the root of all these problems and I was damn fucking tired of trying to end these problems without ending her. Hell, I no longer gave a fuck what it would take, she had to go—permanently.
So that's how I end up being at the forefront of the investigation to find Sarah.
If only the cops knew I was just waiting for the right information, the right chance to get to her first, if only they knew I had a vital person in the investigation, if only they knew how much torture he endured at my hands.
A part of me hated having to get my hands this dirty, I had always been one to trust the law, but where had that gotten me the first time?
My fiancee, who would not do so much as look at me was going through painful stitches every damn day, my family could not move freely without security and even with security, they were unsafe.
I trusted the law once, but since they failed me terribly by letting Sarah out of their sight, I drew the line.
This was my family and I would die first before I would let Sarah get to them again.
Hell, I would kill first before that ever happened.
I wiped my hands on the white towel, grimacing at the crimson covering the soft fabric.
With a simple nod, I took the balm Robin offered me at the door of the basement.
He had only said little since I brought Baron here and while his disproval for my method of information collection was evident, he remained the supportive brother I had always known him to be.
"Is he here yet?" I asked in a low voice, putting the ointment over my knuckles that had jammed into Baron's bones about a thousand times.
The downside of this was that before now, the last time I had had a reason to punch anyone was back in college.
The state which Baron was at this point proved I still had some power in my fist, as occasionally as I use them.
"He just landed," Robin answered, falling in step next to me as I made my way up the stairs leading to the living area of the mansion. "He should be here in a few."
"Good. Have him chat with our guest when he arrives. I'm going to see to her."
He gave me a knowing look. Even Robin and the other members of the family had been affected by Chris' withdrawal. "I have to keep trying," I said, answering his unvoiced question.
He placed a hand on my shoulder, leaving a manly pat, "Trying is fine, but are you really sure you want to turn into someone you're not for this?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." my blatant lie was hard to swallow past, and I knew my brother was not buying it. "I am who I am."
He halted in his steps, causing me to pause too.
"Yes, you are. A brilliant scientist and Ceo of one of the largest biotech companies in the country which by the way needs him.
A wonderful brother and friend and an even more wonderful father and son.
Those are what you are. What you are not Lucas is this," he took one hand from his pocket, gesturing around, "you're not this person.
Hand him over to the cops to do their job. "
Robin was right. Yet so wrong at the same time.
Because what he did not know was that when the situation turned into a sudden struggle for your life and the life of the people you love, you had search the darkest part of your soul to bring out that monster that would do anything to survive.
Survival for me meant finding Sarah before she struck again and that meant getting Baron to tell me what I had to know.
There was a brief silence, one that let hope dance in his eyes.
The hope that I was going to do the right thing.
Which made it harder for me to crush it.
"Find out how the company is doing in Diego.
Inform the board that I would be coming back home soon.
Call me when Adrian gets here. I want to be here for it. "
One of the best parts about having a best friend who made a living out of killing was that when times like these came, I was sure to always have a backup.
Without waiting to see the disappointment I knew would be lurking in his eyes, I continued on my way up the barely lit stairs. "Where are you going now?" he asked, clearly pissed.
"To get my fiancee to at least talk to me." I snapped, thankful that the basement door would put a barrier between me and his questions.
Sadness dripped through every inch of the room, a gloominess I felt deep in my bones as I took the first step into the dark space. It had been like this in the last two weeks and even after being released from the hospital, the pain of that night Baron attacked her still lingered deep in our lives.
I paused at the doorway, adjusting my eyes to the shadow of the form on the bed.
She looked like she was asleep, but I knew better.
She had been unable to get even an hour of sleep for days and what hurt the most was the fact that no matter what I did, she wouldn't tell me why.
The tray of what I suspected to be yet another rejected dinner laid untouched on the center table and my worry rose.
How the fuck was I supposed to help her if she would not talk to me, not get any sleep, or eat anything.
I pushed the frustration building up in my chest away.
Chris needed me to be supportive now, not mad at her for not having dinner.
After turning the bedside lamp on, I sank into the bed next to her, thankful that now the king-sized bed of our bedroom would afford us more space compared to the tiny bed at the hospital.
The slow rise and fall of her chest came to a sharp halt as I brushed my hand over her forehead, moving the hair away from her face.
Her lips twitched slightly, the only sign that she really was awake.
