Douglas Booth as Pierre Bizier

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Stuck on You: Kapitel Zwanzig

My eyes widened as I registered the piece of flesh breaking apart. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Emilia started to scream, her eyes staring right at the hole in my arm. I felt tingling, fire burning up my body as I stumbled. Luckily, I had moved just a bit to avoid the bullet lodging itself into my arm. I was only grazed but damn, it was truly agonizing. 

I let out a small groan, fingers quivering on the trigger as crisp footsteps clicked against the floor behind me. I took a step, making sure I analyzed my surroundings before faking a left, pivoting a turn on my right as I held the gun up to the mystery man's forehead. "Oh?" A rich and exotic accent mused in surprise and I finally got to see the dark skin, pale hazel eyes, taut and warm skin, standing at six feet and five inches, muscles contorted in that black suit of his. He held an AK-47 in his hands, swinging it around like it was a toy. He has his eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips as he mocked me. He truly looked like his heir.

This was Riocard Luzardi.

I wanted to pull the trigger so bad, put the bullet between his forehead, but the warning screeches of Emilia behind me and the feeling that if I even flinched, he'd somehow gain the upper hand. He seemed swift and agile, no grey hair in sight on his body. He seemed like he would able to break every part of me without moving from his spot.

I was going to have to think this through very carefully.

"You brought your dear copper friends," The look in his eyes dared me to pull the trigger as he stepped backward, speaking casually like the mood in the room wasn't stark tense. "But how come you didn't bring my dear child?" He raised a brow and I could hear the disgust and the malice in his tone. He was full of pure rage and he was merely keeping it together. Why did he seem so scary? Why was it making me question my every action? "Your son?" I snorted, contempt filling my veins as I recalled all of the scars that littered Santiago's body. "Your son?" I spat coldly, hand firm on the gun as I shook my hand. Riocard looked taken aback before he bowed his head, chuckling.

"I despise you, Anthony Bradley Thorpe," He growled out in a low tone, stalking around me slowly as I followed his every step, determining when to make my next move. I kept my eye on him and Emilia, who seemed like she was going to pass out from the sheer blood loss. "Not because you're my natural enemy," Riocard shook his head, wielding a sharp knife from the inside of his cuff as he lurked, eyes on me. "But because you're the reason why my dear son forgot where he came from. Because of a piece of ass he received, he decided that he was too good to be the next leader of this syndicate," He snarled, yanking Emilia back by her hair, exposing her neck to the sharp blade. There was an intake of breath as Emilia stared at me, her eyes begging. 

Shit.

"If it wasn't for him, you would have been dead a long time ago. I made him let me beat him to the brink of death to prove his loyalty to me," Riocard ran a hand through his black hair, chuckling sadistically and my heart lurched in my chest, wanting to beat the shit out of this man. He pushed Emilia's head forward and she let out a cry of pain, blood oozing down her temple. "With the exchange that I promised that no one would come after you," He twisted the gun around, wondering where he should shoot. "I hated how fixated he was on you. It disgusted me," He seethed, licking his lips. He tightened his grip on Emilia's hair, ignoring her whimpers. "Made me wonder how I could have fucked this bitch and created someone so damn worthless."

"You sick, sick son of a bitch," I growled under my breath, eyes narrowing as cold anger surged through my body. Stay calm. I couldn't. He was saying things about my baby that weren't true. His very existence pissed me off. "Don't you dare let those words come out of your mouth." I gritted my teeth as he snickered to himself, letting Emilia go. I took a step forward and he stared at me, clutching his side.

"Was it something I said?" He tilted his head, taunting me. He was trying to get a rise out of me and my body shook under his intense animalistic stare. Think, Brad, think! What could be his weakness? I ignored the screaming voices of my teammates in my ear, eyes flicking around the shady room to figure out the clues to get away safely. Riocard didn't seem like he was going to let any of us get out alive. "Well, I suppose I could have my fun with you, but I only have 7 minutes." He listed off of his fingers and my brows furrowed, wondering what he was talking about. He grinned, turning his head to me as he pushed himself off of Emilia's chair. "I'm sure you hear that beeping," He took several crude steps my way. "The sound of that ticking," It was faint but I heard it all. "That feeling of impending doom consuming your soul?" He clutched his right side, murmuring.

Something bad was going to happen.

"In seven minutes, you two will be dead. Either by my hands," He held them out in the air comically, letting out a maniacal laugh and I cursed myself, studying his figure. "Or you will burn to death." Emilia's eyes widened as her body stilled, looking at me with the utmost panic. Think, Brad, think! How could I kill this man without him harming Emilia in the process?

