Deadly Possession - Chapter 4 (Patreon)

I don't my nerves have ever been more fried than today. We found him. We fucking found him. Luca's body was crushed under the rubble of the house, and thank God for that. It protected him from the force of the explosion. He should be dead. His body should be ripped to shreds but by some miracle he was alive. But barely.

"We're going to keep him in a medically induced coma, until we can get the swelling to go down. We're going to have to undergo several surgeries, and even after that we have a long road to recovery. But he'll live." Dr. Shotwell stood over Romelo and I. Luca's unconscious body was in a hospital bed beyond the window as he was being prepped for surgery.

Seeing your friend like this was overwhelming. There were bandages, and bloody wounds all over his body. Not to mention his fractured skull. The doctors had to shave his head and drill holes to relieve the pressure.

I can feel myself getting angry all over again. That fucking coward. He knew he was going to lose. He knew it before we even showed up. That's why he rigged his house. And when things weren't in his favor, he would have rather taken his own life along with Luca's. I let out a deep sigh of relief. I was just glad he was going to be ok.

"We're going to go in and fix some of the broken bones he's got. The surgery at the very least will last 7 hours, but even once we finish we're going to keep him in a induced coma. I feel his body won't be healed enough to heal itself while he's conscious, there will be too much strain." Dr. Shotwell looks very stressed. So I knew that the situation at hand was very delicate. Anything could happen.

"We're trying to get him in a stable condition right now before we take him into surgery. I will call you both once the operation is over with his condition." Dr. Shotwell doesn't wait for a response from either of us before walking away.

Romelo shoves from his seat walking to the nearest wall. He smashes his fist into the wall, venting his frustrations.

"Fuck!" 

I don't speak. I don't know what to think. We might actually lose him. He might die. Hell, they can't even get him fucking stable enough to put into surgery. I hunch over placing my head in my hands. My eyes are beginning to sting and I quickly blink them back. He wasn't gone yet. I can't cry.

"We should have fucking checked. We should have done some kind of check before we sent him in there fucking blind. I should have seen it coming!" Romelo is beating his fists against the wall in frustration.

I try and tell him it's not his fault, but I choke on a sob. I should have thought of that too. I should have done something. Anything that would have warned him. If we lost Luca tonight, I would never be able to forgive myself.

Luca was more than just my Capo. He was my best friend. He was like a brother to me. And we swore to each other that we would always have each others backs, no matter what. And I failed him. I fucking failed him so fucking bad. Then I realize something important.

"Romelo," I say. He slowly turns away from the wall glaring me in the eyes.

"We don't even know where Elise is." Speaking the words aloud makes me realize how dire this is. We had no idea where Luca hid her. And he wouldn't be conscious anytime soon for us to ask. How the hell were we supposed to let her know what was going on? And what if Luca didn't make it? She would be forever in the dark.

"We'll find her," Romelo says with a determined tone, but we both knew how highly unlikely that would be. Luca was smart. He left no traces. And if he wanted Elise hidden, then she would be just that. Hidden. We wouldn't even know the first place to look.

~

(Flashback)

"Nicolai, come down here you have a guest!" I groan in irritation as my mother screams my name from downstairs. I stayed out late last night having a little too much to drink. Who the fuck could be coming to visit me on my day off?

I never got visitors. If it was one of the Volto brothers coming to pick on me and my Ma again I swear. And I swear if it was another crazy bitch trying to pin her damn baby on me I was going to be mad. I slowly roll out of bed having to steady myself from the spinning room. Definitely, too much to drink.

I eventually get myself dressed and head down the stairs.

"Nicolai!" My mother is right at the bottom of the stairs just as I reach them and her scream hits me directly in the face sending my headache into overdrive. I groan rubbing my temples to try and soothe the pain.

"Nicolai please don't tell me you've been out again drinking!" Her voice is in a harsh whisper now, and I immediately sober up. Someone important must be here for her to be scolding me about my drinking habits.

I try and walk past her when her hand comes up smacking me hard on the back of my head.

