Page 5 of A Game of Survival

"My brother has never been very good at accepting love, la mia luce. He believes he has failed you, so in his eyes, he’s no longer worthy of you. I’m sorry for the pain he caused you, and you have my word that it will not go unpunished. No man, even my blood, will ever speak to you the way that he just has without reprisal. Now come on, we have a lot to do to find Teddy.”

Lucille's whisper of a gasp doesn’t go unnoticed as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth to try and stifle her cries, her heart breaking all over again at the mention of her son. The first few days are always the most crucial when someone is kidnapped, and we’ve already lost too much time. We need to hurry up and find him before we miss our chance completely.

Focusing my gaze on Lincoln, who has stayed stoic through most of this whole ordeal I clear my throat. “Lucille needs to head home for some rest, then we can make a plan to track down Ronan. He holds the answers now.”

Linc presses his lips together into a thin line then nods with a simple, “After you, Brother,” at my instruction. I nod again, reassuring myself that this is at least somewhere to start.

We need to get out of here. I need to get an update from the guys I’ve had tracking Ronan, and Lucille needs to finally get out of this place. If I have anything to do with it, she will never get close enough to stepping foot inside a hospital ever again, not even to go back to her job.

I lean forward, fully pulling Lucille from the hold Linc still has around her waist, noticing the reluctance in the hard lines of his face as he hands her over to me before I effortlessly scoop her up into my arms and walk towards the door.

Lucille slaps my chest as I begin to move. “Silas put me down, a few nasty words spat at me by your brother because he's too damn stubborn to pull his head out of his ass and see the whole picture won’t break me, I can walk by myself.” The frown on her face as she snarls at me is cute, and I can’t help but think Cole is wrong. She's not a little mouse, she is a kitten with sharp claws and if he's not careful, he’ll be on the receiving end of those. I make no effort to do as she's asked, I only tighten my hold and enjoy the feel of her body against my own as she wriggles to get free. I'm three times the size of her, she has no chance of escaping my hold but I do enjoy her feeble attempts. The commotion inside Cole’s hospital room has the corridor of nursing staff glaring at us as we leave the hospital. The way they whisper to each other behind raised hands is not lost on me or Lucille as she finally settles further into my chest, trying to hide her face. I make a mental note to make sure everybody on this floor gets fired for being so fucking nosey and unprofessional and making my woman feel so damn uncomfortable. Lincoln is following directly behind us as we exit the building and I have to fight back my chuckle at the sound of his slurry of insults aimed towards them all as we leave.

As soon as the humid night air hits us outside, I look down at Lucille who has all the rage of a little puppy burning through her eyes once again at the fact I refused to do as she asked and let her walk on her own. I can’t help but smile.

“Have you finished fighting me yet, la mia luce?” I tease as I gently lower her feet down to the ground. Her face is flushed red and I can practically see the steam coming from her ears as Lincoln lets out a low whistle behind and chuckles.

“I think our little love isn't happy with you, Fratello. I’d be careful if I were you, she’s a feisty one. I’m going to bring the car around.” He turns to Lucille with a smirk on his face. “Try not to lay into him too much, it’ll only make him spank you harder later, Love.” He winks at her before pulling the keys from his pocket and strolling over to collect the car.

Her cheeks instantly fill with heat that blossoms its way down her neck as she turns towards me, pointing her fingers into my chest and pushing me as she accentuates each of her words. “You. Silas Salvatore. Are such an ASSHOLE!” Linc is right, she will be in for a spanking if she carries on speaking to me like that, as amusing as it is. My cock twitches just at the thought of her thick creamy thighs spread over my lap as I spank her voluptuous ass while it turns the perfect shade of pink under my palm. I swear I'm almost drooling before a sharp slap brings me straight back to the present with her eyes burning into me even more furious than before. I bring my hand to my cheek that is no doubt red from her palm and I grin at her, a foolish, love sickening grin.

