Ch.13: Familiar Sound

After Albert left to check on Valentino, Nicholas turned and looked around the room. Milo was still curled up on the bed. Actually, Milo had barely done anything so far other than sleep. Nicholas cast him a worried look.

Milo shifted, whimpering quietly as he turned onto his back, then peeled his eyes open, squinting at Nicholas. He smiled. Smiled. As if this whole thing wasn't the worst thing he'd ever been through. Then he sat up arduously. Nicholas wanted to help him pull himself upright, but for some reason he couldn't make his legs move. The heavy feeling in his chest anchored him to his spot.

"Isn't Valentino done yet?" Milo said.

Nicholas nodded. "He is."

"So can we leave now?"

Nicholas subconsciously glanced outside. When they arrived here, it had been early morning, and now nightshade swallowed the sky again. He hadn't realized that much time had passed. Sighing, he gazed up at the stars, then down at the men keeping guard.

"Not sure," Nicholas said. "Ask Valentino."

Footsteps echoed in the corridor, along with muffled talking. Nicholas stood in the doorway and peeked out; Albert and Valentino were walking next to each other, and Albert was trying to talk to Valentino, who still appeared dazed. And yet there was purpose in his step. If Albert wasn't grabbing onto his arm, Valentino might have already dashed towards the... front door? Maybe he still wanted to talk to Sasha.

"-so now's not the time," Albert was saying. "Don't argue with her anymore. It won't get you anywhere."

Valentino wouldn't look Albert in the eye. His gaze was fixed downward, and his arm was tense in Albert's grip, as if he wanted him to let go but at the same time didn't want to be disrespectful. Albert sighed and released him.

Just when Valentino could make his way wherever he wanted, Milo squeezed in beside Nicholas and waved.

"Valentino!"

Valentino stopped dead in his tracks and turned back. He quickly changed that dazed look on his face into something softer and friendlier, then took a few steps towards Milo.

"Hi," Valentino said. "Listen, I need to-"

"I wanna eat," Milo said. "Then we'll leave, right?" He looked around. "Know where the kitchen is?"

Valentino opened his mouth, but then Albert tapped his shoulder. Valentino looked back at him.

"Go," Albert said. "Go help him make something to eat."

Valentino faced Milo again, looking a little unsure of what to do. But then he succumbed and led Milo away.

Albert and Nicholas were left in the doorway. Albert gazed thoughtfully in the direction Valentino and Milo had taken, and Nicholas let a few seconds pass.

"So why was he stuck to his chair?" Nicholas asked. "Valentino."

"Huh?" Albert shook his head, then turned and leaned his back against the doorframe. "He wasn't stuck." He let out an airy chuckle. "It's just... I'm not sure. He was probably remembering unpleasant stuff." Frowning, he looked at Nicholas again. "What did Sasha tell him?"

"Oh, a lot of stuff. Really horrible stuff..." Nicholas leaned against the opposite doorframe, shifting his weight off the injured leg. "She made fun of him." He tapped his cheek. "Made fun of the cut on his face. And she started telling us about the first time he went to clients and how nervous he was back then, even though it literally had nothing to do with the conversation. It's like she enjoys belittling him."

"It's because she does."

Nicholas nodded. "Yeah. So Valentino started working when he was Milo's age? That's so young. I'm sure it wasn't his choice, right?" He set his gaze on the floor, pretending to be saddened, and then glanced at Albert through his lashes again. "It must've been terrifying... No wonder Valentino got a nosebleed the first time... I'm sure he wishes he had a normal childhood..."

Albert had lowered his eyes, ashamed for some reason. Did he blame himself for this too? For Sasha and Valentino's decisions?

"No, he doesn't wish he had a normal childhood. I wish that's what he wants," Albert said, sighing as he straightened again. He gestured into the room. "You look tired. Go sit down. Get some rest."

Nicholas shook his head. "I'm fine. So-"

"Nicholas, I'm serious," Albert said. "Let's sit 'cause manipulating me's gonna take a while."

Nicholas very nearly actually pushed off the doorframe, but then he froze. He looked at Albert with wide, guilty eyes, then quickly hid his expression with a frown.

