Loose Ends

V A L E R I U S ' P O V :

"Get me out of this goddamn bed." Enzo growls from his hospital suite.

"Sit—"

Papà is cutoff by Enzo. "I'm not fucking dying! Why is this— urg!" He rips out his IV before anyone can stop him. My eyes roll at his dramatics. "Who took me to the fucking hospital?" He spits out, clearly annoyed.

Pink hues light the room as the sun begins to rise. As if the day hasn't dragged on already, a new one is starting.

"You bled a lot." Fabio chimes in with a shrug.

"Don't—"

Enzo physically shows signs that he's about to faint but papà catches him in time. Our papà sits him down gently. I don't know why he never listens.

"— get up." Papà finishes with a huff once Enzo is grumpily seated again. "You boys are going to kill me one day!" He grumbles in Italian, shaking his head lowly.

"I don't need a hospital!" Enzo snaps again like he didn't just almost faint.

He continues to complain but as he does, I get up and place a half-asleep Ellie into him. Now, he can't move. Ellie mumbles for a moment before settling into a comfortable spot on Enzo's chest.

Enzo gives me a deadly look. As I sit back down, Savino and Mar laugh a little.

"Fuck you!" Enzo spits but he holds Ellie softly, in a way so she doesn't fall from his chest.

"Did you see who shot you?" Papà asks.

"No. I think it was a sniper, I didn't feel anything off. They had to have been far away."

"I think it was." Fabio contributes.

He was with Enzo when it happened. Luckily, Fabio followed Enzo after he had an outburst, knowing Enzo was bound to do something stupid out of rage. He too is upset about our failed attempts to capture Ivan. We've sent teams, we've pulled triggers and still nothing has happened.

It seems the Bravta has completely gone underground. They somehow have managed to disappear. No one has heard a single word since the night of the Ball.

"What we're you guys talking about when it happened?" Savino asks.

Fabio and Enzo share a knowing look. Enzo nods to our little brother.

"We.. don't think Ivan is working alone."

There was a pause in the room. My eyes catch Savino's. Do they have theories too?

"Oh what the fuck!" Mar throws his hands up in the air dramatically.

"What!?" Fabio argues back with a sharp glare.

"That was Savino's idea!" He shouts back.

Papà shushes them and points to my sleeping Ellie but there is no avail.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you two could actually use your brains!" Fabio scowls.

"Hey! That's j-just Mar who can't use his brain!"

"Savvvv! Fratello, I thought we were cool!"

Of course, no argument goes underwater. It continues for awhile. Too long but there is never a sound way to stop it.

"Wait—," papà's frustration got heavier over the loud arguing. "Wait!" He shouts and my brothers pause. My eyes silently check Ellie, making sure she hasn't woken up.

"Who do you think he's working with?" I enquire.

"Don't know." Fabio shrugged. "Didn't get very far till Enzo was shot in the gut." Enzo makes a grumbling sound and rolls his eyes.

"Whatever— whoever this is, we have to figure it out. The next twenty-four hours, none of you are going anywhere till we figure something out."

"Yes, sir!" Mar salutes me with a dumb look on his face.

This might just got a lot longer.

• • •

"Four.. five, six, seven. . . uhm nine, ten. . ."

"Alright, that was great. Thank you, Ellie."

"You're welcome, papà!"

Ellie hops off of my back and I sit straight. After getting absolutely fucking nothing out of trying to figure out anything of Ivan's plan. I went down to the gym to destress and Ellie somehow followed me down. She's helped me by sitting on my back and counting as I did pushups. She loves it when she can help me.

We've followed his tactics and nothing makes any sense other than the fact he kept Eleonora as a prisoner. Though, even that makes no sense. If it really was his true intentions to have leverage over me, he would have mocked me for it. He would have rubbed it in my face until I gave up everything for my blood but, he didn't do any of that. He kept her a secret.

The closest thing to this making sense is that someone else is pulling the strings here.

"Papà?"

"Yes, Ellie?" I gulp a drink of water.

"Can we go out to play together?"

I sigh. Ellie comes up next to me and holds onto my hand. I meet her vibrant, blue eyes.

"I need to get back to work."