“You got all that anger out? I'm not the one that you're really angry at, but I can take your rage if that's what you need from me. I will be whatever you need, because I love you, my light. But that goes both ways, I need to feel your warmth against my body, so that the darkness can not take over and consume me.”

I watch as the anger she possessed moments ago ebbs away her eyes begin to glisten with fresh tears that threaten to spill as she brings her hands to my face and places them gently against my skin. “I’m sorry, Silas. You’re right, I'm not angry at you. I just can’t believe he left. I didn't expect him to react like that after everything. And Teddy, I’m so scared Silas. What if we can’t find him?” Her voice breaks on her final question at the harsh reality of it and there’s little she can do but give in to her tears once again as they begin to stream down her beautiful face, leaving watery lines in their wake. Pulling my face closer to hers she kisses me with a wild need, I want nothing more than to pick her up and fuck her for all to see who she belongs to but I know that is not what she needs right now. Lucille breaks the kiss as quickly as she started it and smiles at me, “Oh and by the way, I love you too, Silas. But you’re still an asshole, you’re just my ass hole.”

I laugh, “I wouldn't have it any other way baby girl.” She turns on her heels and heads over to the car where Linc has been watching our embrace, waiting silently for our moment to be over. He opens the door for her to slide in and before dipping her head she reaches up to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek, thanking him for being so gentlemanly.

He has a big shit eating grin on his face as she disappears into the backseat of the car. “I think I'm her favorite, you know,” he says. I chuckle to myself before I slap him playfully up the side of the head and follow Lucille into the back of the car like the love sick puppy I guess I am. Lucille’s gaze turns to the window, where she watches the world go by as Lincoln rolls the car out of the parking lot.

The journey home seems to pass by quickly with all three of us no doubt lost in our own thoughts about our current situation and staying silent for the entire ride, only chancing quick glances in each other's directions as if to check we were still there. Lucille's hand is placed in mine, and while I absentmindedly stroke my thumb over her knuckles, I notice how she gives it a squeeze every so often and so I return each one back, hating myself for it being the only little bit of comfort I can give to her in this moment while she’s undoubtedly torturing herself with thoughts of Teddy.

By the time we arrive home, Lucille seems to realize that when I said home, I didn’t mean hers and as Linc directs the car up to the entryway of our drive her spine straightens immediately. "I need to get some fresh clothes at my place,'' she announces, still staring straight out of her car door window. She hasn't been back home since Teddy was taken, with most of her time being spent unconscious or by Cole’s side in the hospital and It's something myself and Lincoln had planned to avoid for as long as possible.

"I'll send Dario to fetch some things for you if you make a list, or you can take my card and buy a whole new wardrobe for you to keep here." I offer, hoping she doesn't want to go back home away from us so soon. I would hate for her to leave under normal circumstances but right now, I know for a fact that if she was to return home, this nightmare would become all too real for her and she would not be able to cope.

"I want to be able to get my own belongings, Silas. Stop trying to suffocate me, I've stayed away long enough being in that hospital. I will need to face it soon enough," she snaps at me, ripping her hand from my grasp.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep steadying breath. I realize this isn’t going to go the way I‘d hoped and I'm in for another fight.

"Lucille, I'm trying to protect you. How about you have a shower or a soak in the bath? You can borrow some of mine or Linc’s clothes and we'll arrange for you to go back once we know it's safe." I try to persuade her, keeping my tone lighter than I usually would but already knowing I'm on the losing end with the exasperated look in her eyes. If I didn’t want my way so much I'd be damn proud of her for standing up to me and showing me she truly is my rightful queen.

"Silas, whether you like it or not, I'm going home today. I need some space to think, to breathe. I need to be around things that remind me of him. I'm lost without him but I'm not afraid of facing this. You can’t keep me here against my will!” she shouts at me. Fuck it, the way she tried to defy me was cute at first but I've had enough now, what little patience I did have has quickly been diminished. She needs to understand that my rules are the only rules and she's not going anywhere, especially not in her current emotional state.

