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I wish I could put it into words how much it pissed me off. The way Little Red just sat there, staring out the car window completely oblivious to the rest of the world because her thoughts were blinding her. It was written all over her face how hard her mind was working to find a way out of this alive with her mother right beside her. I could almost feel how little trust she had in my word that no harm would ever come to her while I was alive. Then again, it was me that made her that way. I was really fucking pissed, but at the same time, proud.

"What are you thinking?" I asked her, opening her eyes to something other than her determined mind.

She seemed to contemplate whether or not to share her thoughts with me. After a while, she settled with a sigh. "I'm thinking about what Dante said. He mentioned how Tino is very sure you have Red, so I can't help but wonder how he can be so sure of that. What exactly does Tino know?"

I leaned back in my seat as the purr of the engine swayed beneath me. That was a good question. He didn't know much if he went for Giovanni, but still, he knew enough. It was only a matter of time before his search leads him straight to Reyna.

"I'll find out what he knows. For now, we get Giovanni back. Then, we'll figure out the rest," I told her.

She opened her mouth as if she were ready to say something, but then shut it. Her gaze shifted from me to out the window.

"What?" I questioned annoyedly.

"I am more than happy to help you find Giovanni, but just remember that my safety is a priority. Don't forget the whole reason I'm doing this is that you promised to help me find my mother," Reyna said, her voice cracking. She shifted in her seat a bit before turning to face me.

"Aw, are you going to cry because the big bad mafias are out to kill you?" I frowned sarcastically. "It's not my fucking fault you had the brilliant idea to steal from every criminal in the world? Don't you think I know your safety is a priority, why do you think I'm working so hard to protect you? We'll find your mother like I promised—if she's even alive, but you're going to do whatever the hell I tell you do before I throw you out and tattoo Red on your big ass forehead."

"My mother is alive," she muttered.

"How can you be so sure? She's probably dead and decayed by now. What you need to do is let her go because chasing after some woman that left you many years ago is only going to kill you!" I stated. She visibly flinched at my words, her shoulders falling and her eyes failing to meet mine as she stared at her lap.

After a few minutes, I could see a teardrop fall onto her bare thigh.

"My mother is alive," she repeated, her voice fragile and ready to snap.

"What makes you think that you can find the most hidden criminals to ever exist, but you can't find a single woman. What if she doesn't want to be found? What if she got so fucking tired of you to the point she just left? Watch you find out that you're doing all this work just to find out that you are absolutely nothing." I chuckled.

Finally, she broke away from her thighs to look me square in the eye. "Is that what your family did to you? Are you trying to put your trauma onto me, is that what this is?"

My jaw clenched as I looked at little red. She was entering a dangerous territory that I was positive she didn't want to go in. "You don't know shit about me," I stated, narrowing my eyes.

"I know enough. I know that you're a hypocrite and a coward. Don't ever talk about my family when you couldn't even keep yours," Reyna said.

I reached over and gripped her by her neck before slamming her into the seats. My breathing was heavy and uneven as I glared at her.

Reyna's eyes widened just as the car pulled up in front of my house. The driver quickly got out, leaving a tense silence to fill the car.

"Sometimes, a rumor is just that... a rumor... spread by idiots who need to learn a simple thing about minding their own business," I stated just before releasing her from my hold. I opened the car door and exited not before slamming it shut.

After fixing my suit jacket, I pulled out my phone and immediately dialed Leo's number as I began to walk into the building.

"Saint," he greeted.

"Where is Adriano?" I questioned.

Knowing Adriano, he would be pissed but he would understand. Breaking omertà was a huge thing in this family. Everyone knew that the only way out was death. The only reason I kept Adriano alive for so long was because a gut-wrenching feeling told me something was off.

At first, I blamed it on weakness because I sympathized with someone who grew up with me. Someone who watched over me when I was nothing but a quiet boy, holding back an evil that transformed my heart from a faded pink to a decaying black.

When I had no one, not even myself, I had Adriano.

It was dark one night, clouds were angrily shooting at the ground with precipitation that destroyed itself amongst impact like a bullet. The rain had washed away all the blood on my body. All of the souls I held dearly swam off my body, flowing down the empty street.

