Lucio's POV:

The moment I stepped into the hallway, I could feel the tension in the house. It wasn't the usual buzzing energy of banter and chaos that my men and friends usually brought. This was heavy, suffocating—a reflection of my own damn misery.

"Where are you going now, Lucio?" Michen's voice cut through the silence as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

"I need a drink," I said flatly, not slowing down.

"Another drink?" Steven chimed in, stepping out of the kitchen with a glass in his hand. "What's it gonna solve this time?"

I ignored him, but the sharp sound of a chair scraping against the floor as Joseph stood blocked my exit.

"You can't keep doing this, King," he said firmly. "You've been spiraling for months. She's not going to magically show up because you drown yourself in whiskey."

"Do you think I don't know that?" I snapped, turning on them. My voice echoed down the hallway, harsher than I intended. "Do you think I haven't tried everything? Do you think I don't blame myself for this every second of every goddamn day?"

The guys exchanged glances, their expressions softening slightly, but I was far from done.

"She's gone, Joseph. Gone! And I don't even know where to start anymore. I can't eat, I can't sleep, and every time I close my eyes, all I see is her walking out that door." My voice cracked, and I hated how vulnerable I sounded.

Michen stepped forward, his face a mix of frustration and sympathy. "Lucio, we get it. We all miss her, man. But wallowing in guilt isn't helping anyone. She left because of your actions. Maybe it's time to stop blaming yourself and start thinking about how to make it right."

I let out a bitter laugh, running my fingers through my hair. "Make it right? How, Michen? By waving a magic wand and undoing the past? By pretending I'm not the monster she saw that day?"

"You're not a monster," Steven interjected, his voice quieter but no less firm. "You're a man who made mistakes. Big ones. But that doesn't mean you can't fix them."

"And how the fuck do you suggest I fix this?" I growled, stepping closer to him.

Steven didn't flinch, but Michen stepped between us. "By being honest. By admitting you screwed up and showing her you're willing to change."

"Change?" I repeated, the word tasting foreign and bitter on my tongue. "This is who I am, Michen. It's who I've always been."

"It's who you've convinced yourself you have to be," Michen shot back. "But that girl saw something different in you, Lucio. She believed in you when the rest of us didn't. And you threw it back in her face."

"Enough!" I roared, the anger bubbling over. "I don't need a fucking lecture from you."

Michen didn't back down. "Well, maybe you should. Because if you don't pull yourself together, you'll lose her for good. And you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

Before I could respond, Steven stepped forward, his expression softening. "Lucio, we're not your enemies here. We want her back too. But you have to want it more than you want to punish yourself."

I turned away from them, the weight of their words pressing down on me. "Just leave me alone," I muttered. "I need to think."

The silence that followed was deafening, but I could feel their eyes on me as I walked away. Their disappointment, their concern—it was suffocating.

The whiskey burned as it slid down my throat, but it did nothing to ease the fire raging inside me. I motioned to the bartender for another, and she hesitated before pouring the drink. Her eyes lingered on me, pity clear in her expression.

"You sure you're okay, handsome?" she asked cautiously.

I slammed the glass down, the sound echoing in the near-empty bar. "Do I look okay to you?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she walked away without another word. I didn't need her pity. I didn't need anyone's pity. What I needed was Kate, but no amount of whiskey would bring her back.

As I downed the second drink, the images of her face haunted me—her smile, her laugh, the way her eyes lit up when she was happy. And then there were the memories of her tears, the hurt in her voice when she said she was leaving.

I clenched my fists, anger and guilt clawing at my chest. Why didn't I stop her? Why did I let her leave?

The rain pounded against the windows of the bar, matching the storm in my head. I threw some cash on the counter and stumbled outside into the downpour. The rain was cold, soaking me to the bone, but I didn't care. 

The rain continued to pour as I sat in my car, the cold seeping into my bones. The rhythmic drumming of rain against the windshield matched the hollow ache in my chest. I couldn't drive home—not yet. I didn't want to face the empty house that reminded me of everything I'd lost.

The streets were nearly deserted, save for a few unfortunate souls caught in the downpour. My hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white, as I tried to focus on anything other than the thoughts racing through my mind. Memories of Kate flooded my senses—her laughter, her stubbornness, the way she could bring light into the darkest corners of my life.

And now she was gone.

I slammed my hand against the dashboard, a growl of frustration escaping my throat. I had searched everywhere for her, exhausted every lead, but she had vanished as if the earth had swallowed her whole. How had I let this happen? How had I let her slip through my fingers?

The rain blurred my vision as I turned onto a quieter street, my headlights cutting through the darkness. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the road, illuminated by my high beams.

"Shit!" I slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching against the wet pavement as the car skidded to a halt. My heart pounded in my chest as I threw the car into park and stepped out, the rain instantly soaking me to the bone.

"Are you insane?" I shouted, my voice cutting through the storm as I approached the figure. "What the hell were you thinking, standing in the middle of the road?"

The figure turned, and my breath caught in my throat. Even through the rain and the shadows, I recognized her.

"Kate?" I whispered, disbelief and anger swirling within me. "What the fuck are you doing out here?"

Her face was pale, her hair plastered to her skin from the rain. She stood there, shivering, looking like a ghost from my past. "Lucio," she said softly, her voice barely audible over the rain.

My relief was short-lived, quickly replaced by a burning fury. "Get in the car," I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument.

She shook her head, taking a step back. "No, I'm not going anywhere with you."

I advanced on her, my patience snapping. "You're not standing out here in the rain like an idiot. Get in the damn car, Kate."

"Let me go!" she protested, trying to pull away as I grabbed her arm. But I wasn't letting her go—not this time.

