Hiding In His Office.

LEONARDO

“Leonardo, per favore, smettila di farlo!” Rocco pleaded, his voice a mixture of exasperation and urgency as he lunged toward me once more. This was the fourth time that night he had attempted to wrestle it from my grasp, but I stubbornly held on, unwilling to yield. The dim light of the room flickered, casting long shadows as our scuffle grew more intense.

I growled, “Go away, Rocco. I don't want to see anyone right now.”

After my heated argument with Alessandra, I stormed out of the apartment and went straight to my office. I craved a drink that would drown out the ache in my chest, but the pain still lingered no matter how many glasses I poured down my throat.

Every time I sipped the expensive alcohol, her face would suddenly invade my mind. I was going crazy from the sound of her laughter in my ears and the memory of her smile that was etched on my mind like a fucking tattoo.

Why did her feelings change towards me? What have I done to make her so.... disgusted with me?

My mind returned to reality when Dante, my younger brother, finally retrieved the bottle of whiskey from my hands. He immediately passed it to Rocco before I could snatch it back, and sat beside me, “That's enough, Leo. Stop torturing yourself for that woman.”

“She's not worth it, mio fratello!” Rocco hissed.

I immediately grabbed the knife hidden in my inner vest and threw it at him. Rocco tried to avoid the incoming weapon based on instinct but he was too slow. Fortunately for him, the knife only grazed his skin, leaving a thin line of blood on his left cheek.

He was lucky that I still needed him alive.

But this time, Dante's voice carried a weight of anger as he turned to me, his brow furrowed and eyes blazing. “What the fuck are you doing, Leo? Are you really going to abandon me again because of her?”

My eyes dropped down to my glass. Guilt clenched my heart like a vice when I remembered the past between us. Dante still hadn't forgiven me for running off to California during that summer break to see Alessandra, leaving him with our father. As children of his mistress, we were the unwanted ones in the De Castello family after our mother died. I still have no idea how she managed to make our father acknowledge us as his bastard children, but I found myself hating her for doing that.

When our father found out that I had somehow escaped from New York, he sent his men to hunt me down like an animal. Dante who was only seven back then, bore the full force of our father's wrath, suffering the consequences of my reckless decisions. After all these years, I wished I could tell him that I regretted my actions but the truth was I did.

The only thing I regretted was leaving Alessandra in that cabin.

“Well, you already have the bottle, don't you?” My hands felt empty so I brought out another pocket knife, swinging it expertly with my fingers.

Dante opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it a second later. He had always been like this, blunt with others but he skirted around delicate matters with me. I knew he was probably worried about my mental state, along with many of my men who saw me shoot my bride's uncle.

“I’m alright now, so you can go,” I declared, my voice carrying an unmistakable authority that filled the room. “And take Rocco with you, I don’t want to see his fucking face today,” I added, a sharp edge to my tone.

Our conversation was cut short when we realized that someone talking to Rocco in hushed tones at the front door. We both shared a look before I left my seat to find out what was happening. My wife's bodyguard, Luigi stood at the door with a cloth pressed to his bleeding forehead.

“What the fuck is happening here?” The moment my eyes fell on him, an icy chill gripped my heart, suffusing me with an overwhelming sense of dread. I quickly glanced over his shoulder, searching for any sign of her, and demanded, “Where is Alessandra?”

Luigi swayed a bit from the loss of blood but managed to stand his ground before me. He tried to explain, “Boss, your wife escaped. I tried to stop her but-”

“Bastardo!” My fist collided with his jaw before anyone could blink, sending him sprawling backward on the floor. Dante flew across the room to restrain me as my fingers reached for my gun. “You had only one job and you couldn't even keep a woman in the fucking house!”

“Leonardo, please calm down!” Dante pleaded as he wrestled hold of the gun in my jacket. He sent a look to Rocco who was prepping a shot with the tranquilizer gun, “Put that shit down and take Luigi to the Doc for treatment.”

Rocco's hesitant look faded when he saw my other hand grabbing a pocket knife from under the nearby stool. He knew how good I was with a knife, and this time, I was not going to be lenient with that stupid bodyguard. He grabbed the man and closed the door with a harsh thud, leaving me alone with Dante.

As the door clicked shut behind us, a sense of weight lifted as Dante released his grip on my shoulders. His voice cut through the swirling chaos in my mind, “Now is not the time for you to lose your shit, Leo. We need to head to California and find her before she vanishes for good.”

Those words penetrated the angry fog that had clouded my thoughts, clearing a sliver of focus amidst the turmoil. He was right. Alessandra must have gone to see her family, so I had to do something before they took her from me.

But that would be a bad choice because I would kill anyone who dared it.