I stare over the map on the desk in my father's office. Rodrigo and my father talk about where Brooke would go once she got into the woods.

"She would try to get to the nearest road and ask for a payphone to call us. She was trained how to react in a situation like this. I made sure she had to go through a similar situation before I allowed her to go onto the field as an assassin. She handled her assignment perfectly, and I know that is what she will be doing," Rodrigo tells my father.

My father wrinkles his nose at the thought of a woman getting herself out of a problem by herself with no help from any male in the mafia to which she has access too.

"We have not done anything since he called us less than thirty minutes ago. We need to get our men out into those fucking woods to look for her. We should have a group of 8 or 9 men to find the location of the crash site. They can search for any hidden message Brooke might have left behind," I interrupt glaring at the two men who after we rushed in here talked about what Brooke is or is not going to do.

My father glares at me just as Rodrigo's lips lift in a proud tilt before turning to my father. "Your son is a smart boy Fabian. You should place the crown on his head sooner instead of it being on your graying balding head," he tells my father.

"Russo you have no business in me and my son's affairs," my father growls at him. "Why don't we just give your daughter to the Diaz boy since he seems more proactive in looking for her than we are."

My hands turn into fists just as the light in Rodrigo's eyes go out and rage trickles in. "Morelli I would watch your mouth before someone decides to kick in some of your rotting teeth for not caring about your future daughter-in-law," Rodrigo hisses.

My father pours his 4th glass of whiskey in the last 30 minutes that we have been in this room. A knock comes from the office doors and Petro a loyal soldier to my father comes in with his hands clasped behind his back.

My father looks up and smirks at Petro with an underlying look of fatherly love. I shift on my feet as I look between both men who seem oddly familiar with each other.

"What news do have for me boy?" my father asks making his facial expression go blank.

"Mr. Morelli, I told my men to go out and relax for the rest of the night as you demanded of me," he tells my father while glancing at me before moving his eyes back to my father.

I study the man my father likes to have gone on missions instead of his own son and I compare the two. Petro has brown eyes just like my father. The bone structure around his face looks slightly similar to my father's. His nose and hair color is exactly like my father's.

I blink back my surprise at the realization that my father birthed a bastard who is now standing in front of me looking at my father with a father and son bond showing between them. A bond that my father and I will never have and never will.

"What do you mean your men are relaxing for the night?" I ask with a bite to my words that is a mix of anger at the fact my father has another son and that Brooklyn is missing and in danger.

My brother looks at me but does not answer my question instead he looks at my father to give him orders. I grit my teeth at the insubordination.

"Get everyone up and moving by noon tomorrow. Then you can get ready to leave the US and I will give you your next assignment after this meeting," my father tells him before looking back at the map of the woods leading up to this house.

My anger gets the best of me and I snarl, "We need all men to be searching for Brooke, father."

"We have half of the men already looking for her we need the other half to get ready for bigger and better things," he tells me without looking up from the stupid fucking map.

"Morelli, you promised to help us find my daughter your son's girlfriend. This will mean war if you do not hold onto your end of the deal," Rodrigo says in a calm voice, but I can see from the clenching of his jaw that he is anything but calm.

My father stares.. no glares at Rodrigo with hate and anger. "Fine, you want a fucking war Russo you will get a fucking war," My father snarls in Rodrigo's face.

My father and Rodrigo glare at each other for several long moments. "Then get ready Morelli I will gladly kill you for your lies of trust and friendship," Rodrigo spits back.

My hands fist tightly before I punch my father squarely in the jaw. My father goes flying backward and hits his head on the corner of his desk before sliding down to the floor unconscious.

The sound of slow clapping is heard and Rodrigo is grinning at me while clapping his hands like I just won an award. "A son should always stand up for his significant other's father or that is what I would like to believe," he says staring at my father's prone body.

