Eros's POV

*

We finally got the person that sent that tick tock message to me after Nate questioned some of the guards and my cousins Donatello and Tony Amuso had been much helpful with the tracking. Well, that was their job.

At the time when I received that text, that was the exact time the person had excused herself from the meeting they were all having with Luca.

Luca had been discussing with his most trusted men out of all his workers about information he'd gotten from a reliable source, that his grandson's fiancée was in danger because a man was after her. And they had been strategizing on what their next step would be.

The person that sent the message was none other than Brenda, one of Luca's few female workers. A skilled expert in assassinating her target from any designated angle she desired or even bringing any building down to dust with one of her Chanel Pocket Launcher or bombs.

"You do know that you'll be punished for daring to put miss Angela in danger, right?" Nate asked her, his voice gruff and his expression stern the moment we walked into the interrogation room.

"I don't care buddy, I've seen worse." She spat at him, leaning into the iron chair she was sat. Her hands were cuffed in front of her and she was even in her tracking attire. Apparently she'd been preparing to leave after sending that message but she got a bit of delay when Luca was informed about the shooting at the mall and couldn't go undercover.

Luca waa disappointed, to say the least. His own trusted worker who was supposed to be figuring it out with him was the one who'd caused everything that happened.

"So you're admitting that you did it. Why?" I asked her.

She sliced me a glare, then looked away when she saw how serious I was. "I didn't do anything."

Her tone was fierce, she was tense. Something was keeping her on edge and it wasn't the fact that she was being interrogated by me. I wondered what it was.

"Why did you send that text to me?" I questioned.

She pouted. "Oh Erosio, have you forgotten how we used to play? I just wanted to play with words a little and you took it the wrong way." She shrugged.

I banged my fist on the iron table with seething ears and she yelped in shock. "You better start talking Brenda, or so help me god I won't be responsible for whatever I do to you and stop calling me goddamn Erosio, you have no right whatsoever! I don't give two shits if you're one of Luca's best trained assassins or not. Start talking."

She whipped her head so fast to face me, a taunting smirk curling up her face. "And if I don't talk, what are you-"

"Get me the kit." I ordered. There was no single movement from any of the men standing at the door entrance and I could already imagine the surprises on their faces because I'd never used the interrogation kit on any one, so I repeated it louder. "The damn kit!"

"Er sir, are you sure you want to use torture to get this out of her?" One of the men asked unsurely, squinting at me.

"What's wrong with that?"

"She already took some pills. She won't feel a single pain. And...you've never used it before." He looked away as he spoke.

I turned back to glare at her, realizing she had always been a pretentious snake. She knew what was coming if she was caught and she was darned well prepared for it.

"Whether she'll feel pain or not, we'll eventually find out. Get me the damn kit." I hissed and took off my suit jacket, draping it over the chair.

"Yes boss." Two men left, leaving me in the room with Brenda and Nate who was still leaning on the table and accessing her with calculative eyes.

"So Brenda, I hate repeating myself but apparently I have to do that again because of your stubbornness. Why did you do it? And don't try to pretend, I know you're working for Pedro Denaro. You knew about the kidnap before anyone else did."

There was silence after I asked that question. Then she shook her head.

"You never did love me, did you?" She asked in a faint whisper and finally looked up at me and stared right into my eyes. Her eyes were glazed over.

"I never told you I did." I gruffed, not liking where this was going as I glared at her irritably.

Did she do all this just because of some petty feelings or jealousy?

"Every time you got into a relationship and later broke it off, I was there! All these years, I stood by you. I treated you as a friend Erosio, I comforted you." She broke down with an agonizing sigh, talking with fierceness though tears escaped her eyes.

"You were my bodyguard Brenda. Fucking bodyguard!" I hissed.

"Yes. And I tried not to catch feelings, but I couldn't help it. I did everything in my power to implicate those dumb bitches you always dated, to send them away and I always succeeded. I was the one who would drive you around to soothe your sadness, just so you would notice me after forgetting about the girl but nothing worked. You always went back to dating some other dumb bitches." She laughed so much that her shoulders shook, snot running down her nose.

I wanted to interrupt her sob story because I needed the information about where my angel could be and whatever she could help us with to speed up this investigation.

But I still listened to her words, her pained words.

She looked hysterical, I'd never seen her this way before because she was always cool and a lady if few words but very observant and eager to go anywhere with me all these while.

Yes she had always been there whenever I needed her but only as a bodyguard.

How was I to know she had feelings for me? Also, now that she stated it, I could see reasoning to why some of the girls I dated in the past suddenly cut off all ties with me and blocked me from contacting them.

I liked some of them but this was Angela we were talking about right now, the one person I could never joke with. Angela, the woman I fell in love with at first sight.

Che pallel? (What the hell?)

"So what happened?" Nate asked impatiently, his expression stern as he straightened himself from his leaning position. She looked at him and ducked her head, but I caught her blushing a little.

I rolled my eyes at her actions. Was she crushing on Nate in an investigation room?

Seriously?

"Well?" I urged. She looked up at Nate, swallowed and then looked up at me again with her eyes still glassy. She cleaned the snot with the sleeve of her black turtleneck shirt.

