Joe Manganiello as Raymundo Vega

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Stuck on You: Kapitel Vierzehn

"You didn't need to do all of this. Really, it is very unnecessary." I groaned as one of Santiago's men pushed a wheelchair into the room, the doors guarded by two more of his men. "Nonsense," Santiago waved me away, shaking his head. "I'm not going to let anything else happen to her. Not on my watch." He gritted his teeth, staring at Ivory, who laid in her hospital bed. The doctor deemed her okay in a few days of healing and she was here, letting Santiago's blood accumulate with hers.

I still didn't know how to thank him.

"Mr. Bad Words, you're back!" Ivory screeched in glee as she motioned for Santiago to come to stand next to her. I didn't realize how attached my child got to Santiago while I was comatose, but it appeared to be a strong attachment. Ivory didn't trust easily, so if she was hugging on this man, he was someone important to her.

It just made me understand that she needed to know just how much of an importance he was to her.

"How are you feeling?" I watched Santiago interact with her, caressing her face as he looked at her with the stars in his eyes. Some people might say that I was too easy and quick with letting him talk to his own child, but how could I not? He looked at her as if she was everything to him. That was all the confirmation that I needed. I wanted someone who was going to love Ivory and cherish her like the diamond she was. She was my pride and joy and she was my first priority. If the person that was going to be with me didn't love her like so, it couldn't and wouldn't work out.

I could finally see a future and god, was it bright.

"My body still hurts a bit, but the doctors told me that the nice lady would give me some more medicine if I needed it!" She chirped as she looked up at Santiago, wiggling her nose at him. It was such a sight to see and my poor heart couldn't handle it. "All that matters is that you're okay. I didn't like seeing you like that." I piped in, coming to stand next to Santiago. "Daddy, I didn't like seeing you with your eyes clothes. I was scared!" Ivory pouted and I smiled, ruffling her curls gently. "But now I'm up and at him, sweetheart and soon, you'll be out of here." I chuckled and she stared at me in annoyance. "That means I have to go back to school." She flopped back down on her pillow and I snorted.

She certainly inherited her hate for school from me.

"Are you daddy's new friend or something?" She suddenly asked Santiago, a narrow look written on her face as if she was studying him. "I have never seen you before. I know all of my dad's friend and Alex and grandpappy," She licked her lips and I could sense that Santi was getting anxious. "Who are you?" It was now or never. I could tell her that he was just a friend or someone that I worked with, but I wouldn't downplay his or her integrity like that. Not this way. Santiago's eyes drifted slowly away from her penetrating gaze to me, wondering what I was going to do. I could lie and damage the foundation that had been building, or I could tell the truth and hope that Ivory understood. Santiago was back in my life and it didn't seem like he was going to leave once again. She would be seeing him a lot more, but I didn't know much. Lie or speak the truth? 

Lie?

Honesty? 

"You know how you said that you always wanted a mommy?" I murmured, pushing her curls to the back of her head as she nodded. She looked between me and Santiago, eyes widened as the gears in her brain began to turn. The silence in the room was deafening and nothing was keeping me sane except for the thick hand that was holding mine. I had to keep reminding myself that Santiago was indeed here. Ivory narrowed her eyes, biting her lip as I stopped her from playing with her bandages. 

"So does that mean you're my mommy?" She furrowed her brows, pointing at Santiago. His mouth fell open a bit as he appeared dumbfounded. "But you're not a girl!" She replied, folding her arms as she looked back and forth. She was confused and I knew it, but I had to let her know who Santiago really was to her before it was too late. I rather it'd be now and not later. She probably wouldn't understand until she was older and the pieces started to click. "That means that you're daddy," She pointed at me, nodding affirmatively. "And you're Santio!" She put a hand on her chin, mildly wincing.

"Nah, I'll just call you dad!" Ivory beamed up at Santiago, who looked as if she told him that she would give him the moon. His face was priceless and he looked so radiant. His smile was out for the world to see, bright and cheerful as his eyes widened in shock in reaction to her words. I didn't expect Ivory to be this quick and understanding, but that just meant that I raised her well. Santiago sat there, Ivory's hand in his eyes as he remained speechless. He didn't know what to say or what to do. 