I look down at the small pool of blood forming on the ground under my father's head before giving an order that will make my father pist when he wakes up. "Petro, get your men ready to go you will be one of many groups of soldiers going into the forest to search for Brooklyn," I order as I step over my father's body to take a close look at the map of the forest.

"Tell Caleb to get a group ready to go to the crash site to look for any signs of where Brooklyn might have gone," I say to no one in particular but someone says yes sir, and leaves the room to go tell Caleb my orders.

I look up and see Petros's jaw wind tight like a clock as he stares at the blood-forming underneath the head of my father. "Petro stop staring and go do what I ordered," I snap. He glares at me before marching out of the room to follow my orders.

I stare at my father's lifeless body before ordering two soldiers to drag him to the doctor that we have on staff in the house They do as I say as I plop down on my father's office chair and rub my chin with my right hand.

My mind can only think of one thing and that is getting Brooke back safe in my arms. She is brave, fearless, and protects herself, but she also has reckless qualities that could get her killed. She is my woman and I will get her back before Declan Diaz gets his hands on the woman who I plan to make my wife.

She has become a major part of my life and I plan to keep her in it for as long as she would like to be in mine. I know she has a tragic and depressing past that was made because of her father's life in the mafia. I know she has not told me about all the things she has gone through to make her the woman she is today, but I will be there when she is ready to tell me more about the traumatic things that have happened to her.

A hand on my shoulder makes me come out of my thoughts. I look up and meet Rodrigo's blue eyes that look exactly like Brooke's.

"Son, we will find her," he says reassuringly. My heart warms at his fatherly endearment for me.

I just have time to nod my head before the door swings open and Viola walks in. "Did you find anything?" she asks sitting across from me.

I shake my head. "No, we have not it has been an hour since the phone call, and we have done nothing but argue. I finally punched father and knocked him, so I could order his men to go find her," I tell her. Her face goes from neutral to surprise at hearing I punched father.

"You punched him?" she asks.

"Yes."

"And knocked him out?" she questions.

"Well I punched him and he hit his head on the corner of his desk," I correct.

She gasps with wide eyes. "Is he okay?" she asks with a worried expression.

I sigh with apprehension. I know that she loves and wants him to be okay, but how I got treated by him because I was the man of the house and heir. Let's just say I was beaten daily for speaking or doing something he did not like.

Before I can respond to my sister's question Russo steps in. "I believe he will be fine. Maybe this injury will knock some sympathy and empathy into him," he says with a light chuckle.

Viola's shoulders slump with relief before she looks up at me. "I know you do not care for dad because of how he raised you, but he is still my father, and I can't fault him for not being the best father in the world," she tells me with sadness written all over her face.

I sigh a long deep sigh that is just as sad as the emotions were written across her face. "Topolina, I know that you love him like any daughter should love their father-how I wish I could love him, but I know one day he will die by my hands or by someone looking to weaken this familia. I love you but you need to learn that father is not a good man," I warn her.

(little mouse)

Her eyes glisten at my words she quickly wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Fratello, I know that I have not seen the cruelties of this dangerous world we live in, but can't you put him on probation until he dies from old age. You may not want him in your life, but I want my children to know their grandpa. Maybe Tristano and Mia want him to live, so he can meet their children that they will have," she argues as tears drip down her chin before she can wipe them away.

The door opens and the two twins step inside. Mia glares at Viola as Tristano looks at the carpeted floor. "Were you two eavesdropping?" I ask with a sigh.

But Mia's next words answer my question. "Viola you can not be so naïve to believe I want that bastard anywhere near my non-extent children. Did you not hear that our so-called fucking father tried to send Tristano to Russia for assassin training that could put him at risk for dying or having a lot of trauma? Are so naïve that you do not notice what he does to mama every time he sleeps with another woman? Did you never stay up at night listening to mom whimper and cry as he raped and beat her to a pulp? I never thought you would be so stupid and innocent to the ways our father has placed us in harm over and over again," my little sister screams at Viola as her tears fall down her cheeks faster than before.

