In Your Arms.

Chapter five.

Leon’s POV:

It has been three days since he was in my home. Three days since I sent my men-twenty-five of them-ahead of me to bring back anything they could find on him. I tried to stall for them because I did not want to give in to my fears. It is late afternoon now and I have not got a word back from any of them, almost like they have disappeared without a trace. I tap into the network’s surveillance and track down the convoys that were sent that morning. Five in total. Only one signal surfaces-faint, unstable-and it is coming from a remote area far outside the city. A chill runs down my spine. It dawns on me that something is terribly wrong. After the last ambush we lost too many men. Their families lost their fathers, sons, brothers. I can’t relive that-not again. Without a second thought, I bark for my car to be prepared and move to pack what I need. Weapons. Cash. Time. I feel Alessia approach me before I see her. Turning to her, I catch my reflection in her eyes-both our eyes are rimmed red, worn thin. She has helped me greatly these past days, hacking together a plan to corner Eduardo. We both knew that he wanted to be found. Sending our men ahead felt like the right move at the time. Now, I wonder if they were never meant to return. Maybe he was several steps ahead of us-and they were the bait to get us out. I don’t fully understand Alessia’s motive for helping me with this, but I am certain there is more to it than what she lets on, and that uncertainty gnaws at me. Still, when she asks to come along, I don’t refuse her. Within minutes, we’re packed and downstairs, waiting for dusk to settle before setting our plan in motion. She offers to drive. I program the GPS with the location of the recovered signal-the car we feared to be abandoned and we pull away. We drive through the darkened streets of Santoro for nearly an hour before Alessia slows abruptly. “We’re being followed,” she says. I reach into the back seat, grabbing the first solid weight my hand finds. I pass her a gun and I pocket one for myself. “Don’t slow down,” I say to her. We are nearing the location when she presses the accelerator-and gunfire erupts. The sound echoes through the night. “Whatever happens Alessia” I shout over the noise, “do not stop driving!” I brace myself against the car window and return fire. They are on bikes-fast, exposed-giving me the advantage. Glass shatters. One of the riders veers sharply, losing control. Soon enough the gun fire dies out as quickly as it started. “Leon” I followed her gaze. Bodies. Men sprawled across the ground, unmoving. My chest tightens. “This cannot be right,” I mutter. “Is this the location?” I don’t wait for her answer. The beeping from the server goes silent. We’re here.

Alessia’s POV:

The pungent smell of blood and the faint smell of smoke brings it all back. The silence that followed after the worst was done the night of the fire ten years ago and the night of the attack. I keep my eyes trained to the ground as we step out of the car. I force myself not to not look too closely at the wrangled bodies scattered around us. Eduardo wanted this-me here, standing beside the one man who doesn’t at all remember what we lost. My hands clench into fists as I have a flashback of the night of the attack almost two months ago. I note that like back then, these attacks were calculative. Leon is already moving, already assessing, before he can say anything to me, he is groaning in pain and is suspended in mid air upside down. A trap. I slowly move away from the scene to grab something from the car to get him down. That is what I remember before a strange smell hits me and darkness envelopes me. I wake up to realize I am in an old industrial area and it reeks heavily of ammonia. My wrists are bound behind my back and Leon is by my side. He is soaked wet and is glaring at something ahead of him. Following his gaze I grit my teeth at the sight of him. Eduardo. “Took you both some time to come round.” His arrogant voice echoes throughout the room. It takes everything within me to not work out of these cuffs and slap that smirk right off his face. I lift my head despite the dulling pain behind my eyes. Eduardo is a few feet away, hands clasped behind his back, standing tall in a navy coat that doesn’t belong in a place like this. He looks untouched. Free. It sickens me. Leon shifts beside me, water dripping from his hair onto the concrete. I understood that it must have been what was used to wake him. “You killed them,” Leon says, his voice hoarse but spiteful. “My men.” Eduardo purses his lips almost as if he is insulted. “No. I used them.” He steps closer, “Just like you used everyone else.” I feel Leon tense. He doesn’t look at me, but I can feel the question radiating off him. What is he talking about? Oh cara mia, do not fall for it. Eduardo stills infront of me. “And you.” He says so softly crouching so we’re eye level. “You seem stronger, did those wounds heal?” My stomach twists. “You wanted me here,” I say. “This was never about Leon, what do you want?” Eduardo smirks. “Oh, but it was always about Leon.” He straightens and gestures toward him. “But you, you are the reminder. The one thing he never saw coming.” At that Leon finally turns to me. Confusion flickers across his face, then something spiteful. “Alessia” he says slowly, “what is he talking about?” I swallow hard. I do not understand the game Eduardo is playing at, but I don’t like it. “Eight years ago” Eduardo says before I can speak, “our home did not burn down by accident.” Silence envelopes the room. Is he admitting to what he did? Leon’s breath stutters. “That’s impossible.” “No?” Eduardo tilts his head. “Ask her about those scars on her arms. Ask her who watched her family. Scratch that, do you even know who she really is?” My vision blurs. I squeeze my eyes shut, but it’s too late-the past is clawing its way to the surface, in the way I fought for it not to. “I didn’t come to betray you, do not listen to him Leon” I pleaded, my voice breaking despite myself. “I came to make sure he couldn’t do it again.” Eduardo laughs. “See? I told you brother. Bait.”