"I'm not manipulating anyone," Nicholas said. "I mean what I said."

Albert arched his brow, unconvinced. "I know for a fact you don't feel bad for Valentino."

Well, true. "Why not?" Nicholas asked. "Why wouldn't I? In the end if what Sasha said is true, then his situation really is messed up. I have empathy in me, you know. I'm not-"

"Yes, I know, I know. You're not a bad person. You have empathy," Albert assured, smiling in a subtle, fond way. Nicholas didn't understand how Albert could react like that, always mellow and calm. Milo had really taken after him. "I never assumed otherwise, Nicholas. But I understand why you wouldn't feel bad for the same person who wanted to leave you behind with psychopaths. He doesn't want your pity either."

"...Whose side are you on?"

"Valentino's," Albert said. "Doesn't mean I can't understand your point of view."

Nicholas sighed. He could abandon that facade of false sympathy, but he still needed to convince Albert to act.

"Okay, fine," Nicholas said. "You're right. But I still mean what I said. You give a shit about Valentino. You care about him. So why not help him? I wasn't exaggerating. Sasha really kept trying to humiliate him in front of me and it's sick, especially if she forced him into this since he was thirteen or fourteen. That's actually really horrible. If you really care, you'd stop this. All of you are suffering now, including Milo. You can end this, Albert. So end it. Call the cops."

"You want me to throw Valentino in prison? With my own hands?"

"Yeah. And you'll be there with him too, so..."

Pain glistened in Albert's eyes, and he shook his head. "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? You can."

"I can't do that to him. I just can't. I made a promise. I won't..." Albert rubbed a hand over his face. "I won't break his trust. I won't make him..."

"What you're doing right now is worse," Nicholas pushed. "He's only nineteen. He was a minor during most of the time he worked and if Sasha forced him into this entire thing, then technically she's mostly responsible. He might not even spend that long in prison if you do something now."

Albert's chest heaved with a heavy breath as he moved off the opposite door frame and took a few steps into the corridor, probably heading to Valentino and Milo.

Nicholas gritted his teeth. "If you can't do it, I will."

He had experience with this stuff, after all. He'd thrown his own father in jail before. Sure, his mom hated him for eternity now, but Nicholas regretted nothing. He knew it had been the right decision. And somehow, he'd find a way to send this entire organization to prison as well.

Just then, Valentino's voice echoed across the corridor.

"Albert!" Valentino rushed out of the kitchen, holding Milo's wrist as he towed him behind. Concern drenched his voice. "Albert, look!"

Albert had been a few steps away from the kitchen, and Valentino just about crashed right into him.

"What is it?" Albert asked, holding Valentino's shoulder. His tone matched Valentino's worry immediately. His eyes found Milo, and he bent before him, inspecting his exposed arm. "Milo, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Milo was trying to reach up for something from the cabinet, but then his arm hurt and it started bleeding." Valentino gestured at Milo's arm; his sleeve was rolled up all the way to his shoulder, and Valentino turned him slightly so Albert could see the back of his arm. "Look, the wound is all black and swollen. It's infected, just like Nicholas's, and it's in the same spot too. That can't be a coincidence."

"Oh my God."

Albert spun on his heels, set panicked hazel eyes on Nicholas, and then dashed towards him.

In a blur, Nicholas found Albert urgently trying to roll his sleeve up to his shoulder too. Disorientation clouded his brain, and he couldn't even recognize what Albert was doing, so he fought mindlessly instead, too overwhelmed by the suddenness.

"Let me check your arm! Let me check your arm!"

When Albert finally forced Nicholas's sleeve upwards, he grabbed his forearm and tilted him sideways.

"Stop!" Nicholas shouted, struggling to break free. "What the hell do you want!"

"Valentino," Albert said. "Get me a knife."

Nicholas's eyes widened. "What? No!"

"I didn't notice before because the wound was dark, but there are stitches here," Albert said. "Not mine, not the ones I gave you. I think the man and the woman hid something in there."

Nicholas's heart skipped a beat. "What the hell would they hide inside my skin!"

He realized a moment too late what it could be, and his face blanched. He didn't fight anymore as Albert prepared to slit the skin again.