For the first in I don't know how long, the tide was changing.

Ivory had forced me to go back to work and figure out who did this to her. I couldn't stay or else, she wouldn't talk to me.

She had done it before.

I chuckled as I looked at Alex, who was going through the cameras that were present and on the day the bomb was pushed down on my daughter. He looked conflicted as he wrote down a series of things. "Alex, take a break from that." I whistled and he sighed, nodding. "I already figured it out," He mumbled in a dark tone, shaking his head. I was going to ask for the culprit later because I wanted to make sure that we canceled out all of the other crimes first. "Do me a favor, please." He flicked his sad gaze over to me and nodded. "Can you pull up the Lousiana state class of 2014 roster?" His fingers went to click on the keyboard as he pulled up the station database. "Filter out only girls," I demanded and he sighed. "There's so many!" He complained, showing me his screen. "Hmm? See if you can filter out girls with white hair." I reached over to grab my keys. 

"There shouldn't be too many of them. White hair is rare in itself," I murmured, throwing on my jacket over my cast. The doctor said it would be a while before I got it off. I didn't know how I was going to wheel Ivory in her chair home. Such things would take time. "I'm going to go see if there is any lead with Santiago's case." Alex folded up a piece of paper and handed it to me, a firm look in his brown eyes. "Don't look at this until you're with Santiago," I let my mouth fall open in a slight bout of confusion. "I have a feeling he'll know what exactly is going on when he sees this." I took the paper from him and slipped it into my back pocket. "Make sure you keep your guard up, Brad. Anything can happen." I nodded, wondering what he was getting at.

Was there something going on that I wasn't aware of?

It's possible.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I made my way out of the station, parts of my body still hurting. I had a lot on my plate, too much to think about. I had to worry about my precious daughter being in the hospital and being injured. Who would try to hurt a seven-year-old? She had nothing against the world. It angered me to the point of explosion, but I had to keep myself calm as a reminder that she was okay. In pain, but okay. I also had to think about what I was going to do about Santiago. Ivory knew just about everything, but I wasn't sure what it meant for us. I was a bit hesitant on rekindling things because what if that flame died out when he left?

Sigh.

"What to do, what to do, Anthony Bradley Thorpe?" I thumped my fingers against the steering wheel, able to drive with one hand. I made my way into the parking garage of Masters, just driving right on past since the keeper knew me as someone who was close to Santiago. 

I don't think they knew how close though. I mean I could tell them Santiago used to have sex with me every night in our dorm room.

Mhmm?

Sure enough, when I parked in my designated parking spot, Santiago was there at the window with a hand, ready to help me get out. "We should get you a fucking bell," I took his hand as he lifted me out of the car. "You can't be coming out of nowhere like that. I could've shot you!" I sputtered as I locked my vehicle. "No, I would've dodged it." I rolled my eyes as he smiled happily at me. "I'm so happy to see you!" He beamed like a puppy and I stared at him. "We saw each other two hours ago. Pump your brakes, man." I snorted in mockery as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Man, two hours is a long time. Now that I've seen you, I can't let you go." He grinned arrogantly and I let out a sigh of despair.

Tangled in his shenanigans like always.

"What are you doing?" I questioned as he held me close to him. We walked through the entirety of the building and I wondered where all of his people were. "Just trying to protect my precious cargo," He winked at me and my cheeks blushed, knowing that he was still the same Santiago Luzardi that I met twenty-four years ago. 

"Hmph," I turned my head away from him, not wanting him to know how he made me feel. I was still new to this. I have seen it all before, but nothing like this. Do I jump in first hand, or do I wait? What is it that I do with him? I had no reason to be angry and vengeful for him leaving because it was justified (he still hadn't explained it fully, but I was going to get answers). If he wanted to be with me again, we were going to have to start from the beginning so that the fire was still there. "Where are we going? We've been walking for a while now." He took me down a dark hallway that led to a singular door. "In here," He opened the door and we both stepped in. It was a room with nothing but a chair and a series of computers. "You're not going to kill me, are you?" I murmured nervously and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Is it a crime to talk to the one I love?" He raised a brow, cracking his knuckles as he towered over me. I never got used to how tall he was, how muscular he was. He was damn fine years ago but now, he was the finest prime steak, dipped in a delicious wine sauce over cheesy mashed potatoes. He was a sexy sin incarnate.