"You didn't have dinner," I said softly, brushing the knuckles of my middle and forefinger against her cheek slowly.
"Not hungry," she whispered, releasing a shaky breath before opening her eyes.
My chest clenched at the red rims around her eyes showing she had been crying for quite a while and once again I wanted to take another tooth out of Baron's mouth. Soon. "Mrs. Brambilla said you didn't have lunch either."
"I didn't like the food."
A lie, but I was not about to call her out on it. "Let's go out for a drive. Maybe get something you'd like to eat too."
Her lips trembled as she considered my request and for a second I hoped she would at least say yes to taking a drive with me. "I'm not sure I'm up for going out right now."
Even though every muscle in my body kicked against it, I knew better than to push any further.
This was probably the longest conversation we had had in two weeks and I was not about to toss my luck in the garbage.
But of course, that was the exact thing I did as I spoke the next words, "The kids have been asking where you are lately and. .."
The hurt that flashed in her eyes as I said the words made me leave my statement half-finished. She would need time to heal from this and I was not about to make that even more difficult for her by reminding her. Despite the effort, she was making to hide it, the pain was still very evident.
"...and?" she prompted, her voice groggy and croaked.
"It's not important." I said, looking away, "get some rest, I'll..."
"That's all I've been doing for God knows how long," she snapped, her eyes narrowed at me in an icy glare. "are we ever going to talk about what's been happening in the last few days, or are you just going to keep avoiding it?"
I wanted to remind her that she had been the one shutting me out for days but I did not have a death wish.
If I was being honest, I would rather have her cry and scream and yell at me than have her not talk to me.
It was killing to have hat cold silence from her and anything else I received I would take happily.
I placed my hand on her cheek in a soft hold and leaned closer, then pressed a kiss on her forehead, "Go to sleep Muffin."
With a hand on mine, she held me back as I made a move to get to my feet. "Tell me how bad it is." I knew exactly what she was talking about but I neither had the physical nor emotional strength to walk her through the reminder of that night again.
"The hospital is suing for damages, and the bad press along with my extended stay here in Italy is taking a toll on the company, but I have it handled.
" I feigned ignorance, giving the first answer that popped into my mind.
Usually, I would never give Chris this news, but it was better than giving her the answer to what she was really asking.
The hand on mine squeezed tighter, "How bad is it, Lucas?"
I cleared my throat softly, there was no easy way to say it, yet I wished Chirs did not make me put her through the pain of having to relive that night.
"We found four of the men from our security strangled to death in their posts.
But like I said, I have it under control. It's not your job to think about that."
Her grip on my hand was no less tight and that was all I needed to know that she knew exactly what she was asking me and most likely knew the answer too. "I know that." her voice was demanding yet it came out as soft as the shrug she gave, "that's why I'm asking, Lucas. How. Bad. Is. It?"
I looked away, no force on the earth could give me enough strength to look into her eyes right now.
Not when I knew too well what I would find lurking behind the pain and despair visible on the surface.
That accusation had stung, pulling me into the shadows of guilt every single day in the last two weeks.
"Do you really want me to spell it out, Chris? "
"I do," she said quietly, bobbing her head up and down, clearly in more of an effort to convince herself than me. "I do. All you have done in the last two weeks is pump me with enough meds to make me forget my own name. So yes, I need to know and I need you to spell it out, Lucas."
I cupped her cheeks, gathering the courage to meet her eyes, my voice strained and pleading, "I don't want to do that to you Muffin."
"I'm tired of everyone treating me like I'm so fragile that I'll break the next second." her voice lost its quiet edge now. No more pleading but defensive and demanding. "I need to be informed about my own body. So I'm begging you to tell me."
With a sigh, I straightened in my seat next to her on the bed, burying my face in my hands. "We lost him," I said in the lowest tone I could manage, "along with any chances of you conceiving in the future."
If I was not sitting this close to her, I would have missed the way her breath hitched up in a small gasp. A part of me hoped she would cry, at least one of us would finally be channeling our emotions the right way, but I knew better than to hold my breath waiting.
Actually, I knew better than to expect her to even say a word to me after I had slit a knife through a barely healing wound in her heart.
Deafening silence blared in my ears as the seconds slowly stretched into a full-on five minutes. Not a word, not a sob, not a whimper. That gasp was the only reaction I would be getting.