The words taste sour on my tongue. I wish I didn't have to say no but this is important. This is for her life, her protection.

"Please?" She tugs on my hand.

I shake off the guilt and she walks out of the room with me.

"Not today, baby." I give her a sad smile and she nods softly. "I'm busy."

• • •

"Spaghetti or chicken.. or spaghetti with chicken? Tough choice, I know." I ask Ellie from her spot on the couch.

It's past our normal dinner time, it's almost eight o'clock now. The time slipped my mind, we were too caught up on researching.

I walk closer to see her not even paying attention. Her eyes are staring at her finger that plays with her light pink blanket. She's snuggled beneath it.

"Ellie?" I sit down beside her. Her head finally turns towards me. "You want dinner, piccolina?" I let my hands brush her hair back and she shakes her head no but I can see the tears in her eyes.

I ask again but still she says, "No."

"Aren't you hungry? You need to eat."

She grumbles, sticking her face into the couch cushion.

"Let's go, Ellie. Pick something out to eat. I'm not letting you starve."

With the stress of today, a whiny kid is something I can't deal with. I don't have any patience for her foul mood tonight.

I forcefully pick her up and as she whines into my shirt, kicking around, I take her into the kitchen. I try to ignore the hole in my stomach, seeing the tears in her eyes. I know she's tired and I know she's hungry and I know it's my fault. It's just hard.

"I don't care if it's small, you need something." I start digging through the snack drawer. "Uh.. apples, biscottis. . . chips?"

Ellie sniffles into my neck. Mumbles whisper from her mouth and I ask her to repeat it. "Milk and biscotti?" She said quietly through tears.

It's a great thing that we don't have milk.

I hand her the cookies. "I'm going to have to run to the store and grab your milk.. okay?"

I text my papà to come watch Ellie and soon enough he's here. I tell Ellie that I'll leave now to go get her what she wants but to my surprise she whines and holds onto me tighter. Mumbles tumble out of her mouth but I can barely understand. Finally, she lets me go and I say goodbye before running out the door.

• • •

"Val? Is that you?" Papà calls out from down the hallway.

"Yeah. Where is Ellie?" I get to work, immediately bringing out one of Ellie's glitter cups to hold the newly bought milk.

"Asleep."

"Already? I was only gone for like five minutes." I breath out, facing him with a pink, glitter sippy-cup in my hand.

"Try twenty."

"Still. The line was long—"

"Val, it doesn't matter. Really, I'm not the one you should be defending yourself to."

"Huh? What do you mean?" My eyebrows come together in a pinch of confusion. I'm not trying to defend myself. Or.. I wasn't trying to make it sound like I was.

"Look." He sighed, pointing to a magnet on the fridge. "This was the target..," then he points to the glass spoon holder on the stove, "and that's where your bullet landed."

I looked back and forth between the two very distant objects.

"I.. I still don't think I'm understanding what you're talking about."

Papà's eyes roll. "Ellie didn't give a shit about the milk, Val. She just wanted you.. then you left."

Guilt entwined my heart, giving it a pathetic tug before wrapping around my throat and squeezing it hard. It seems I'm doing absolutely nothing right these days.

"Cazzo!" I mumble under my breath. The glitter cup hits the counter with a thud.

"Val—," he sighs. "Just.. just go see if she's still awake, say goodnight."

I nod, rubbing the exhaustion off of my face.

"Thank you.. for watching her."

"Anything for my granddaughter.. and my son." He hit my shoulder playfully and said his goodbyes as I walk upstairs to Ellie.

"Piccolina?" I call out into the dark room, once I step in. No answer. "Ellie?" I say softer.

I opt to turn in her dimmed lamp instead of her fan light. As I suspected, Ellie is wide awake, staring at me like a deer caught in headlights. Her bright blue eyes go wide. When she realizes I've caught her awake, she flips her body violently to the other wall. She snugs the covers over her head and fakes soft snores like she's fast asleep.

That little devil. Of course I get the silent treatment. It's deserved.

I hold back my laugh just because I know she's upset with me.