"I was approached by one of Pedro's men, Mikael one day and he told me of the plan to get Angela to be his. I thought it was a good thing that Pedro had taken a liking to your little toy and-" her head whipped sideways Nate's right palm connected with her cheek.

"Mind your words." He bit out acidically and wiped off the trace of blood that smeared his lips.

"If I wasn't cuffed and willing to help because of my own personal conviction, I would have killed you. And you fucking know it, you bastard!" She snapped with a murderous glare at Nate, spitting out some blood.

Nate chuckled, then his face turned even harder. "Start talking Leroy." He said drily.

Her eyes blurred but her expression hardened as she stared at him with hatred in her eyes. "Get out!"

"Keep talking! But don't use such a term for miss Angela because she's nothing like you." He told her in a hardened voice. I looked from one person to another, honestly just wanting to get this interrogation over with.

Luca was supposed to be here with us but he had to go to the hideout where Steve's pregnant wife and children had been kept. By the time he'd have left there, I should've been done by then so we'd head to our next destination together.

"Eros tell him to get out if not I swear I won't say a single word." She yelled at me, bringing me back to the present. Her assaulted cheek was now reddening.

"Step outside for a moment Nate."

"Alright." He stormed out and left us alone there.

Just then, the men came in with two silver cases which obviously contained more than enough objects I could use to carry out my torture.

"Keep them open and give us some privacy."

"Yes sir." They replied in unison and left after opening the boxes.

"So, you were jealous and you decided to do what you did."

Brenda shrugged. "We'll, yes."

"Did you think about how messy this could get? Or how I would feel about it?"

She stuttered for words and I realized my question caught her offguard.

"Of course not. Anyway, you'll tell us anything you know abo-"

Luca came in just then, slamming the door shut behind him. Brenda immediately tensed as she heard his deep chuckle behind her.

Luca's smile widened and he walked around to stand before her. "Brenda, Brenda, Brenda. Do you know what I want to do to you?"

She shook her head while I just watched, feeling fatigue wash over me. I just wanted angela in my arms and for this Pedro to leave us alone.

"I don't have any need for you again. So I'll just call in some men to fuck you silly till you need to be hospitalized and dump you in a forest where you won't ever recuperate. Do you know why?"

She nodded.

"Words! You piece of darned shit." Luca roared.

Her eyes were red but she didn't shed a single tear in Luca's presence like she had done a few minutes before. "Y-yes sir."

"So, boys?"

Brenda started shaking furiously in her seat. "No-no please Luca, I owe you my life. Pl-please don't do this. You know I have a daughter." She stuttered.

"And you know that girl has a mother, she has brothers and she has her own friends." Luca spoke very calmly, taking a seat beside me and shaking his legs as his face slowly began to get red. "But you only cared about your own selfish reasons. I knew all what you did to those girls, and I allowed it because Eros here didn't want to pursue any of them. But you see, for every injury I spot on my Rose's skin, you'll be inflicted ten times worse!"

She jumped as he shouted again.

"What was your promise to me?"

Brenda's eyes widened before they looked straight ahead into nothingness. Then she said in a whisper, "That I would never go against my conscience."

"And have you lost that conscience?"

"No." She shook her head.

"Matt!" Luca called and one of the heftiest bodyguards came in. "I won't have them break you, not yet anyway. But you will do as I say and if you don't, your little flower in Korea will have to pay for it."

"Mn- no Luc-"

"You know all too well how it feels for an eight year old to be rough handled by a man, don't you?"

Brenda flinched and I just watched the exchange. What did she go through in her childhood?

"Good girl. Now we have reached an agreement. Haven't we, dear?!"

"Ye-yes boss." She stated fiercely.

"Take her to Landon downstairs and have Donatello join him. Then tell him to perform it on her like we discussed."

"Copy sir." The huge man stated and he carried Brenda like she weighed nothing, throwing her over his shoulder and heading out of the door.

Luca looked at me when we were finally alone. "And you, what were you thinking of when you asked them to get the kits? As if you could even pierce someone with a darn needle." He chuckled and got up from the chair, whacking me across the head.

"I would have done it if she didn't speak. I can also torture someone Luca." I spoke indignantly.

He chuckled. "Nope, it isn't in your wussy blood. Just like your father, this muscle and masculinity isn't for such. It's for business, so focus on that. Maybe, just maybe your son will be like his Mafia great grandfather."

I nodded. "Let's get her back here before discussing children." I huffed in frustration before remembering something. "What are you going to do to her at Landon's place? They won't actually assault her...would they?" I swallowed, already feeling bile rising at the mere thought of someone getting assaulted.

Yes she sold my angel out but I had to accept the fact that even if she hadn't gotten involved in this, Angela would have still been kidnapped regardless.

Luca walked around the table and went to pick a small chip from inside the silver case the men had brought earlier, raising it and squinting with one eye closed as he assessed it.

"Landon has his ways of getting information from people. And unlike you, he could be... impatient, so no emotion is attached. Get your ass out of that chair, we're paying the Denaros a visit!"

*

An edited re-update. What do you think about Brenda?