A change

RYAN

I was so shocked I couldn't move.

The man standing in the doorway looked exactly like Ricardo.

No. That wasn’t possible.

My heart raced as I stared at him, my mind trying so hard to make sense of what I was seeing. A twin? Ricardo had a fucking twin?

What the fuck?

My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out every other sound in the room. This wasn’t part of the plan. I came here to kill the man who murdered my mother. But now… now I didn’t even know if I had the right one.

Why the hell didn’t Lucas tell me about this? Why…

"Ryan!"

Ricardo’s sharp voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts.

I blinked, refocusing on him, but his gaze was already locked onto the syringe still clutched in my hand.

"What the fuck are you holding, Doc?" His voice was lower now.

My grip tightened around the syringe. My mind scrambled for a response. "It's a booster," I said smoothly. "It helps speed up the effect of the antidote."

Ricardo laughed, shaking his head as he turned toward the man standing in the doorway. "Rafael, can you believe this guy?"

Rafael… so that was his name… remained silent, his sharp gaze shifting between the two of us.

Ricardo snorted, turning back to me. "And you couldn’t tell me about this before we started fucking?"

I swallowed, forcing a calm expression. "You were in a rush to test the results. I didn’t think you'd care."

Ricardo hummed, considering my words. Then, his smirk returned. "If it's harmless, then use it on yourself."

My stomach twisted. "What?"

"You heard me." He leaned forward, picking up his gun and aiming it at me. "If it’s just a booster, shoot it into your own arm.”

I kept my face neutral, but my pulse was racing. Think, Ryan. Think.

Just as I opened my mouth to argue, Rafael finally spoke.

"Ricardo." He called out gently, "I came to tell you that Victor is here. He’s asking to see you now."

Ricardo’s smirk faltered for a brief second before he scoffed. "Victor’s already here? Damn. He wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow."

Rafael didn’t respond, just gave a small nod.

Ricardo sighed, rolling his shoulders before turning back to me. He stared at me for a long moment, then lowered the gun.

"You're staying here tonight," he said, voice dripping with authority. "You’re not going anywhere. We'll continue this conversation in the morning.”

The door shut behind me with a solid click, and I exhaled a slow breath.

I was trapped.

Lying down on the bed, I stared at the ceiling, my mind racing. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. I was supposed to kill Ricardo and be out before anyone even noticed.

But now?

Now, I was sleeping under the same roof as my enemy, hoping to God I didn’t wake up with a bullet between my eyes.

***********

A loud bang jolted me awake.

Before I could even sit up, the door burst open, and Ricardo’s men stormed in, guns raised and aimed directly at me.

This was it.

I tensed, waiting for the inevitable. But instead of gunfire, something even more shocking happened.

Ricardo himself stepped through the doorway.

His eyes locked onto mine and then, without warning, he punched me… hard.

Pain exploded in my jaw, my head snapping to the side.

“That’s for almost injecting me yesterday without my damn consent,” he growled.

I barely had time to react before he grabbed me by the collar and yanked me to my feet.

And then…

Then he did something so utterly bizarre I thought I was hallucinating.

He laughed.

A deep, booming laugh that echoed through the room.

“I’ve been healed!” he shouted, shaking me like I was some kind of miracle worker. “My dick works again! I woke up aroused!”

I blinked.

What?

What the actual fuck?

I came here to kill him. Instead, I had… cured his erectile dysfunction?

Ricardo was still grinning like a lunatic, his hands gripping my shoulders as if I had just saved his life instead of trying to end it.

“I can’t believe this,” he said, shaking his head. “You have no idea how much money I’ve spent on specialists, treatments, useless fucking pills. And then you come in, stick me with one little injection, and boom!” He gestured wildly to his lower half. “Like magic.”

I had no words. None.

This was the most surreal moment of my life.

Ricardo turned to his men, still grinning. “Boys, we’re celebrating tonight! Drinks on me! And as for you…” He spun back to face me, clapping a heavy hand on my shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere.”

I stiffened. “What?”

“I’ve been thinking,” he continued, completely ignoring the way my entire body went rigid. “Our current doctor? Useless. Couldn’t fix my problem in months. You?” He let out another laugh. “You did it in one fucking night! So, I’m making a change.”

A slow, sick feeling crept up my spine.

“What kind of… change?” I asked carefully.

Ricardo threw his arms out dramatically. “We’re firing our useless excuse for a doctor. You know what this means, right?”

No. No, I definitely didn’t.

“It means,” he continued, throwing an arm around my shoulders, “I’m keeping you.”

Oh, fuck. I wasn’t even a real doctor.