Broderick Hunter as Santiago Luzardi, head of the Zonglovia

~

Stuck on You: Kapitel Drei

"Fuck you in the mouth with a dick, Xenon!"

A snort was made evident as its owner rolled its eyes. "As long as it's not yours, Brad, I'm okay with it." I folded my arms as I stared into the fierce eyes of my captain, Xenon Reeves, wondering why he was such an assmuffin. "Why are you so angry this morning, Lieutenant?" He raised a brow at me and I had to fight the urge to use my beautiful fist and slam it into his face.

Count to 10, Bradley, count to fucking 10.

"Leave him alone, Xenon." I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jerked back to see Alex with a sullen look on his face as if he pitied me. I fucking hated pity. People should burn that shit. "He's not having a good morning," I growled lowly, looking away. I didn't even have a good night either. My nightmares from when I was twenty decided to come back and get comfortable inside my head. All I could think about during my sleep was how he left me. Him being back just ruined everything.

It ruined me.

"Oh, I see." Xenon's eyes trailed over me, concern etched all over them and I took a deep breath, reminding myself that they weren't the problem. They never were the problem. "I'm sorry for snapping," I whispered hollowly. "I'm just not feeling up to it today." I murmured as I started typing on my computer. "Just going through some things right now." Indeed, I was. I was living my life just beautifully, having the best life. I had the best job that I busted my ass day and night for. I had the best friends that I could have possibly met, the best family, and this son of a cunt licker decided that now was the best time to try and rekindle things?

Do I remotely look like I was born last night? I mean, I was born at night but damn.

I was beyond annoyed and I was even mad with myself because I almost slipped and gave into this dumb asshole. Nah, you can't do this to yourself, Brad. You are Brad Thorpe and you made it this far without him. It's his fault for leaving such a bad bitch like you. You can do absolutely better. 

But I didn't even believe my own words. Meeting Santiago was a blessing in itself. He was so perfect and I was utterly, hopelessly, and undeniably gone for him. I used to think that we were gonna get married, maybe have two kids, but what do you know? Next thing I know, I roll over and this dude is gone! It hurt because I had seen forever in this dickmuncher, and it pained me to the core to realize that he didn't feel the same. Was it all a lie from the very beginning? Did he play me? I'll never know. I had to keep myself to from reaching out and grabbing onto that little flick of hope because it would never come.

I could feel vibrations coming from my back pocket, and I pulled out my XS Max to see that I had messages, one from my dad and my friend, and several from the group chat.

Noah Thorpe: are we still on for dinner tonight?

Always.

Luzia Cardenas: let's meet this weekend

You know it.

I tapped on the group chat, reading through several of the messages and sighing in remorse and fear.

Bottoms Up

milkshake: hey brad are you gonna tell us if you're okay
cereal killer: yea and tell us more details like who the fuck Santiago lizard is
property_of_rays: Luzardi, Micah. It's Luzardi
cereal killer: lizard same thing. he's still a douchebag all the same
General!dickhead: I sense some unease here. Do I need to bring Isaiah into this?
milkshake: Micah, your IQ is something I worry about daily. And Brad pls, we are all worried about you
cereal killer: I'll fuck this lizard boi up all you gotta do is shoot me an address
hey hey asshats: that's sweet lol, gon make a man shed a few tears

But I couldn't tell them who he was. At least, not yet. Not when I finally got their trust. I couldn't tell them because so many things would unravel, so many secrets that I've tried to hide. Telling them would probably be beneficial because they would know, but I couldn't risk it. Not now. I wasn't too sure if things would change entirely, but I knew they would look at me differently, especially Demetrios because I lied to him so many times.

hey hey asshats: I'm fine guys honestly. I just had a rough night and seeing a guy that I knew from my childhood stirred up some memories that I rather not think about. And no, david, pls don't bring Mr. Carlton into this. It hurts my pride as a cop.

I wasn't lying. He was someone from my childhood. He was a lot more than that and I'd like to keep him in the past. I couldn't and I wouldn't chance anything. He's the reason that this is all happening so who's to say when push comes to shove, he won't leave once again? It took me too long to get my heart to heal and it's still healing.