Valentino came back. Albert apologized a few times, and then cut along Nicholas's good arm. The pain blazed and burnt. Nicholas grunted, but he quickly turned around to see.

There was a bloodied, tiny black device in Albert's hand.

"They're tracking us," he said.

Valentino got the same device out of Milo's wound too. ''Milo too."

"Since when can you implant a GPS tracker under someone's skin!" Nicholas asked, gaping at the tracker. This little thing had been in his wound the entire time and he'd had no idea. With how his entire body ached all the time, he'd grown numb to an extent, and he hadn't recognized the distinct discomfort in his arm.

"You can't," Albert said. "This is a normal GPS tracker meant to be slipped into your pocket or car or something. They just stitched it into your skin regardless. The black stuff wasn't dried blood. The wound was getting infected."

"We've been here all day," Valentino said. "That's enough time for them to recover and come after us again."

Nicholas snatched the device from Albert, threw it to the floor, and then stomped on it. It cracked under his foot. He stomped a few more times for good measure, smashing it completely. Albert did the same to Milo's.

The front door inched open. A gust of cold air curled into the corridor where everyone was gathered. With pinched brows, Sasha glanced inside.

"What's all the noise?"

"They've been tracking us," Valentino said, pointing at the smashed device on the floor. "We need to get out of here right now if you don't wanna deal with two raging psychopaths."

Sasha's mouth fell open at the sight. It took her a few seconds to process the situation. Then she glared at Valentino and lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar.

"Idiot!" she screamed. Valentino didn't flinch. He stared back. "Why would you smash the trackers here? Now the last spot they have is this place!"

Albert grabbed Sasha's wrist and wrenched Valentino free.

"It's been done." Valentino shrugged as he readjusted his collar. "So what? If we leave now, they won't find anyone here and they'll have to keep looking. You're just wasting time like this."

Sasha's breath had grown heavier with fury, and she strode back towards the door. "Get out, all of you. We're taking my car."

She waited for everyone to step out first. Valentino was trying to assure Milo as he led him outside, followed by Albert. Nicholas strained to catch up. He kept close to Albert.

The coldness of night penetrated straight into Nicholas's bones, and he shivered as he made his way down the porch. The door swung shut behind him. Nicholas looked back at Sasha, and he would've preferred if she had kept the door open. Just in case they urgently needed to reenter the house as refuge.

Sasha hurried towards her car, which was parked ahead, further away from the house. Valentino, Albert, and Milo walked towards it as well. Nicholas followed.

"Where are... ?" Nicholas looked around him, barely able to perceive anything in the darkness. "Where are the other men?"

The wind swallowed his words. He had to repeat his question to Albert, and Albert scanned the place too, baffled.

Valentino made the same conclusion. He tensed. Then he stepped back, one hand tugging Milo with him, the other frantically gesturing Albert to back up.

"Albert," Valentino said, still looking ahead as he reversed towards Albert, inspecting the place for a threat. For the captors. "Something's wrong. The tires of both cars are flat and the rest of the men disappeared. We need to run. They already found us."

Without a word of hesitation, without a question, Albert caught Milo and helped him onto his back.

A shudder ran down Nicholas's spine, and then another, when he noticed the trail in the mud on the ground. It went in the direction that Sasha was standing, so the direction Valentino chose to run towards was probably safer.

Valentino, Albert, and Milo slipped away and ran. Nicholas followed them, his heart thumping in his chest, pulse crashing in his ears. The sound of the wind was reduced to nothing. He could only hear his own heart, his own hitching breath, could only see a little in front of him as he hurried behind them.

This couldn't happen again.

And then came the familiar sound of gunshots.

Nicholas's gut squeezed so hard he thought he was about to puke. The sound of the bullets came from behind. Nicholas threw a quick glance back, but he couldn't see what had happened. When he looked forward again, his heart dropped.

The female captor stood ahead, a gun in her hand, pointed right at them.

• • •

get ready for lots and lots of pain and ✨️angst✨️ (like seriously prepare yourself for some horrible things to happen lol)

Thank you for reading/voting/commenting, it means the world to me!! I hope you're enjoying the book? 😅❤️