by Serena Light
"Yes, 2 years,"
"Oh! Wow," He let out a choked laugh. "Good for you! Congratulations!"
"Thank you,"
"Any kids?"
"Of our own, not yet," Nicole shook her head, taking the champagne glass her husband handed her, offering him a grateful smile before taking a sip. "What about you? I haven't seen you since, well you know,"
"Yeah, I moved to England," He shrugged. "Weathers horrible there, but it's not Italy," The man chuckled as Nicole nodded, they talked for a while longer before the couple excused themselves.
"He is Luca's cousin," His wife informed him as they walked around the venue. "Three years ago, he got left at the altar by his bride whom he believed to be the love of his life, and because of the heartbreak, he's moved away."
"Interesting,"
"Mhmm," Nicole hummed, taking a sip of her drink. "There is always so much gossip at functions like these,"
They both talked and interacted with people, having sat down to listen about the charity event and the reason behind hosting it by the man himself, after which people went back to socializing.
The couple had been talking to another couple as Salvatore looked around him, spotting his men along the perimeter, satisfied to see their security taken care of. He saw a server walking by him with a trey of freshly stocked champagne glasses. The Mafia Boss grabbing one, seeing his wife still drinking her own. Taking a sip of the drink, he engaged the gentleman in profession talks: what he did, from where he was, and what brought him to Italy.
The man had been telling him about his profession as a car dealer when Salvatore suddenly felt sweat beading his forehead, his throat running dry as the voices grew muffled and his head pounded. Coughing behind his hand, he rubbed at his neck, feeling like someone was suffocating him, and then his chest constricted with an asthma attack. In an effort to loosen the tie around his neck, he dropped the champagne glass, people's eyes towards them.
Panic welled inside him at the lack of air as the man before him said something, but he couldn't hear it, his ears ringing and his vision doubling as he stumbled back. He thought he would fall, he was preparing himself for impact, but instead felt something hard against his back, his guard coming into view as Nicole hovered over him in concern, trying to hand him his inhaler but he couldn't breathe, he couldn't move. His head was spinning as he felt light-headed, faint, paralyzed almost.
Within seconds he was surrounded by his men, all of them trying to push everyone back as they wanted to see what was happening; if Salvatore was dying.
He just might.
His world was spinning out of control, and he tried to reach out to Nicole, tried searching for her face in the merry-go-round of people, but he didn't see her, he couldn't find her. The worry of her whereabouts being the last thing he felt before his world went black.
Chapter XLII: Regaining consciousness
The first thing Salvatore registered upon regaining consciousness was the pounding against his forehead, the ache having him scrunch his eyebrows together before groaning. Then everything hit him all at once: the strong smell of the disinfectant, the sheets beneath his fingertips and the needle in the back of his hand, the mask over his mouth and the sweat beading his forehead with the light bleeding in through his closed lids.
Struggling to open his eyes, he grunted at how heavy they felt and how difficult it was for him to get his body working again like a computer rebooting. It took him a while, but eventually, he managed to open them, bringing his hand up to shield them from the brightness, a figure looming over him suddenly, their faces blurred and their voices muffled. Pulling the oxygen mask off him, he tried to speak, but his throat was parched and he couldn't manage to get a sound across.
Apparently, the person before him knew exactly what he needed because he felt the bed move to allow him to be in an upright position as the cold glass was put to his lips.
With trembling fingers he took hold of the glass before him, gulping down the water as the cool sensation soothed him, allowed his throat to begin functioning again as his vision cleared, the face of his mother and elder brother hovering over him.
"Salvatore?" His mother called out, gently stroking his hair with her blue eyes wide and her forehead creased with worry. "Can you hear me, sweetie?"
"Yeah," He nodded, rubbing his temple to try and rid himself of a headache. "My head is killing me,"
"The doctor said that would happen," Arsenio stated uneasily, putting away the glass.
"What did happen?" He sat up, rubbing his neck and looking around him, his mind slowly beginning to work as he looked around him, confusion bubbling inside him at his family's elongated silence.