"Ah. Damn Ma!" I hiss. I'm roughly jerked by my collar and her chilling blue eyes meet mine.

"Nicolai. Luca Pasquino is in our dining room, personally asking for you, and you're hungover??" My eyes widen immediately when I hear what she said. Luca was in our house. And he wanted to see.. me? My mother roughly grabs my face in between her palms.

"You better sober up real quick. If you mess anything up, we're all dead," she says, her voice shaking slightly. I swallow and nod my head and she nods along with me once she sees I understand. She places her forehead against mine for a moment and we just breathe like that.

After a minute she steps away from me, patting my shoulder slightly and leaving me. I muster up all the courage I can and enter the dining room.

Luca is sitting at the table in casual dress. His back is to me and he's looking at our family photos that are hung on the wall.

"We don't have any of those." His voice comes out and I jump slightly. How did he even know I was in the dining room already? He turns to me, and I'm met with the most terrifying set of steel-gray eyes. It was like staring into a cold emotionless pit. I could tell he was already calculating my every move and tendency.

"Family photos. We don't keep any around the house. Father says they're a sign of weakness. A pointless show of emotion." I don't know how I am supposed to respond. After what seems like forever he motions for me to take a seat in front of him. I slowly walk across the room.

"It's an honor to have you here in our home," I say as I take a seat. His eyes narrow slightly at me. He reaches in his jacket and pulls out a gun. His eyes never leave mine as he slowly sets it on the table. I try and keep a straight face, not wanting him to know that I was getting very nervous. If he was sent here by his father to get rid of us, well then we were screwed.

"What would you do, if I took this gun, and shot your mother?" he asks me the question like you would ask someone what their political views were. I'm completely stunned at the statement.

"I-I would do whatever it took to stop you, sir," I say truthfully. He hadn't made a threat so there was no reason to attack. He was merely asking a question. After a moment his face cracks and he smiles. And that smile turns into a laugh. A laugh-filled with amusement.

I just keep a straight face. We were trained to fear nothing and no one. But at this moment I felt fear. Luca's whole demeanor was unpredictable.

"I don't need anyone kissing my ass, Nicolai," he says as his laughter dies down.

"I've been reading about you. Your father stepped down and gave control of the East to my father without so much as a fight. My father said he was going to put him as second in command, but we both know how that turned out." I can feel my anger beginning to boil up. My father was branded a coward. He gave away our territory because he was scared and weak. And when Luca's father became the ultimate leader, my father went crazy with paranoia always saying how Lorenzo was going to get him. He took his own life.

Luca leans forward in his seat, his eyes twinkling in delight.

"You were born of a coward, branded an outsider, and left with the sullied name of your father. Even now people shun you because of who he was and his legacy. I've come to offer you salvation."

"Salvation?" I repeat not quite understanding his offer.

"Do you think this is what you were meant for? I've been keeping an eye on you, Nicolai your skills are remarkable. I'm offering you a chance at redemption. A chance to show the family that you are not your father. A chance to make your own legacy."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'm good at what I do. And what I do is follow my father's orders. Things are going to be getting messy in the future. I need a small team of just me and one other person of my choice with exceptional skills. Skills to match my own. I think you can be that person."

Was he out of his mind? Luca and I didn't come close to matching in strength. And as for skill, I knew I wasn't there at all. People talk and there were rumors that went around. Luca was handy with a gun as well as a knife. Whatever his target, he would not miss. Luca was a cold-blooded killer. I was a man with emotion that I let judge my decisions.

"I want you to come back with me. Train with me. I know you can be of great use to us." Luca is smiling like the devil while he reveals his plans to me. I can't help but wonder why on earth he decided that I was the one he wanted. I barely got chosen in this area to go on collection runs.

"Luca, I'm flattered by the offer, really. But do you really think that I would be the best fit to be your equal?" He sits back in his chair, the smile falling from his face.