Well, after last night, my heart was ripped open and exposed to the world.

cereal killer: I get the vibe that you're lying but I'll ease up for now. It's just odd to see the pillar of the team so upset
property_of_rays: say it louder for the people in the back
milkshake: alright we're here if you need to talk to us Bradley. I'll bring Ivory back tonight
General!dickhead: okay. if you say so
hey hey asshats: thank you!
cereal killer: make it count, play it straight
property_of_rays: don't look back, don't hesitate
hey hey asshats: when you go big time!
milkshake: can't believe y'all quoting big time rush out here

I loved my friends and I didn't want to lose or ruin the relationships I had with them so I would do whatever it took to keep everything related to Santiago Luzardi hidden. I had to keep reminding myself that I was no longer Anthony Bradley Thorpe. Rather, I was just Brad Thorpe and those two would never mesh again as long as I was still breathing. I couldn't let anyone else know because it would change everything. I would be forced to expose everything and I would not, not after trying to so hard to keep my originality concealed. 

"Thorpe, Cruz, my office!" I heard my name being barked from the office of Xenon Reeves and I stood up, seeing my partner walk in first. "What?" I raised a brow as I stood next to Alex, wondering what he wanted. "I took the luxury of giving you guys a small case, nothing major. I know you don't have your head in the game," I wanted to protest and splutter that I could do it, but the small quotation of High School Musical threw me for a god damn loop. "There's a 10-50, a disorderly disturbance reported a few miles from here." He began. "Who called it in?" I made sure my holster was on as I grabbed my keys off of the hook. "A T.E, wouldn't say his full name. I think it might be a waste of time but just go check and make sure." He nodded.

"Address?" I asked.

"Uh," He flipped through the folder. "723 Roulette Road, South Manhattan." 

After Xenon shot us the address, I got behind the wheel of our black Dodge Charger, starting the car as my partner put the GPS in and we were en route. I drove past the few houses, and a large forest in between, wondering what was ahead. "You have arrived." The sat-nav spoke and I clicked my radio on. 

"Unit 1, 10-84 at 723 Roulette Road." I spoke into my radio, letting the captain know that we arrived as I pulled over to the curb of the isolated street, the last few houses being so far back. I looked at Alex in confusion before returning my stare back to the house, noticing men in suits with guns in hand as earpieces stationed all around the big ass beige brick mansion that sat so far back from the gates surrounding it. "Holy dog shit," I breathed, noticing the fountain in front of the entrance, the grass patches, the gardens and trees decorating the lawn, a patio scenery with chairs and tables off to the side, parking lots that took up majority of the left space, a long path that led to a roundabout and limestone stairs that led to the beautiful gold encased door.

Who the fuck lived here, the president?

In the midst of my gaping, the gates opened as the man in black standing there, motioned for me to drive through. "Be on your lookout," I warned my partner as I entered the ultimate paradise, driving down the brick pathway. I was in awe at how beautiful everything looked, exquisite and posh. There was a whole garden of one flower, purple anemones. Those were my favorite flowers, so it was clear this person had an elite taste. "Alright, here's the plan," I parked the car in front of the staircase, seeing two men guarding the door. "You will scope the outside while I scope the inside." Alex nodded in agreement as we both departed from the car, adrenaline rushing through our veins.

It seemed quiet for the most part, so I couldn't understand why a disturbance was reported. I took my gun out of my holster and stalked up the stairs, trying to get a sense of what could be going on. Once I reached the last level, the two stoic men decided to approach not me, but Alex. I wasn't having any of it, fuck with my partner and you fuck with me. I reached for one of the men's arms, pulling him forward and slapping the gun out his hand, much to his surprise and I pulled his body towards me and with the inertia still benevolent, I threw him at the other man. I watched as they both crashed to the ground with groans emitting.

They'll stay still.

I reached for the doorknob and slowly made my way inside, nodding to Alexandrov. I noticed the man stationed all inside the large mansion, guns out and evident. I narrowed my eyes as claps filled my ears and my gun was up in the air. "The fuck are you?" I growled, aiming my gun at the tall, tan man, watching he held his hands in surrender. He was stood in the pristine foyer with a smile on his face. "Oi! Chill out! My job was just to get you here, and it worked. I was so sure it wouldn't be you that would come." He winked and I heard the crisp sound of dress shoes hitting the floor and I internally prayed that this was some sick as hell joke. "You can call me Terrence Evermoore. I have a feeling we're going to see more of each other." He smirked as he ran a hand through his brown hair, exiting from the grand foyer. It was oddly suspicious that I was able to get in here with ease, but Alex couldn't. It couldn't be, nah.