I look to Linc before I move, the car now stationary in front of the house, and he knows exactly what I'm about to do before I even do. “Si, don’t do it. It’s not going to end well for you,” he says, trying to persuade me.

Lucille looks between us, confused at what’s being left unsaid and without a second thought I grab her and haul her over my shoulder, lifting her out of the car and racing into the house in the direction of my bedroom before she has a chance to object. Her wild protest begins as soon as we reach the front door and she starts smacking me and kicking out with her legs, fighting me with every step I take towards the bedroom door. Her screams are piercing as she beats against my back but I keep my hold tight around the back of her thighs as I chuckle to myself and slap my hand hard across her ass.

“Silas. Put me down you asshole! You can't decide what I do,” she yells as I walk through the door to my room.

“If you are not going to listen to reason and you continue to want to put yourself in danger, then you will stay in this room until myself or Lincoln can talk some sense into you!” I throw her onto the bed and quickly make my way back out of the room while she scrambles to get up. I shut the door behind me as she jumps from the bed and swiftly turn the key into place which earns me a lengthy slur of obscene profanity as she bangs against the wood from the other side. She has everything she needs there with the ensuite and fully stocked mini fridge with food and drinks so I don’t feel even the slightest bit guilty about leaving her there. The windows are locked and shatterproof if she were to try to escape again. The only exit is through this locked door, and I won’t even entertain that thought until she’s calmed down and willing to cooperate. Leaning my back against the door that separates us, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “I'm sorry, Lucille. We can talk once you are ready, but I almost lost you once, I’m not taking any chances this time.”

“I won't forgive you for this, Silas. You can't keep me in here forever,” she yells. I slide myself down the door resting on my heels as I listen to her throw the furniture against the door for almost an hour. I wait patiently until the room has fallen quiet and she has no doubt tired herself out. I pull out my phone and bring up the live feed on the security app linked to the camera’s we have installed in every room in the house. They’re discrete, so unless you knew what you were looking for you wouldn't even know they were there. Only myself, Linc and Cole have access to them and they're very rarely used considering we don’t bring many people back here. We much prefer to keep the work that we do as far away from our home as possible. I watch intently as Lucille surrenders herself to her exhaustion and collapses on my bed, surrounded by the destruction she has made of my bedroom. I’m definitely going to need to order a new floor lamp by the look of it, and a new chair. I can tell that she’s crying from the way her shoulders shudder against the bed sheets as she buries herself face down into the comforter and I want nothing more than to open this door and hold her, but I know that is the last thing she wants or needs from me right now so I refrain. I continue to watch until she's fast asleep, reluctantly moving myself from the door and making my way downstairs to find Linc.

It doesn’t take me long to find Linc, sitting in his personal office. The room is in darkness but his frame is lit up from the monitor lights. His eyes are focused on the multiple screens displayed before him as he types frantically onto the keyboard. I walk in, trying not to disturb him too much. I know when he’s in the zone he hates for it to be broken so I flop down onto the leather couch and roll the tension out of my shoulders. His head snaps towards me with a disapproving look etched into his frown lines. “Was that really necessary, Si? She doesn’t need to be locked up for fuck sake.”

“Maybe not but somebody has to be the villain in all of this and if she wants to continue to act like an irresponsible brat that’s exactly what I'll be. Until we know it's safe for her to go back there, she’s staying right where I can keep an eye on her. I can't focus on finding Teddy and worry about her safety at the same time.” I seethe, exasperated at the thought of Lucille alone on my bed, crying over her missing son. Her son that we still haven’t fucking found! I run my hand through my hair and rip it at the roots trying to distract myself from the spiral I’m sure to fall into. I know she will need to go back eventually, but right now isn’t an option.

“Cole is already trying to fill the role of villian with that bullshit he pulled back at the hospital, she doesn't need both Salvatore brothers being dickheads to her,” he says, trying to be the voice of reason, as always. I know he would have dealt with it differently, but what more can I do with the disobedient flight risk.

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