Father, I am going to sin...

"Whatever," I folded my arms, tilting my head. He had mentioned that he belonged to the Zonglovia and it was a group that originated in Berlin, Germany. Why did he come here? Wait, don't ask that. You already know. What was happening within? Was I apart of it now? Was Ivory?

"If you're the so-called father of this syndicate," I murmured as he tightened his grip around my waist, looking deeply into my eyes. It amazed me how he always managed to take my breath away with just the flick of his eyes. "Does that you mean you have right-hand men and consiglio, whatever that word is?" I folded my arms and he chuckled, nodding in reply. "I think the word you're looking for is consigliere," He sat down in the chair in front of me, the mass array of computers and screens behind him as he looked up at me, smiling. This felt like old times, like he had never left and I was happy that it felt that way. He gripped my hips with his hands and yanked me towards him, wrapping his arms around me once again. 

"And yes, I do. I have two right-hand men. You've met Terrence Evermoore. He's my best friend," Santiago murmured and I furrowed my brow. "Couldn't he be a prime suspect in this case, considering he's your best friend?" Santiago tilted his head, an evil smirk coming to his chocolate lips. "You'll see later." He whispered in a dark tone and I got the feeling that there was something deeper going on here. He appeared to be too calm and collected for someone who was just told that their best friend might be shady. "The other one is Milo Fernandez. You've probably seen him tailing you or outside places where you are. He's your personal guard," Santiago smiled with a sense of satisfaction and I rolled my eyes, ignoring that whole sentence. I had to remind myself that this was his life and like it or not, I was going to be dragged into it.

I noticed that he never mentioned his consigliere. 

"I have a question," I asked and he nodded, rubbing the area along my hips. "Have you ever hurt or killed someone a long time ago? That's the only reason why this person could be targeting your men. Kill them and then kill you," I stated and Santiago shrugged. "Sure, I've killed a lot of people but it was justified." It didn't make sense. He had a lot of enemies, it was natural, so what made this person dig deeper? "Hmm..." I mumbled, trying to put pieces together. "Was there someone who accidentally got hurt or killed because of you?" I questioned, watching his reaction. If it wasn't an accident, this person wouldn't have gone to the depths of their murders. 

"Now that you ask," Santiago's tone turned sad as he let out a huff. "There was a man that I was friends with a long time ago, about 4 years ago. He used to be my old right-hand. I trusted him with everything, considering that he was older than me. He was like a father to me so it crushed me when he took the bullet that was intended for me in one of the hits that we were going to scope out," His voice was full of sorrow and sadness and I clutched his hand in mine. "He died on the spot and he never did get to say goodbye to his family," He explained and I narrowed my eyes, remembering hearing something like this. "What was his name?" I pondered and he clicked his teeth. "Julian Grimmaldi." He replied, looking into my eyes with those cocoa orbs.

Me and my friends, we got money to spend.

"Hold up, I'm getting a call," I ignored his mocking stare at my ringtone as I answered the phone, putting it up to my ear. "Brad's whorehouse. You got the dough, we send the hoe." I spoke casually and Santiago shook his head, stifling a laugh. This was something I did a lot back in our younger days. I had no filter. "Brad, it's me." I heard Alex's voice and he sounded panicked. "Oh? What's up, man?" I could sense the unease through the device.

He let out a loud sigh. "I figured out who Haila Sudlow really is," He began and I thanked God. "She was the daughter of some businessman who died about four years ago as he was shot and killed." My eyes gradually got bigger as all of the pieces of the puzzle was put together. "Her name?" My voice was shaky, waiting in anticipation.

"Victoria Grimmaldi."

Then every single light shut off.