"I'm sorry, Ellie." I admit, sinking down a little on her bed. I go to rub her back but she pulls away from me, crunching the covers. I swallow the lump in my throat, the squeeze in my chest. "I've been a big jerk today, Ellie. I promise we'll go play outside tomorrow and I'll be early for dinner. I'm sorry I made you sad. I'll do better, baby."

No words come out of Ellie's mouth but I don't expect them to.

"Goodnight, piccolina." Usually this is where I'd his her head goodnight but I don't want to push her boundaries. "I love you so, so much. Dream all good things for me, alright baby?" Usually here she would nod and swear that she'd have the 'goodest' dreams for me. Then I'd tell her that I'll help her by fighting the monsters before they get it her. Then she'd tell me to have the 'goodest' dreams too.

With a guilty heart, I turn off her lamp but as I reach her door, a small voice stopped me. "Papà?" She asks softly and I hear her shift back around in her bed. I look to her.

"Yes, Ellie?"

"I'll have the goodest dreams for you."

Something claws at my throat. A raw vulnerabile emotion. A tiny smile pulls at my lips.

I love this kid with my whole heart.

"I'll fight all the monsters to make sure you do."

Her sweet blue eyes soften. "Promise?"

"I promise, amore mia."

• • •

"Valerius Armani."

"Oisin Walsh, what's the pleasure?"

Just yesterday Oisin and I were in a conversation about our weapons. Both of us had things stolen from a base around Kazan in Russia. The conversation didn't lead to anything past conspiracies. It was cut short anyways.

"You recall our call yesterday?"

I shut the door to my office to keep our conversation between just us.

"Yes."

"I think I've found something, a connection between the attacks." My interest peaks. "But.. I'm not sure it's safe to speak of over the phone. I think someone has been listening in on me. I'll be in Italy early tomorrow morning. I'm leaving tonight. Can we talk in private."

I watch the rain start pouring, the thunder cracking. I used to hate the rain, for a long time. But I've come to find the beauty in it. I found Katerina in the rain just as I found Ellie. But it's also how I lost a lot.

"Of course. I'll send the location under a coded message. We'll talk."

"I'm grateful. This really could change everything."

I don't read too much into it. Oisin has always been a gossip. It's best to take his words lightly.

"I understand. See you tomorrow at six."

I want to get this done before Ellie wakes up so I can be there for her.

• • •

"Where are you going dressed like that?" Mar looks me up and down in my three piece suit.

My brothers have been staying here for awhile just in the height of everything. We're taking precautionary measures for now.

"I have a meeting." Marcello's mouth is open ready to ask with who before my front door is busted open and my papà and Savino walk in with a limping Enzo.

"Hey where are you going dressed like that?" Fabio points his eyes at me, walking down the steps.

Is everyone up right now?

My eyes roll. "I have a meeting with Oisin Walsh. I need to go now." I start to make my way out when papà stops me with a hand to my chest.

"No you're not."

Uh— excuse me? "Yes I am—"

"News just came out ten minutes ago, Oisin Walsh was found dead in his plane grounded in Venice a few hours ago."

I blink for a moment, unable to immediately process what I was hearing.

"What the hell?" Fabio mumbles. "How?"

Yeah, what he said.

"He was shot right when they landed, according to the autopsy. And guess who the pilot was who shot him?"

"The same fucker who shot me. DNA confirmed it."

I look to Enzo who speaks from behind me. Fuck.

"Was it only those two on the plane?" I ask.

"No idea. Oisin didn't tell anyone he was leaving, his wife had no idea. The only person who knew was—"

"Me." I breathe out.

This isn't good.

"That doesn't look good. All this shit happening and now Val's name is spread on this shit."

"What about the pilot?"

"Killed himself."

"Fuck!" Fabio hisses out.

"What did Oisin want from you?" Enzo questions me.

"I have no idea. He said it was something about our shipments for weapons, he wouldn't go any farther than that. Claimed he thought someone was watching him or something. He wanted to talk in person."

"Well." Papà sighs. "Whatever Oisin Walsh was going to tell you served him his own death. Something big is going to happen. I can feel it."

"We all can." Enzo chimes in, his eyes holding exhaustion.

"Shits about to go down." Mar laughs and walks out of the room shaking his head.

• • •