"Mia do not yell at her," I say calmly from my position at the desk. Mia's glare with an undertone of heart turns to me.

"She has been protected by you her whole fucking life. She has never opened her eyes to the world we live in, so sorry for making sure her eyes are fucking wide open before our worlds get affected by the shit going on outside in the real world," she spits at me.

Viola stands up and grabs hold of Mia's hands. "Calm down Mia. You know I want the best for you and I may block the things I see or hear from my mind, but when I sleep at night I have to think of the good things about my life not the bad," she tells Mia.

Tristano looks at me before leaving the room to probably go back to playing video games in his bedroom. I stand up and pull Mia from Viola's arms. I wrap her up in a brotherly hug as she cries into my chest.

"Viola, can you please leave?" I ask her. She stares for a long moment while her mind is in conflict with staying and comforting her sister or following my orders. She eventually leaves and I pull my youngest sister into a chair in front of our father's desk.

I crouch down to her level before wiping her tears with my thumb. "Why are you confronting her when we agreed not to tell anything about what happened?" I ask her with concern in my eyes.

She takes a deep breath to calm her erratic breaths. "I just get angry when she just sits there ignoring the problems going on around us. For god's sake, father was completely ignoring how his son's girlfriend could be dying in the woods while he does nothing but drink and yells at people," she says angrily.

I remove my hands from her face and place them on her arms in comfort. I rub little circles across her elbow before speaking. "Maybe you should tell her what happened," I say quietly.

She immediately shakes her head and pulls away to wrap her arms around her stomach like she is in pain. "No, I had to live with that pain for a long time. I have finally let it go and healed myself I am not going to relive that pain," she tells me adamantly.

I nod my head before pulling her into my chest and kissing her head as she buries her head into my neck-like she did when she was a toddler and sleepy.

Soon she falls asleep in my arms and I pick her up. I take her down the hall into her room on the first floor. I lay her down on her dark purple comforter with a paisley pattern. I take the blanket from her hanging chair and wrap it around her.

I kiss her cheek before leaving her room and locking the door with a spare key she gave me after she was molested by a guard when she was 9. After that tragic night, she went into herself which was very unlike her, but I confronted her and she told me the whole story to which I took it into my hands, and tortured the guy for a whole month before killing him in the most painful way possible.

Since then I have put secret cameras that no one knows about around her bedroom door, and only one actually inside her room that I only have access to, and it's only when she uses the panic button hidden on her bed frame which alerts me of something happening in her room.

I take a deep breath pushing the memories of my bruising fear-stricken sister into the deepest depths, and most dangerous places in my mind. I go back into my father's office and sit at his large desk. I take a decanter filled with whiskey and pour two fingers into a glass.

I take a large sip as I look at the map across the desk. I rub at my 5 o'clock shadow that has grown in the last 24 hours as I drink my whiskey.

My thoughts wander to images of Brooke's blue orbs that show pain and rage but love so thick like molasses. How her hair is so thick and smooth when I run my fingers through her hair as she sleeps. Her heart that is buried underneath the pain that Declan Diaz put her through is a heart of gold.

Pain strikes my heart as my thoughts grow darker like what condition she will be in when we find her. In a just world, she would be in my arms now with a smile on her face and unharmed.

I snap myself out of my thoughts and turn back to the map. I search the map for any possible clues to where she could be.

Where are you, my love?

***

Finally an update after 1 month of no updates. I promised to have an update out a little more than a week ago, but sadly things happen that can not be controlled.

I will try to start updating once and week and go from there, but please be patient since I have just started to get my writing mojo back after a month of writer's block.

If you see any plot holes, things I need to improve on, or spelling/grammar errors please let me know and I will find a time to go back through and correct my mistakes.

Let me know what you enjoy about the book or anything you want to see before the end of the book and I may squeeze in some time.

Any questions about my updating schedule, characters, or future books?

How about any theories?

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Word Count: 2755

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