"Muffin," I whispered, meaning to reach for her and comfort her, tell her it would all be okay, that we would get through this, through it all, but the cold stare glaring back at me was enough to leave my hand mid-air and immediately dropping back to my side.
She bit her bottom lip as if holding back whatever she was going to say and then finally, she looked away. Her eyes darted in the other direction from me and my heart further plummeted.
I sat still next to her, hoping for a brief moment she would actually spare me a glance. I would not blame her for not doing that though. I had not done enough to protect my family, to protect her, and I had no right to even be close to her right now.
A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she rolled on to the side, legs folded, arms tucked under her head and eyes squeezed shut.
A final kick to my gut and her cue that she had said enough of what she wanted to say to me today.
If I was lucky, this would not be both our first and last conversation this week.
I deserved to be cut out by her, but that did not mean I would ever stop being here by her side.
I felt her body stiffen as I placed a hand on her head, stroking the soft curls of her hair.
"Shut me out as much as you want. Take a week, a month, a goddamn year, but I'll be right here, waiting.
Whenever you're ready to talk I'm here Muffin because I love you and even after everything that has happened, I know you love me too and that's how I know you'll come back to me. "
I waited briefly, clinging on to that hope that she would turn around and finally let all the emotions she had been feeling out. Scream at me, curse me, hit me anything to make her feel better. Five minutes later, there was still nothing but silence slapping me in the face.
I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on her head, thankful that she did not flinch at my kiss tonight as she had the past nights before.
I meant what I said. I would wait for Christine, as long as she needed.
Emotions flooded my chest as I caught sight of the ring on her finger, she still had it on.
There was hope still and I probably had not fucked it all up for us.
I knew without an iota of doubt that she would come back to me.
I just wished she would not shut me out for too long.
"Brother man," the familiar nickname was followed by a warm, much-needed hug from my best friend and a strong arm, leaving a manly pat on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry for calling on such short notice," I said to Adrian as I led him down the steps of the basement. "I couldn't think of anyone else to help."
"Hey man," he fake punched my shoulder, "no need to thank me, why are we best friends if I cannot get my hands a little dirty for you. Besides, Nicole did not mind visiting Milan again in such a short period from our first visit."
"Is she finally coming to terms with your business now?"
He gave a dark chuckle, one that did not reach his eyes and I realized I was not the only one having issues with the woman I loved. "She thinks I'm back here to talk about a quick investment with you, I think that answers enough."
"She just needs time." I nodded in the direction of the door that held my prisoner.
"Hmm" was his only response before his lips tilted in a grin that most people would find nothing less than deadly, "so who are we killing tonight."
"We're not killing, per se," I said, twisting the doorknob to open the room.
He tilted his head and gave me a pointed look, "So what are we doing?"
"Let's just call it collecting information," I smiled ruefully, matching his grin as I pulled the door open to reveal Baron. In the state he now was even I did not recognize him, even though I had been the one to drill all the bleeding holes in his face.
"Ah man, you already did a pretty good job." Adrian had a rather amused smile on, seeming almost surprised. "What information are we collecting?"
I spent the next few minutes filling him in on everything I needed to know from Baron and all he gave was a brief shake of his head. "I only need a few hours with him."
The look in his eyes told me exactly what he was thinking, and I knew I had to cancel the idea and fast. "Do not kill him."
Adrian simply chuckled. "You underestimate my control.
" he stretched one leg out, and the screeching sound of metal scraping the concrete floor echoed through the room.
After dragging the seat to himself with his feet, he took a few steps closer to Baron whose brain was probably too messed up to figure what was going on right now.
From the way his chest rose and fell in heavy breaths, I knew he had an idea. Adrian raised the metal seat just an inch over baron's exposed feet before letting one sharp leg on the chair pierce into his feet. His scream tore through the basement, echoing for minutes as he bellowed in pain.
"Besides," Adrian turned to me with a coy smile, "it's not my territory and it's not my habit to leave bodies in a city that is not mine.
" he turned an unimpressed gaze back to Baron who was whimpering from the chair dug in his feet, "seeing how fucked up the bastard already looks, I should have what you need soon and I don't even need to use my fist."
"Thanks, man." I said clasping his shoulder, "I owe you one."
"No shit," he said briefly, turning back to Baron. "Get outta here and let me work now."