I couldn't have been more than thirteen years old, sitting on the corner of the street. There was a bus bench that I used to rest, especially when the weather was as bad as this day.

Of course I had seen Adriano plenty of times. His family was a good friend to my own. They used to force us to be around eachother, claiming that one day we would be all we had left—they weren't lying.

Never having a choice in the people I wanted to associate myself with was the only reason I quickly grew to hate him. However, looking at him on that day where my life changed forever—hate was no where near me.

He didn't say a word to me. Adriano just threw a rain jacket over me and sat down right beside me in the pouring rain. He had to know what I had just done, but he didn't care.

I glanced over at him. At the time, Adriano was taller than me, so I had to crane my neck up in order to look at him. As I stated, I couldn't help but begin wondering how he saw me. Was I nothing but a monster? A psychopath that was doomed from the start? A thirteen-year-old who became a murderer before he even learned algebra?

"I know, Saint. I know," he told me. "I saw what happened. I know."

He then did the last thing I ever expected him to do as tears began to fall from his eyes, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug, continuously muttering the words, "I know."

I know. I know. I know. I know. I know.

I was numb, empty. Most people would respond to his sobs, claiming that they were so glad to have him in their wonderful life. I couldn't. I didn't give much of a shit. I stood still like a statue, praying to God that he let me go. I didn't want to be held, pampered, pitied, ridiculed. I wanted to be free, secluded, and lonely.

"I'll take care of you, brother. No matter what wrong you do, I'm here. Always," he muttered. For a moment, my breathing stopped. Scratch that—the world stopped. Care. Brother. Here. Always.

Did he mean it? Did he...

"Why?" I asked.

"Everyone deserves someone," he answered.

It was only then that I saw blood on his clothes. My brows came together as I inspected it, wondering what happened. The moment he saw where my attention rested, he quickly pulled away and covered as much as he could with his hands.

I decided not to say anything. Instead, I stared at the rain splattering the large puddles, trying my best not to see the clear taint into dark red as thunder replicated the sound of screams.

The sound of Leo talking on the phone quickly brought me back to reality.

"...hasn't spoken since we got him.We're brining him to you right now. We should be there in ten minutes," Leo said.

"Okay," was all I said before I hung up the phone.

I walked into my house, pausing to look at Rosalinda who was dusting off a large vintage clock. She stopped to look at me, a motherly smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, sir," she greeted. I nodded my head before walking right past her and going to my bar. I didn't want another drink but I was beginning to get a headache, and the only thing that fixed it was rum. I poured the contents in a cup and quickly downed it back.

My gaze was forced on the specks of nothing floating around in the air. To match my gaze, my mind was floating everywhere but nowhere. From thoughts that I locked away, to memories that were no longer happy. I was lost.

After several minutes of nothing, my doors opened and Adriano charged in. He walked up to me, grabbed my glass of liquor, and chunked it at the wall. My brow rose as anger took over every feature of his face.

"Fuck you!" Adriano exclaimed. "I have been there for you, Saint! Who the fuck do you think takes you to bed every night you're too drunk on your ass to move? Me! Who the fuck deals with all your bullshit? Me! I have always trusted you! And just this once, you couldn't do the fucking same! Fuck you!"

His lip was busted, his eye black, and his body bloody. The worst part was that not a single part of me felt bad.

"If I actually believed you were the rat, I would have killed you. Now, get over yourself and make me a drink," I demanded with a smirk. Adriano cocked his fist back and tried to punch, but I got him first by punching him square in the face.

He almost fell but quickly regained his balance. All he could do was look at me and hold his jaw in pain.

"I'm done. I'm done with you, with this, with everything. I never even wanted to do this shit in the first place. I have done nothing but love you when you couldn't even love yourself. Don't forget that, brother," Adriano said, backing up and preparing to walk out the door.

"But if you need me... I mean, truly need me... I'm always here. No matter what wrong you do," he stated just before walking out the door.

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question: did you enjoy the background information? how do you feel about adriano now?

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