Without another word, I opened the passenger door and all but shoved her inside. Her protests fell on deaf ears as I slammed the door shut and climbed back into the driver's seat, locking the doors so she couldn't escape.

The drive home was suffocating with silence. Kate sat in the passenger seat, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her face turned toward the rain-streaked window. Her refusal to look at me, to even acknowledge my presence, felt like a knife to the gut.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my knuckles whitening. Her silence was deafening, and the storm brewing inside me was ready to explode.

"Why didn't you tell me where you were?" I finally asked, my voice low but laced with anger. "Do you have any idea what I've been through these past six months, Kate? I've been going out of my fucking mind looking for you."

Kate turned her head slightly, her expression cold. "You didn't need to find me, Lucio. I didn't want to be found."

Her words hit me harder than I expected. My jaw clenched as I fought to keep my composure. "You didn't want to be found?" I repeated bitterly. "So you decided to just disappear? No goodbye, no explanation—nothing?"

"I left because I couldn't take it anymore!" she snapped, her voice rising. "Your world, your violence, your lies—it was suffocating me. I needed to breathe, Lucio. To think. To live."

"And you couldn't tell me that?" I shot back. "You couldn't give me a chance to fix it?"

Kate laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "Fix it? How exactly were you going to fix it, Lucio? By killing more people in front of me? By pretending everything was fine when it wasn't?"

I slammed my hand against the steering wheel, the sound echoing in the confined space of the car. "I didn't pretend, Kate. Everything I did, everything I said—I was trying to protect you."

She turned to me then, her eyes blazing with anger and pain. "Protect me? From what, Lucio? From the world or from you? Because the only thing that ever truly hurt me was you."

Her words gutted me, but I refused to let her see how much they affected me. "I never wanted to hurt you," I said through gritted teeth. "Everything I did was to keep you safe."

"And yet, I wasn't safe," she said, her voice quieter now but still sharp. "Not from you. Not from your lies. Not from your anger."

The car fell silent again, the tension between us thick and suffocating. The rain continued to pound against the windows as I turned into the driveway of my house.

I parked the car and turned to her, my expression hard. "We're not done talking about this."

She opened her mouth to argue, but I was already out of the car, opening her door before she could protest. I grabbed her arm—not roughly, but firmly enough to let her know I wasn't letting her go.

"Lucio, let me go," she said, her voice wavering slightly.

"No," I said flatly. "You're not running away again. Not this time."

She glared at me but didn't resist as I led her inside the house. The moment we stepped through the door, the warmth of the house wrapped around us, contrasting sharply with the cold rain outside. Kate stood stiffly, her arms crossed over her chest, refusing to look at me.

"Upstairs," I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument.

Kate shot me a withering glare. "You can't just order me around like one of your men, Lucio."

"I can, and I will," I said, my voice colder than I intended. "We're going to talk about this. Now." I said firmly, gripping her hand and pulling her toward the staircase. "And it's freezing. You need to change out of those clothes."

Her entire body stiffened, and she yanked her hand away, spinning around to face me. Her eyes blazed with defiance. "I want to go home!" she screamed, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes.

Before I could respond, Jordan's voice broke through the tension. "Wow, King. Did you finally get laid after those seven months?"

The living room erupted into laughter as the guys lounged on the couches, beer bottles in hand. I clenched my fists, barely able to contain my irritation.

"Shut the fuck up, Jordan," I snapped, glaring at him.

But he smirked, undeterred. "What? Just saying it's about time, man."

The other guys continued laughing until Kate stepped into view. The atmosphere shifted instantly. They all stood, their grins fading as they registered her presence.

"Kate?" Steven asked, his eyes wide as he rushed toward her.

"Is that really you?" Joseph added, his tone softer, almost disbelieving.

But before Steven could envelop her in a hug, Emily stepped in, blocking his path.

"Wow, wow. Nobody gets to hug her," she said, grabbing Kate's hand protectively and pulling her toward the staircase. Kate followed without a word, her shoulders hunched as though she wanted to disappear.

I watched them ascend the stairs, my throat dry. I wanted to call out to Kate, to stop her, but the words caught in my throat. She hadn't said a single word to me since we entered the house. Not even a glance.

The laughter and jokes resumed once Emerald and Kate disappeared upstairs.

"She's back," Steven said, still standing in the middle of the room, looking up at the staircase. "But... she doesn't look happy."

"No shit," Michen muttered, glaring at me.

"How'd you even find her after all this time?" Jordan asked, leaning back on the couch, his arms crossed.

I ran a hand through my hair, sighing heavily. "I didn't find her. It was an accident. I almost hit her with my car."

"You what?" Steven's tone was sharp as he took a step closer.

"Calm down," I snapped. "She was standing in the middle of the damn road. I stopped in time."

"You nearly ran over Kate after spending six months looking for her?" Joseph said incredulously, shaking his head. "You're a real piece of work, Lucio."   

"I didn't mean to, alright?" I snapped, my frustration boiling over. "She shouldn't have been out in the rain, freezing, in the first place!"

Michen folded his arms, his expression unreadable. "And whose fault is that? You pushed her away, Lucio. You're the reason she left."

"Enough," I growled, glaring at him. "I don't need a fucking lecture from you."

Steven stepped forward, his face flushed with anger. "You do, actually. Because you're the one who let her walk away, and now you're the one dragging her back here like it's going to fix everything."

"At least I'm trying to fix it," I shot back, my voice rising. "What the fuck have any of you done to bring her back?"

"Trying?" Michen scoffed. "You call this trying? Yelling at her, dragging her into the house against her will—yeah, that's real convincing, Lucio. She's definitely going to stay."

The tension in the room was palpable. I felt the weight of their stares, their disappointment. They weren't just angry at me. They were hurt, the same way Kate was.