I let out a sigh as the air bristled behind me, chuckles filling the silence as I turned around slowly, facing the man I hated. "Damn, you sure do make a uniform look good." He smirked as his eyes draped up and down my body, heat filling his gaze. "Oh my everloving god," I closed my eyes, counting to ten, wondering what the actual shit was going on. "You got two seconds to explain what the fuck you think you're doing, or I'm shooting you in the dick!" I aimed my gun at him, cocking it for measure so he knew I was playing no games. The man of the hour, Mr. Santiago fucking stupid, tilted his head at me as he folded his arms, motioning for his men to stand. "What? Is it a crime for wanting to see you?" He feigned ignorance and I was about 3 milliseconds from blowing his baby maker off.

He was playing with fire but it was okay. He just so-called happened to be a pyromaniac. This was nothing like eight years ago. I was clearly standing in front of the man who beat my heart with a sledgehammer and ran over it with his precious Aston Martin, then handed it back to me in pieces. It was my mistake for loving him. I could feel my lips quivering as memories started to flood my brain and I wanted to not cry in front of him. Why give him the satisfaction? What did he want from me? He surely couldn't want a relationship because he fucked that up and he left. 

"What!?" I was so tired of these games. Does he not realize that he's breaking my heart once again when he stands in front of me, acting like everything's fine and dandy? Like my pain is nothing? "Do you want one night with me or something?" I sputtered in disbelief, wanting him to stop messing with me. "Is that what it will take for you to fuck off!?" I stomped my foot in pure rage, wanting to know why the hell he was just standing there like I was amusing him. I hated that part of him, how he was so easily undeterred by all of the things around him and he was able to be calm and collected. Fucking asshole.

"Sounds tempting, Anthony," I gritted my teeth at that name, hating how vulnerable he made me feel with that stare of his, his cocoa gaze piercing through my soul as he once knew all my secrets. I hated the hold he had over me. "But I rather have you every single night for the rest of our lives." He winked at me as he bit his succulent bottom lip with those perfect shiny white teeth of his. God, I hated him. No, you don't. I wish I did because then it would easier for me to leave. I still feel drawn to him regardless of how he made me feel. Jesus fucking hell, he was my first love.

And my only love.

I hated how he looked at me and my soul was bared to him and he could see anything and everything. He smirked at me as he stepped closer and closer, the smell of his Giorgio Armani gliding through the air and attacking my nostrils. He stood over me, making me feel small and feeble as he looked down at me with the same eyes from 8 years ago. "What do you say, Anthony?" Santiago whispered in that suave tone of his and it irked me that my body slightly reacted. I guess I still remember those things. He reached out a hand to touch caress my cheek and I slapped it away with a vengeance. I had to put a stop to this clownery once and for all and make him understand that he needs to go back to the hole he crawled out of.

"Santiago," I took in a deep breath, my voice darkening in anger. "I don't think you really understand how much you hurt me when you left." I hissed vehemently as I took a step back, watching his face curl up in surprise. Yea, one point for me, fuckhead. "You think you can just slide back into the picture and expect everything to be alright?" I shook my head, my eyes filling with tears as I thought of 20-year-old me, crying in my father's arms, wondering if it was all my fault. "Nah, not today. You lost me when you decided to leave me that night, so you can go fuck off!" I snarled as I took one good look at him with a sneer evident on my face, shaking my head as I turned around. 

"Man, I tried, Anthony," There was that unbothered voice again and I rolled my eyes as I opened the door, glaring at the two fucking losers. "Fuck with me again, I'll kill you." I stared hard into their souls so they understood. "Let's go, Alexandrov." I ignored the questioning gaze of my partner as I slammed the door, catching onto the last thing that fucking idiot said and damn it all if my heart didn't stutter. 

"I just can't seem to let you go."