"Nicolai. I know you are the best fit. Everyone will respect you once you earn your name. I'm giving you the chance to drop the name that coward left you and start one of your own. People will be forced to acknowledge and respect you. Don't you get tired of being left out of important plans and screwed over by those you've sworn to protect?" He was right. He was so fucking right. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I was sick of people treating us like we were outsiders. Like we were no better than dirt.

"Ok. How soon do we start?" Luca's cold gaze turns a fraction friendlier and he holds his hand out to me.

"Now."

I grasp his outstretched hand giving him a firm shake.

~

I jolt awake quickly surveying my surroundings. I was still in Dr. Shotwell's private clinic. I look over to see Romelo asleep in the chair 2 seats down. I scrub my hands over my face. My body ached from the uncomfortable position I fell asleep in.

My mind wanders back to that moment in my dining room all those years ago. I was only 16 at the time. I know, sixteen is a young age to be drinking, but I've had a rough past. Luca was the first person to acknowledge me as Nicolai. Not the son of a coward. He gave me the chance no one else would. And I beyond proved myself. We'd been friends since that day.

I notice movement out of my peripheral and see Dr. Shotwell coming my way. He looked even more exhausted than he did earlier. I roughly shake Romelo awake as he nears us. He finally reaches us.

"He's stable." I felt as though a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and I hear Romelo sigh in relief.

"He had some broken ribs, a broken arm, both legs,a punctured lung, fractured skull, and broken collarbone and cracked pelvis. He also has some internal bleeding as well as minor burns and some shrapnel was in his face. We have him on a ventilator for the time being. He was very, very lucky." I can only nod my head in shock. He was alive, and out of surgery.

"How long until he wakes up?" I ask. Dr. Shrugs.

"I really can't say. We're going to keep him in a medically induced coma. The toll on his body is too much right now. But we will be sure to keep an eye on him."

"Thanks, Doc." I Romelo and I say at the same time. The Dr. nods and turns to leave but pauses.

"Oh, I almost forgot. The girl you sent before is in recovery. She has some slight trauma but the nerves were still healthy and alive so reattachment was a success. With rehab, she'll make a full recovery. She should wake up in the next few hours if you want to take her home." He says. I completely forgot about her. I'd been so caught up in Luca's condition I hadn't even thought about Lissette.

"Actually, keep her asleep," I say. The last thing I wanted was her awake on the way to my place.

"And if you can prepare me some syringes that would be great," I say absentmindedly. Dr. Shotwell nods his head in understanding and walks away.

After I gather my thoughts together I turn to Romelo. Now was the time to plan what was next. We both stare at each other in silence before we both smile. Laughs escape our mouths as realization came to.

We did it. We fucking did it. We took down the agency, its leaders and we were in the clear. Now all that was left was for Luca to get better. It was going to be a long road to recovery for him, but he would get there. I know he will.

"So now what," Romelo asks. I shake my head in disbelief.

"Well, we can't really do anything until Luca regains consciousness." Romelo nods in agreement.

"All we can do is keep a low profile until he wakes," I say. Romelo once again nods. We both slowly stand.

"Well, I'm gonna go home. Take a shower and get some sleep," he says. I nod agreeing with him. I was exhausted and felt disgusting. Nothing a nice shower couldn't cure. We both say our goodbyes and Romelo leaves. I head towards Lissette's room. We weren't allowed to see Luca yet since he just got out of surgery so we would have to wait on that.

I step into the room and she's fast asleep. And clean. The last time I saw her there was blood covering her body. Now she was clean and fast asleep underneath the white hospital sheets. Her hair was fanned out all over the pillow, some of it falling in her face and her lips were parted as she slept.

As I step closer to her I can make out the freckles lightly dusting her nose. She was very pretty. And I wanted to touch her. I wanted to hold her body close to mine as I slept. Wait. What?

I immediately back away from her bedside. I must be tired as hell. I slowly back towards the door and head to the exit. I needed to get Lissette to my car and out of the hospital. And I needed to get away from her once I had her settled in and get my thoughts in order. Which meant a nice hot shower and sleep. After this crazy 24 hours, I needed all the rest I could get.