★LUCIANO★

"Aaargh!" I shrieked aloud, extremely furious this happened to me.

Never in my life, have I been in such a helpless situation and I couldn't even fight back.

With my chest heaving spontaneously, I reached for my cell phone in my pocket.

"Boss, stop moving. You are more hurt than I am. You took four bullets, I don't think you should be moving around." Gerald advised, still bleeding profusely from his arm as he tried to tear his shirt and tie his wound.

However, I didn't pay any attention to him. With a loud grunt, I hauled myself to a sitting position then brought out my phone and dialed Romano's digit.

"Boss." Romano's voice filled my ears after one beep. "Is something wrong?"

I could hear the concern and curiosity in his voice, while I tried to steady my breathing pace.

"Yes."

"Tell me what it is. The moment I saw your call, I knew something was wrong because you hardly call when on a few days' trips." He added.

"Luigi happened." I wheezed.

I heard Romano gasp in shock over the phone. "Hell no!"

Romano knew everything that transpired between Luigi, his brother, and me, a few years back. So there was nothing to hide.

"Are you hurt?" He added again and I looked down at the streams of blood seeping out of various angles in my body, before answering;

"No, I'm not. But they have taken Janie."

He heaved a sigh of relief. "That's fine then. I guess there is nothing for me to be worried about. You can return to Los Angeles with Glenn and Gerald."

"I can't do that," I replied sharply.

A long silence followed after my voice, then Romano's voice popped out once more.

"What do you mean, Boss? You are outnumbered there and I'm sure there isn't much ammunition. Janie is gone. That's fate, let it be."

I shook my head vehemently. "No, I can't leave her with Luigi."

"Why? You know Luigi won't let her go that easily. It ain't worth the stress, Boss. Let her go."

"I said I can't!" I roared angrily, but it was mostly out of frustration. "I was the one that brought her here against her will. I can't imagine subjecting her to that kind of misery."

Romano exhaled sharply. "Even her father didn't hesitate in letting her go, what's your own deal, Luciano?"

"I feel a sense of responsibility towards her. Fuck! She begged me to save her from that monster, and you are asking me to leave her?"

Romano clicked his tongue. "When has pleading ever changed your mind from doing what you intend to?" He asked me but I didn't give him a response.

"Wait!" Romano gasped over the phone. "Are you in love with her?"

My mind blanked out for a moment.

His question hit me like a wave, so much that I had to question my own guts, wondering why I cared for Janie despite being in a bad condition.

"Hell no!" I finally brought myself to say. "I already told you that I can't fall in love with anyone."

"Case closed. Return home." Romano retorted hastily.

Taking a deep, long breath, I expelled the air out of my lungs almost at the same time before speaking again.

"I need your help, Romano. Because if it was you in this same situation as her, I would fight to save you. However, I can't fight this alone because any wrong move will put her life at risk."

"Wait what?"

"I said what I said, Romano."

Romano inhaled sharply over the phone. "Are you attaching the same importance of me to Janie?" He asked.

His question hit me like a gush of wind, so I had to pause for a moment and ponder through it.

Not that I was attaching the same importance of Romano to Janie. Damn, Romano has always been like a brother to me. I would fight through the moon and back to make sure nothing happens to him. But Janie?

Perhaps I'm just concern because I brought her here against her will. Or maybe because she showed me a little concern and care on the jet despite the unsettling situation between us. Nonetheless, I wanted her to be rescued. Hale and hearty.

"No, I'm not." I finally responded.

"Fuck! That's exactly what you are doing, Luciano. Janie is a girl you met under certain circumstances. I'm your bro for life." Romano fumed. From where I was, I could picture the deep scowl on his face and how furious he must be.

Clutching my bleeding arm, I grunted again. "You are both special. Now I need your help not as my second in command. But as a friend and a brother."

A long silence followed after my statement, still, I could hear his breathing pace over the phone to know that he was still connected.

"Crap! I can't believe I'm succumbing to this. However, I will join soon, and don't ever pull that bro shit on me because of her again."

My brows creased. "Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a warning." Romano chuckled and I did too. After our deep rumbling laughter died down, everything became quiet again.

"Thank you, Romano. I'll be expecting you." I said to him, pressing my lips together afterward to conceal the excruciating pain coursing through my body.

"Please I want you to stay safe, Luciano. I know you are strong and all, but don't go looking for her yourself until we strategize together okay?"

I took a quick glimpse at the gunshot wounds on my body. How would I be able to fetch Janie in this state? If I wanted to, I would. But not when everything seemed bleak and I don't know that fucking bastard Luigi's location.

"I won't." I breathed into the phone.

"You are my brother for life, don't ever forget that," Romano said to me and I managed a small smile.

"Yes. Bros for life."

With that, the call got disconnected, then I dialed the same nurse that broke the news about my mother's death, digit.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Pavarotti."

"I need your help, I'll text the address to you and you should come with a skilled surgeon that can pull out a few bullets, but if you can, only you will do."

"Wait wait wait." The nurse said, seemingly confused by my request. "Help, address, surgeon, bullets. What happened Mr Pavarotti?" She asked again.

"I got shot."

"Oh my goodness!" she gasped in shock. "But I'm sorry because I won't be able to help you. This is—"

"—Then I think I should press charges for lackadaisical attitude and negligence of patient. Because I left my mother under your care, paying extra money, still someone snuck in and ended her life and you didn't do a damn thing about it." I fired back.

Her breath hitched.

A steak of silence ensued then all of a sudden, she broke into a series of tiny sobs. "I'm so sorry about that. I stepped out for a quick break when I returned, I found her oxygen mask removed and there was nothing I could do to save her. The doctors confirmed her dead the next minute." she confessed.

My heart skipped a beat.

What the fuck!

So she knew about this and kept it from me?

Although I was enraged to the core about this, I decided to bottle up my anger until after she operated the bullets out of us. Alas, I could do it myself, but with a hurt and bleeding right arm, there was no way.

"Still waiting for your response. Are you coming or not?" I demanded angrily.

"Ahem- " She scrambled for words. "Just text me your address and I'll be there with a friend of mine who is a surgeon. Please don't press charges, Mr Pavarotti. I don't want to lose my license." she pleaded.

"And I don't want to lose my temper." I sneered. "Twenty minutes. If you are a second late, then you will join my mother pretty soon."

I could hear her shaky breath over the phone as she respond. "Yes, Mr. Pavarotti." and I disconnected the call immediately.

At that moment, Glenn regained consciousness.

Pulling himself to a sitting position, he pressed his hand to his forehead, grunting and wincing in pain.

"What the fuck happened?"

"You got hit with a gun on your forehead," Gerald informed him.

His eyes widened at once as he suddenly became aware of his surroundings and the situation.

"Oh my goodness, Boss." He quickly scrambled towards me as soon as he noticed my state.

Together, Glenn helped Gerald and me into the mansion and the nurse came just in time with her friend.

I ordered Glenn to shut down the mansion, while they proceeded in performing the surgery on Gerald's arm, then mine.

Luigi has gotten away with this, however, it's not for long. I won't hesitate to bring hell right to his very eyes.

He committed a grievous mistake twice. Killing my mother and taking Janie away from me.

And soon, he would die with only one regret in his fucking mind— He shouldn't have messed with Luciano Pavarotti.