I could smell gasoline filling up the small room as Riocard wiped his blade along the hemline of his shirt, clicking his teeth. My body felt so weak and I felt so tired. I couldn't die here though because then, everything would be in vain. Emilia and I couldn't die. She was important to Santiago. Riocard cracked his neck, rolling up his suit sleeves.

"I wish I could give you the chance to tell my son that he was stupid for challenging me," He tilted his head. "But you won't be alive to do so," He clutched his side, leaning on his foot as he took several rapid steps. My eyes blinked and forth, following the mirage, trying to see where he was going as he ran past me, pain erupting in my side. "Ah!" I screamed as I looked down to my side, a small but fatal wound oozing blood out of my stomach. I stumbled a bit, shaky hands reaching down to clasp onto it. Shit, this was bad! "You didn't even try to move," Riocard shook the red serum from his blade as I limped around, facing him. "That was almost too easy, and you call yourself a lieutenant," He shook his head condescendingly, aiming his gun at me. I was becoming dizzy, blood leaving my body much faster than I anticipated. 

I felt myself succumbing under the sheer weight of my torso as I fell to the ground, landing on my hands. "Shit..." I mumbled to myself, pain torturing my wicked soul. I could feel myself beginning to get tired. "I thought about torturing you," I blinked, trying to breathe as the potent scent of gasoline gradually got louder and louder. I gagged, trying to find some semblance to regain my sense. I had to kill him. I had to do it for Santiago. No matter how powerful, how strong, how dangerous he was, I had to eliminate him. Not because he was a threat to this school, to the city, to Emilia and I, but because he took away the one thing that mattered to me and he hurt him.

I let out a sharp breath. "But I just feel like letting you die slowly," I watched him clutch all parts of his body, trying to see if he had any weak areas on him. If I targeted that one area, maybe it would be enough for him to die. "Then once I've killed you, I'm going to pay little Santiago a visit and finish molding him to be the perfect copy of me. No one can touch us." He cracked his knuckles, waving bye to us as the ticking boomed in our ears, letting us know that death was near. Shit. Not here! Not now! Not when I haven't told Santi!

"Maybe on the other side, you'll repent your actions," I was becoming delirious as smoke entered the dark room, obscuring my vision. Emilia started to choke, coughing behind the tape on her mouth. She was going in and out, and time was not on my side. I reached down into my boot, pulling out my butterfly knife, coated in warfarin. He started walking towards me and my eyes widened, landing on the area of target.

There.

I grinned lowly, feeling triumph in this moment of despair and I slowly stood up, watching as he stepped farther than the last, knife open and teeth bared. I kept my knife hidden as he charged towards me. I studied the form of his arm and his hand, knowing that he was aiming for the arm he shot at. I had to play it smart. There were 2 minutes left and if I fucked up, we all were going to die. I held in my breath, closing my eyes and relying on my instincts to guide me. He was crazy, deranged and the glint in his eyes took over. He was less than four feet from me and I could see the shine of the blade. 

It was now or never.

To die or not to die.

I stood completely still, seemingly having accepted my fate. When I felt his foot breach my personal bubble, the cop in me reached up with my left hand and grasped his arm in mid-air, stopping the blade before it impaled my shoulder. I opened my eyes and he was standing there in disbelief but I wasn't done. I took my butterfly knife and ran past him, slashing up and down, left and right on his left side, making sure that the rodenticide filled his body. Then I twisted it out with a yell, blood seeping onto the floor.

Was it mine or was it his?

No one knew. 

I panted as his weapon fell the ground with a thud. He staggered, red coating his white pupils as he clutched onto his bloody side, slamming down to the cold ground as the smoke swirled around us. Damn, my body hurt like hell. "You got one thing wrong, Riocard," I spat his name with the chill of ice, stumbling as I stood over his bleeding body. He blinked, wondering what had happened or how he got there. He looked down at his hands stained with the red liquid as it bubbled out of his lips. "Santiago Luzardi was and will never be you." I finished, my knife falling on top of him as he gasped, hands reaching out to grab onto something.

The clock was ticking and it was under a minute.

My ass moved like thunder as I scampered over to Emilia, who was confused and relieved at the turn of events. "Sorry it took me so long," I whispered, wanting to sleep already. "You're hurt!" Emilia cried out as I cut through the rope binding her ankles and her wrist, watching as she ripped the tape off of her lips. I rolled my eyes, hissing as I watched the blood trickle down my arm, splashing against the ground. "Shut up, Emilia." I deadpanned, reaching for her. She trembled as I, with all the strength that I could muster, picked her up bridal style. My arm burned like a motherfucker and I could feel myself getting lightheaded. 

