Page 6 of A Game of Survival

“I’m not locking her up forever, she can go back to her place, just not tonight. We need to strategize and plan without impulsive decisions that could get one of us killed. It’s already been too long, we need to find him.”

I’m not trying to justify my decision because I know I’m right but saying it outloud does make me feel slightly better about the situation. Lucille would be a distraction and we can’t afford to have that while we focus on finding Teddy. Linc shakes his head and I know he agrees with what I’ve done just not how I’ve implemented it.

“I know that, Fratello. You always try to do what's best. I just don’t think she really needed to be carted off and shut away like that. I agree with you it's not safe for her to be roaming around. But she just woke up, her son is still missing and your fuckhead of a brother just completely shattered what was left of her.” I sigh at his reasoning, because of course he would see it from her side too and try to defend her wanting to go back home.

“Why do you always have to play the fucking knight in shining armour?” I shake my head and chuckle, rubbing my hands across my face. “I tell you what, you can rescue the princess from her tower but only when I allow it.” I joke, earning a smirk from him in return.

“I take it you have the cameras turned on to keep an eye on her?” He asks while glancing back to his monitor and swiping away the hair that’s fallen into his eyes.

“Like you haven't already looked in on her yourself. She’s exhausted herself from destroying my room. I doubt she’ll wake up for a good few hours now. Her body needs the rest.” I say, shaking my head. He would have logged in to check on her soon as we left him. Bastard is just as obsessed about her safety as I am, he just isn't as vocal about it.

Linc grunts without looking my way. “Right, well, back to this mess. While you were going caveman on our girl, I combed through the CCTV around Max’s apartment, trying to piece together anything we might have missed. I have barely made a dent but I’m not stopping until everything has been sifted through with a fine toothed comb. I’ve already arranged for Cassandra to do the morning drop off and pick up for Alesso tomorrow but he needs to stay out of this Silas, he already knows too much.” He warns, his tone turning a shade darker at the mention of his son.

I lean forwards, but before I get a chance to reply, a knock at the door interrupts my train of thought. Linc is on his feet in an instant before I even have the opportunity to say come in. As if he knew who it already was, Linc opens the office door to Alesso and pulls him in for a swift hug, though I don’t pretend not to notice how tight the hold is on his shoulders as he pulls him to his chest.

“Hey Son, is everything ok?” he asks, pulling back to study his face. Linc won’t ever admit this but I can see the way his brain is working, he’s mentally putting Alesso in Teddy’s place, imagining it were him missing instead. He’s torturing himself in that way, but it only adds extra fuel to his fire for finding Teddy. We’re all a little fucked up in the way we deal with things I suppose.

“Hey Dad, I woke up and noticed the lights on and well, I just wondered if there was any news on Teddy and Uncle Cole,” he says sleepily. Of course, there’s no he’s aware of Cole waking up from his coma, we went straight to the hospital as soon as we got the call from the doctor. The poor kid has been so upset thinking that Cole was going to leave him like his mother did. It's been heartbreaking for us all to see him go through it. Which in turn has been equally hard on Linc, too. I glance at Linc, waiting for him to take the lead on this, it’s better coming from his father after all. He straightens up and clears his throat as he leads Alesso into the room, nudging him to take a seat next to me while he kneels down in front of him and reaches out for his hands. I can see the turmoil in his eyes, wondering how much of the truth to divulge, he’s too young to understand.

“I had hoped to have this conversation in the morning before you go to school but since you’re here now…Cole is awake” Linc begins to explain.

“He is awake? Where is he? Is he ok? Can I see him? Does Luci know?” Alesso jumps up from the couch and blurts his barrage of questions out so frantically it’s hard to keep up.

“Woah woah, slow down buddy, let your dad explain before you hurt yourself moving that quick.” I chuckle, motioning for him to sit back down.

“He's okay, Son. He just needs some time on his own to go through what happened. He was hurt pretty bad and he needs time to recover. But as soon as he's ready and he’s feeling better he’ll be here to cook with you, take you to school and whatever else you want to do with him. I promise.” Linc reassures him, giving him a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.

“And what about Teddy? Have you found him?” Alesso asks, looking hopefully into his fathers eyes but Linc simply shakes his head giving him all the answer he needs.

“Come on now, let's get you back to bed. It’s late enough.” Linc whispers, stroking his hands through his hair.

“But Dad–”

“No buts, I have work to do and you have school in the morning, now get back to bed. Cole is fine, Son. He and Teddy will both be home soon.”

I give Alesso a gentle but reassuring pat on his back. “Listen to your father, Alessandro. We’ll let you know if anything changes.” Alesso drops his head in defeat as Linc guides him back through the door to the office mumbling a goodnight as he goes.

