Caught Red-handed

"Si Padre (yes, father), I'll come visit soon," Luca said in a low voice. "No. Nothing's wrong; we've just been so busy. Yes, the coronation has been postponed, but there's so much work to do here. You know we've been expanding territory." 

He took the phone away from his ear to let out a painful groan. Taking quick, rapid breaths until the pain in his abdomen had subsided. He placed the phone back in his ear.

"Sorry, I didn't get that." He paused, and his father repeated the unheard words. "Yes. Adonis is a born leader. I promise to come visit you with Cecelia soon. Yeah bye. Say hi to Lilian for me." 

Luca dropped the phone immediately the call ended as though it were a hot, boiling kettle. His two hands went to his abdomen, and he closed his eyes tightly at the pain. 

It's been three days since they got back from their recent mission.

Three days since he'd stepped out of the house. Three days since he'd seen Adonis.

The last sentence caused a spark of hurt in his chest. He wasn't ready to see him yet and hoped he was managing fine on his own, but knowing Adonis, that was a long stretch. 

But he still couldn't see him now—not yet. Not when he didn't have the right words to console his friend.

As stressful as it was for him now, Luca was somewhat grateful that he had a reason to hide away. 

Their last mission had taken an extremely unexpected turn. One that left them both emotionally and physically damaged. The physical pain wasn't an issue at all. After all, it wasn't the first time.

What's two gunshot wounds and a knife slash?

But the emotional pain would take forever to heal, not for him but for Adonis.

It was meant to be a regular raid. This wasn't a real mission to them; it was a walk in the park. As usual, the drug shipment was hijacked, and they were going to claim it back and leave a warning.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Not find out secrets that were better off buried...

Luca had always been the laid-back one amongst the two. He grew up in a loving family and was the only child of his well-to-do parents. His father being the consigliere for Dimitri was just an added perk. It fostered his friendship with Adonis, which grew to become a bond between both families. 

He grew up with parents who showed him enough love, something many weren't fortunate to have. Even when his parents got divorced, it was on mutual ground, and they were still very close friends. 

His mother attending family dinners with his father and his new wife present was a testament to this. 

Luca's family was a drama-free one.

Everyone thought the Romano family were lucky to have been taken under the Capo's wing; some still went around saying Luca didn't deserve to be second-in-command, and it was all due to his family rising in ranks, thanks to the friendship. But no one saw what he did.

No one saw the little seven-year-old boy he'd caught crying in the closet during his first visit to the mansion.

During the early days of their friendship, Luca was the one who did all the talking. Adonis rarely spoke a word. He was like that still, only speaking with those he knew closely.

He sighed in deep thought.

If only his brain was as mature as it is now, he'd have seen that his friend was only a broken child crying for help through the silence. 

It took him so long to see it.

The throbbing in his arm and abdomen reminded him that it was time to take some painkillers.

His mind recalled how Adonis had gone ballistic to the news, resulting in a shootout between both parties. He had narrowly gotten off fine with just a few scratches and a deep gash on his chest, but Luca had two gunshot wounds instead. One on his arm, the other on his abdomen.

Dr. Bruno had been a great help, and now he was on bed rest for the next few days with his lovely fiancé tending to his needs.

At least there was a bright side to this.

He smiled, raising his hand to stretch above his head, only to bring it down with a painful 'ow'

He steadily rose to his feet, going in search of his fiancé but he felt the pain sweep through him again.

Deciding to take his pills first, he went straight to the kitchen and resumed his search when he was done.

"Babe?"

There was no response. 

"Cece?" He tried again, but still no response. His eyebrows dipped into a frown. She was with him a few minutes ago and left when he had to receive a call from his father. Where could she have gone?

Just then, he heard quiet mumblings come from one of the guest rooms. Luca let out a small smile; she probably was on the phone with her friends again.

His fiancé had like a thousand friends as she was always travelling and meeting new people.

Luca slowly walked in the direction of the sound. Taking into consideration his present condition, it wasn't like he could run anyway. He had just gotten to the door when he had her speak again.

"I don't know, but something seems off. Things have been quiet since they got back." 

Luca crossed his arm over his chest; the frown returned to his face.

Something was off, and he didn't know about it, yet she was telling someone else. What happened to talking to each other first?

He decided to patiently wait for her to end the call before asking about it, but her next words made him even more confused.

"No. Things have been going well. I heard she's advancing well in her training with Kane. I have my eyes on them, you know?" 

She paused as the person on the other side said something, causing her to let out a giggle.

"Okay. I've got to go. See you soon." 

By the time she was done with her call, Luca was already searing in anger.

What was that all about? Had Adonis been right to have the women tailed? He had never once asked the person in charge of Cecelia for a report. He trusted her and believed she wouldn't disappoint him, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

The sound of advancing footsteps filled his ears, and the half-opened door was pulled back.

Cecelia let out an astonished scream, stumbling on her feet at the abrupt step she'd taken back.

"Luca! Do not scare me like that." She reprimanded with a playful pout, but Luca wasn't in the mood to humour her.

He gave her a fixed look.

"Tell me. What was that all about?"