I could feel my legs wanting to crumble and give out under me but I fought like hell to hold my breath as I scurried down the familiar hall. "F-fire," I managed to wheeze in on my radio. "A fire bomb in the cellar," The gasoline was killing me and the fire was burning at my eyes. "It's okay, Emilia," I managed to get out, knees clicking as we busted through the door. My arms were shaking as I heard the sound of a series of whistles and clicks before a loud explosion rocked the stairwell. 

Emilia gave me a look of worry as my eyes closed over and over, the height of the stairs never coming. My legs hurt and they throbbed. My arms were deadweight and I just wanted to sleep. "A-Alex," I whispered as I took the last step on the landing, fire on our tail. I didn't know if Emilia made her way out of my arms, or if my men heard me, but that was all I could do before I collapsed to the ground with an evident thud.

Huh?

What?

Was I dreaming?

I could feel myself blinking slowly as I laid on some soft surface. Both of my hands were engulfed in something warm and I felt a body on top of mine. My body felt like it was floating on some water, beaten and battered to a pulp. I let out a breath of fresh air, eyes staring straight at a white ceiling. I couldn't move and I heard the faint sound of beeping to the right of me. "Ngh," I groaned, trying to position myself so that I could see where I was.

I could see the birds flying in the glass window when I turned my head and that was when I realized it.

I was in the hospital.

I was tired of being here, tired of being in pain and injured. 

My bleary eyes turned along with my heavy head as I registered the teary eyes of my daughter Ivory, watching them fill up as she laid across me, bandages around her limbs. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying and I smiled at her, mouthing at her to let her know that her daddy was going to be absolutely okay. My eyes latched onto the hand that held my left in a death grip, following up those muscled arms to reveal the body of the man this was all for.

Santiago.

I unconsciously smiled, my heart fluttering as I took in his sleeping form. He had his head against the bed, eyes closed as he breathed deeply. How could someone be so beautiful?

My eyes turned to the right, pondering if this was some alternate reality because what the fuck?

Emilia was standing to my right, clutching my hand in hers as she wept silently. I made a silent grimace, wondering what the fuck was happening. Was this really Emilia Karas, the Maleficient of my life? This was not happening. "Oh my god, will you please put cyanide in my IV and end it all?" I hissed as I sat up, watching her head dart up. Her eyes enlarged in surprise, a soft smile gracing her lips as the drowsiness escaped her dreary face. "You're awake," She whispered, reaching up to run a hand through my hair. The fuck? "I know I saved your life," I coughed violently, letting out a sigh. "But there's no need for you to get this close to me." It was highly unusual to see her acting like this towards me, especially when all she did was yell and belittle me.

Ah, good times.

"I'm just glad that you're okay," It was odd to see her being so warm and content to see me, but I was going to let her have her closure. "Yea, well," I flicked my eyes down to the bandages wrapped up my arm and side, questioning the science of things. "Of course I would be. I couldn't let you die." Ivory burrowed her head in my chest and I winced just a bit. "Dr. Jaeger said that the bullet didn't go inside of you; it merely grazed you," Emilia rubbed the back of my hand and I nodded, the silence of the room relaxing me. "Your wounds will heal within two weeks as he stitched them perfectly." She finished and I sighed, body sore and all. 

That's when I noticed she was staring holes into my face.

"What?" I raised a brow, wondering if I still looked as pretty. She was making me damn uncomfortable with this out of character changes. "...thank you," She muttered, a tear falling from her eyes. "No need," I shook my head, taking a deep breath. "Couldn't let that bastard kill you." I grimaced, shifting a bit, wanting the free reign of my hands. 

"There's nothing that I wouldn't do for Santiago." I breathed, a grin moving my lips.

"You better not pull some shit like that again, verstanden?" I heard an anger-filled deep voice and I snapped my neck to meet it, seeing an awake and enraged Santiago Luzardi. My hand was still in his as he fumed, his eyebrows clumped together as he narrowed his pretty little eyeballs at me. "...hi?" I offered, smiling weakly as if that would help the situation. He cracked his neck, standing out his chair, all evidence of sleep erased from his face as he pointed furiously at me.

"Don't you fucking do that again, Anthony!" Santiago yelled, his red eyes stained with tears as he squeezed the life out of my hand. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you!" I let out a sigh, wanting to feel him in my arms. "Here," I took my hand out of his tight grasp, him still trying to hold onto it as if I would disappear if he let go. I, with a small wince, reached around his neck as I pulled him up to me, putting his head on my chest next to Ivory. "You hear that?" My heart was beating like a drum against his ear and he bit his lip. "I'm still here, Santi." I rubbed his face, letting him relish in my touch.

"No one can take me from you."