"Well...the doctor says they found traces of a paralytic drug which triggered a severe asthma attack, they had to take you to the E.R. somehow bring to you breath," Rosalie explained slowly, fidgeting with her fingers and looking at her son uncertainly. "They think it was-"
"-In the champagne," He rubbed his head. "I figured that much before-" His words suddenly died down, a thought occurring to him as he brought his hand in front of his face, his wedding band glinting in the bright fluorescent light.
"Where is Nicole?" He asked calmly, watching as both his mother and brother took an uncertain step back. "How long have I been out, and where is my wife?''
"You've been here for 2 days," Arsenio started slowly, peeking out the door as he didn't answer the other question.
"Mom," Salvatore redirected his attention to his mother, who looked at him with pressed lips. "Where is my wife?"
"Nicole, well..." Rosalie swallowed.
"We don't know," A new voice spoke up, Salvatore looking up to see his father standing in the doorway with Marco behind him. "The paralytic drug was meant to cause a distraction, all of your guards were trying to ensure that you don't die and someone grabbed Nicole,"
"I looked over the video footage," Marco spoke up and stepped forward, acutely aware of the dark aura surrounding his brother and his impassive expression. "We combed through it thrice, but all we know is that someone grabbed her and knocked her out before getting out the back door. We didn't get to see the face since they were wearing a mask and we talked to every single person there, hoping they saw something but all we know is that they put her in a black van with no number plate before driving off and we didn't get a shot of the driver either, even the dogs were unable to get a scent,"
Salvatore stretched his neck, a few cracks resonating through the room before he pushed off the blanket from over his body, taking the bag Marco held out to him.
Getting changed into a black button-up with grey slacks, Salvatore made his way out of the hospital room, instantly catching sight of one of the men who had been with him at the charity gala.
"Sir," The man began to speak, noticing him approach but gasped when Salvatore grabbed him from the front of his suit, looking at him with cold unmoving eyes.
"What was the one instruction I gave when we left?"
"Sir, I-"
"What was the one instruction I gave?" Salvatore repeated himself, clenching his shirt tighter and forcing him to gag at the chokehold forming around his neck.
"Watch out for Nicole,"
"And what did you all do?"
"Sir you were dying-"
"-Logically, half the men should have attended to me, and the other half ensured Nicole's safety," The Mafia Boss cut off. "But what did you all fuckers do?"
"Sir, we-"
"My wife is kidnapped and could be getting tortured because you all were fucking stupid!" His voice ricocheted off the wall. "Fucking millions wasted on training for you all to screw up!"
"Salvatore, they were trying to save you!" Arsenio voice spoke up, pulling his brother away from the guard as he went stumbling back. "They were just doing their job!"
"You know who does their job right?" Salvatore whirled at his elder brother, the man taking a step back with his hands raised in surrender. "Major does. So does Gun and even Hulk,"
"Get them here,
" The Mafia boss turned towards Marco. "You get them all here. I want men who can do what they're told."
"Yes, boss," His younger brother nodded, walking away.
"I have to deal with Mr. Lombardi now," He grumbled, about to walk away when his father spoke up.
"I dealt with him," Arcangelo informed him, Salvatore turning around to regard him quietly. "You just get home,"
"Who's with Serafina?"
"Angelica,"
"And the kids?"
"Alessio,"
Closing his eyes to reign in his anger, Salvatore marched across the hospital floor, Arcangelo and Rosalie slowly following after him as Arsenio asked if the guard was okay, relieved to see him nod, but grimacing at the sad smile on his face.
At the end of almost 2 hours, once his anger had died down, Salvatore found himself sitting in his bedroom, knowing that the kids were playing around him, but he couldn't feel anything. He felt numb, noticing the lack of his wife's presence and his heart squeezed in his chest as he looked at how empty it felt.
"Daddy," Marina came up to him, holding a photo frame.
