جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 170

"What do you mean he's missing?!" Rico blew, slamming his fist on the table as he shot to his feet. He breathes heavily, peering at Matteo who texted him earlier that something really bad had happened.He was with Calla at the time the message came in, and he hated the idea of leaving her at that moment. She looked like she was hurt by something he'd said. But again, the message seemed urgent.He immediately arrived at their meetup area. Matteo and Costa were the only ones present. They had to break the news to him. Sandro was missing. He was abducted."We were supposed to meet up here and work on new tasks," Matteo started. "But when he didn't show up, we knew something was up..." he sighed, unable to go on.Costa continued, and Rico's attention shifted to him. "You know how he is with a new task, boss," he said. Rico nodded, agreeing with him. Sandro was a machine. Whenever there was a new task or an enemy's system that needed infiltration, he was a hundred percent ready. Him not s

Calla stirred in bed, sleep refusing to come. It was well past midnight, and Rico still wasn’t back. She couldn’t help but wonder what had kept him out for so long. From the look on his face when he read that message, it had clearly been something bad.Worry sat heavily in her chest, but her pride wouldn’t let her call him.With a tired sigh, she pushed herself up, giving up after hours of trying to fall asleep. A small frown settled on her face as she wondered why she was still awake, even though exhaustion weighed down her body.She had spent the entire day with Sophia—letting her cry, hugging her tightly, staying by her side, making sure she wasn’t alone or slipping deeper into her thoughts.It had drained her, but she knew she would do it all over again if she had to.A low groan escaped her as she dragged herself out of bed. Her eyes drifted to the empty space beside her where Rico should have been, and she remembered he wasn’t there. She pressed her lips together, letting out an

Days rolled by, and Calla healed gradually. Rico had insisted on calling a doctor that very morning, right after the sun came up. She had tried to talk him out of it, but there was no winning him. Still, she couldn’t blame him for worrying.The doctor examined her ankle carefully and reassured Rico that there was no internal injury, nothing serious to be concerned about. With proper rest, he said, it would take a week or two to heal completely. He prescribed some medication and an ointment before taking his leave.Rico didn’t relax much, even after hearing that. If anything, he became more attentive.He rarely let her walk on her own. Most times, he carried her whether she protested or not. His arm firm beneath her knees as he lifted her like it was the most natural thing in the world. And when he didn’t carry her, he would stay close, one hand steady at her waist, guiding her steps slowly, making sure she didn’t put too much weight on her ankle.At first, Calla found it unnecessary.

“AHHHHH!!” The raw scream filled the room, echoing off the concrete walls before slowly dying out.Salvatore’s chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, sweat dripping down his face as his head hung low. His strength was slipping, little by little, his body was no longer keeping up with the pain.Rico took a few steps away, calm, watching him like it meant nothing. “You’re tiring yourself out,” he said quietly. “And we’re not even close to being done.”Salvatore let out a weak laugh that broke into a cough. His teeth were stained with his blood. “Go to hell…”Rico tilted his head slightly, studying him. Then he slowly stepped closer, not hurried. “I already live there, Sal,” he said. He crouched just enough to meet his eye level, his voice dropping. “But you…” He gave a small pause, then continued, “You’re just visiting.”He then put the neck cuff around his neck and clicked it into place. The sound it made was small, but heavy, making Salvatore’s head jerk slightly at the sharp click. H

Calla’s breath caught slightly. He held her chin, pulling her gaze back to his. She searched his face, her eyes moving over his features, trying to find any hint that he didn’t mean it.“You mean that?” she asked softly.“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t,” he replied. His tone was steady and simple, and she didn't miss the certainty in it.Calla swallowed, her heart warming in a way she didn’t expect. For once, she didn’t feel like she had to fight to be heard.“I didn’t plan for it to happen the way it did,” she started slowly, her fingers curling slightly against his shirt. “Working for Marco… it wasn’t something I chose because I wanted to hurt you.” Her voice wavered just a little, but she kept going.“I thought I could handle it. I thought... I could stay out of everything that didn’t concern me and just… do what I needed to do and leave.” She let out a quiet breath. “But it doesn’t work like that. Not with people like him.”Her gaze dropped, unable to hold his for a second.“Di