I can’t imagine what It must be like to try and explain this to a child. A child who has already been through so much in their short life. As I wait for Linc to return, I move to sit behind the desk and pull out my phone checking on la mia luce. She's still sleeping peacefully, her steady breaths rising and falling as she dreams of everything that should be but isn’t. Setting my phone on the desk, I bring my head into my hands and give in to the assault of questions firing around in my head. What has gotten into my brother? Where is Max? And how the hell are we going to get Teddy back? I pray to God that when we find him we won’t have a repeat of what I walked in on when I found Cole all those years ago. My memories threaten to drown me until Linc walks back into the room and I can shift my focus to something else.

“Alesso okay?” I ask, rubbing my hands over my face.

“No, but he will be. You and I both know he thinks the world of Cole. It's just hard for him to understand. Hell, even I don’t understand what the fuck is going on.” Linc says, taking my previous seat on the sofa and brushing his fingers through his hair.

“Fuck, I don’t know. I hope he doesn't make too much of a mess getting whatever the fuck this is out of his system. He's been in Teddy’s situation and we both know how fucking messed up that was. I can’t even…I just can’t even begin to think. It’s no doubt resurfacing all of those memories for him. We need to trust in him that he will come back to us and not push him too far, otherwise I fear he’ll do something we all may live to regret.” I take in a deep breath trying to calm myself before I continue. “With that being said, I could beat him to within an inch of his life for how he spoke to Lucille today, so maybe it is a good thing he's not around Alesso right now.”

“That’s true because I’d fucking kill him myself if he hurt him in anyway. The only reason I didn’t put my fist through his face earlier was because of Lucille, I don’t think she’d have been able to stay standing had I not been holding her. Hopefully you’re right and the distance he’s giving himself isn't such a bad thing if he can't control himself right now.” Linc agrees.

I shake my head, there’s no point dwelling on it any longer, Cole is gone and we will deal with him whenever he decides to show his face again. Until then, we have too much to do. “Were we able to track down the dates of when Ronan’s next shipment will be arriving? The plan is ready as soon as we know when and where. We can only hope that it has some sort of weight behind it that we can use as leverage to get Teddy back. Or at the very least, we can capture a few of his men and make them bleed until they reveal the locations of their safe houses.”

“I have Felix tracking their movements. Hopefully they will slip up soon and the surveillance from Max’s place will be able to point us in the right direction, too. We’ll get him back, Fratello. Even if it’s the last thing I fucking do. My father played a part in this. I won’t fucking let him win.” Linc grits through his teeth. The level of betrayal felt from his own flesh and blood will undoubtedly go with Linc to the grave. This isn’t on him, but I know he’s taking this personally. His father betrayed us all in his scheme to get Lucille kidnapped and take over the business. He paid the ultimate price for his sins. But that still isn’t enough for Linc. The knock on decisions from others actions have led us to where we are now, and that is deep in the pits of despair. I rise from my chair and grab Lincoln, pulling him to my chest. I hold him tight. I couldn’t give a fuck if I’m supposed to be a coldblooded killer, I hold my friend who’s been through the depths of hell and back with me and without any words being said I let him know that I love him before leaving him to do what he does best.

There’s no way in hell that I’m sleeping anywhere but next to Lucille tonight, I don’t care how angry she is with me, I may need this more than she does. To know that she’s safe and alive in my arms. The past few days while she’s been at the hospital have been nothing short of excruciating, and I am beyond a new level of exhaustion by the time I reach my bedroom. Pulling the key from my pocket, I unlock the door and enter, making sure to lock the door behind me again. Lucille is fast asleep. She looks so delicate, so easily breakable with only a few remaining bruises left on her skin and a wound that will leave a lifelong scar on her shoulder. It angers me instantly at the thought of anybody putting their hands on her precious body and causing her harm. I quietly strip out of my clothes, leaving just my boxer shorts on as I slide into bed next to my sleeping angel. I study her face for a while, the way her lips pout and her long lashes gently graze the tops of her cheeks. She’s so pure it leaves an ache so deep in my chest I fear I might choke on it. I can’t help myself as I bring my fingers towards her face and gently trace a line over the curve and fall of her cheek as I whisper, “I’m so sorry baby girl,” onto deaf ears. I lean forward and plant a kiss on her forehead making sure not to use too much pressure. I stiffen as Lucille sighs beneath me and as I pull back, I notice a small smile pull at her lips as she mumbles something I’m unable to decipher. “That’s it, la mia luce, dream pretty dreams.” I whisper into her hair, kissing her once more before I let exhaustion take over and pull me into a dark and dreamless sleep with her in my arms.

Chapter 5

Lincoln

The silent reassurance I received from Silas was not lost on me, his unspoken acceptance almost cracked my already fragile state. We wouldn’t be in this fucked up situation if it wasn’t for my fucking snake of a father. The mere thought of being blood related to that wretched piece of shit makes me nauseous. I absentmindedly pour myself a tumbler of whisky, relishing in the burn it leaves down my throat. I swear on my own life that if I don’t find out where they’re hiding Teddy, I will, without a whisper of regret, leave a path of death and destruction in my wake so fucking fierce that even the devil himself will be cursing my name.

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