"Oh, give that her, baby, we don't want it to break," He swallowed and took it from her hands, placing a kiss on her cheek before she waddled away.
Looking down at the frame, a soft chuckle escaped him to see the picture. It was from their trip to Venice, both of them standing side by side, wearing ridiculous masks and making strange faces at the camera. Nicole had loved it, so much so that she printed it out and put it in a frame at her bedside.
"A reminder of the good times for when things get tough," she had told him when she set it up at her bedside. Beside this one, she had two smaller pictures on her side table and then proceeded to add pictures to his table as well, and he never told her, but he loved them.
"Oh, baby," A low whistle greeted his ear as Marco entered followed by five men in various casual attires, all of them looking around them in awe.
"Holy Jesus," One of the men spoke, seeing the four children around the room. "You sure have been busy," He chuckled catching sight of Salvatore sitting in the center.
"They're not mine. The two elder ones are Arsenio's daughters and the two little ones are Serafina's twins," He chuckled beckoning Aurora and Irene to him. "Why don't you go on and introduce yourselves?"
Instantly the two girls bounded over to the men, introducing themselves with broad smiles and looking up at them and asking who they were.
"Well, I'm Hulk," The dark-skinned bulging man in grey shorts and a white t-shirt informed her. "I was your granddad's bodyguard and Francisco's papa,"
"They call me Gun," The tall lean man in the denim jeans and green polo. "I'm Russo's dad,"
"I'm Sean," The man with the fair skin and bleach blonde hair smiled at the two girls. "I used to look out for your Aunt Serafina,"
"I did too," Alberto stood beside Sean in sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt, his brown hair greying with crow-feet at the edge of his eyes. "I'm Alberto,"
"And you?" Irene asked, looking up at the man who stood straight in black jeans and a dark grey button-up, his expression generally stern was right now soft as he smiled at the little girls.
"I'm Major, princess," He introduced, getting down on his knees before them. "I'm Piero's father and have looked after all four of the siblings,"
"Who's your favorite?" Aurora asked with a grin, bouncing on her feet. "Is it Papa?"
"No, it's your uncle Salvi over there," Major nodded towards the Mafia boss.
"Ouch, I feel loved," Marco muttered and made his way over to the little toddlers.
"Why?" Irene asked in curiosity.
"Well, because I see him as a son since I have been with him since he was a newborn baby,"
"Then why don't we know you?" Aurora looked at him in confusion.
"That's because I'm too old to look after a young man like him,"
"He's 30," Irene retorted. "He's old,"
The men present laughed at their words as Major stood up.
"We're all twice his age, kiddo," He mushed Aurora's hair as she fixed it.
"Girls, why don't you two take Marina and Michele downstairs and see if Eve will get you guys some ice cream," Salvatore called out to them before they could say anything. "But don't tell mama,"
"We promise!" The two girls whispered secretly before taking the twins and walking out of the room, Salvatore watching one of his guards walking out after them.
"Salvi!" Sean spoke up as the Mafia Boss stood to greet them, every single one of them hugging him tightly as he lightly chuckled at their enthusiasm.
"Are you still growing?" Major laughed as he held him at arm's length. "You're taller than I remember,"
"I don't think I am," He chuckled quietly, gesturing for the men to settle down, all of them taking a seat either on the couches or on the ottoman bench. Hulk was just about to sit down when Hades bounded out of the shadows and stood on the seat, barking up at him.
"Hades!" Gun exclaimed, recognizing the wolf hybrid as he went and scratched him behind the ear, the dog wagging its tail.
"Hades, down," Salvatore called as the dog came trotting over to him.
"His girlfriend?" Major inquired, eyeing the white Husky sitting in the extended lounge and watching them quietly.
"You can say that,"
"What about you?" Alberto inquired. "You got a girlfriend?"
"Wife," Salvatore held up his left hand to show the wedding ring. "Of 2 years,"
"What?" The men present exclaimed, either shocked or ecstatic to know as they hugged him in congratulations.
"Where is she?" Major inquired, wanting to meet this girl who got the heart of Salvatore in her palms.
"That's why I've gathered you guys here," The Mafia Boss sighed and rubbed his forehead. "She's been kidnapped,"
A silence fell over the entire room as Salvatore sat beside Alberto on the ottoman bench. Sighing before telling them all that happened the past two years: the political merger which brought him and Nicole together, slowly working on their marriage, Jayson and the vendetta; Luca's attack, Salvatore blowing up his arsenal, Serafina's accident, killing Olivia; Jayson attacking his parents, killing his mother, Rhea's death, Nicole's PTSD, Salvatore's depression, Serafina's coma, his parent's stress, Alessio's emotional state, everything. He told them everything leading up to last night, where his drink was laced and they kidnapped Nicole.
At the end of it all, Hulk had stood up to walk around the room, while Sean and Alberto were holding their heads or just staring in stunned silence like Major and Gun.
"And I need people I can trust right now," Salvatore swallowed, clasping his hands before him. "I know you all are retired but I need your help, please."
"Son, you should have called for us the moment this Jayson character thought he could mess with you," Hulk spoke from beside the window. "We could have killed him,"
"I had the chance and I let it slip, I know," Salvatore stated, rubbing his forehead. "So what do you guys say? I'll get it if you guys don't want to do anything with this,"
The men each looked at one another before returning their gaze to Salvatore.
"What do you say, boys?" Gun asked with a smirk.
"I think we've been domesticated long enough," Major spoke with a chuckle.
"I've been itching to get my hands around a gun," Alberto groaned.
"I'm in," Sean added, all of them looking at the two Regnante boys before them as Marco couldn't help but laugh, a small smile quirking at Salvatore's lips as he knew that even with just these five men, he could not only manage to conquer the world but also get his wife back.
Chapter XLIII: Emeralds and Diamonds
The day Salvatore asked the old team to get back, his current men knew it meant trouble. The very next day, all 5 men showed up with haircuts, shaven faces or trimmed beards, and in their freshly pressed suits, ready to get back to work.
Gun and Hulk decided they will work with the recruits, train them and drill it into their minds that
you follow orders. Alberto chose to work with the patrol officers, see how well their aim was and how quick they reacted under pressure. Sean helped Piero with the investigation as best as he could, while Major opted to stay in Salvatore's vicinity, working alongside Tazio and talking to Stephen who had been forced to live in the estate now – not that it bothered him, given that he would be treated like royalty.
They all had been trying to figure out where Nicole was, trying to trace her phone, watching and re-watching the video feeds in case they had missed something. It even went so far as to watch the video feeds of 4 days gone past just to see what happened in the days leading up to the kidnapping.
Every day that was a failure left Salvatore more agitated and on edge, and Major was there to ensure that he didn't end up killing one of his own men in his frustration.
Even now, they all sat in the Mafia Boss's office, their heads held in their hands, feeling the lack of progress weighing down on them. It had been a month, and they had no leads whatsoever.
Major looked up from his place on the sofa to see Salvatore standing by his window, staring out at the evening before him. The man had noticed that initially, the lack of success had left him angry, but now he was past the anger stage and just grew quiet, hardly speaking or saying much of anything. His phone calls were short and clipped and his instructions even more precise.
"Sir?" A knock sounded on the door, the Mafia Boss turning around to see Piero standing with a grim expression. "This came in for you right now," He held out a black box and stepped forward.
Taking the velvet box, Salvatore realized that it was a jewelry box, one very much like the ones Nicole owns. Unlocking the latch, the men watched with withheld breaths as he slowly lifted it open, looking at the contents as the men around him tried to peer around the lid. Picking up the thing inside, the Mafia Boss held up a diamond and emerald necklace, the gems glittering in the sunlight as the men relaxed, but he paled.
"Grab the man who sent this," He instructed, putting the necklace back into the box, closing the lid. "Interrogate him; ask him where he got it from,"