Sun seeps through the curtains of the room and shines in my eyes. I sit up from the bed and look around. "What the hell?" This isn't the bed I fell asleep in, where am I? Looking around, I notice that he's brought me to a hotel but I don't recall falling asleep. Did he give me something?
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and my stomach rumbles. "Alright babies, let's see about getting you two some food." I hold my back and lift myself from the bed. The door suddenly swings open and he walks in with a large plate of food. 'How convenient.' I think to myself and roll my eyes.
"Good morning my wife." My breath gets caught in my throat and my stomach turns at the sight of him. I back away from him until I'm on the opposite side of the room. "There's no need to run my love, I'm just here to feed my family." He smiles sweetly at me and something happens inside my chest... The last thing I need is for these hormones to outweigh my common sense.
"Where are we?"
"Trying to leave already beautiful?" He grabs his chest, "You hurt me baby. But it doesn't matter, you can't leave me." His eyes grow darker as his grin turns wicked, causing the hairs on my arm to stand. "Now eat." He sets the plate down on a table and watches me.
"Answer me. Where did you take me?"
A mischievous smile decorates his face and his eyes light up. "So demanding...I've missed it." He sets the plate of food down on the counter and folds his arms across his chest. "It doesn't matter where we are, it's all about where we're going."
"And that would be?"
"Stop worrying! I want you to sit down and watch scary movies and eat snacks, like old times." His grin turns into an innocent smile and a chill runs down my arms. "I just want to be there for you and my kids and besides, why would I ever leave my pregnant wife all alone? That wouldn't be too nice, now would it?" He strides over and touches my face and I close my eyes. As much as I want to hate him, I know I could never. I've missed him so much but I refuse to let him know that. I swat his hand away.
"Why are you doing this, Ricky? What can you possibly stand to gain by keeping me locked away when I could kill you at any given moment?"
"Vale la pena el riesgo, hermosa. Dejaría que me mataras cien veces más si eso significara que pudiera estar a tu lado."
(It is worth the risk, beautiful. I'd let you kill me a hundred times more if it meant I could be by your side.)
"Please...Please stop it." I hold my hand over my face as my head begins to ache. "You're confusing me Ricky so please just leave." I hurry and wipe a tear off my cheek then look up at him. His face has turned cold and his eyes are dull once more.
"Is that what you really want?"
Not at all. I want him to hold me while I cry into his chest but my I know better than to let him think that I still want to be with him. "Yes. I want you to go."
He nods, "You've always been a horrible liar Kaz. I know you probably want me to stay but you're too damn stubborn to admit it. It's fine though, I'll leave. Just please eat, and if you need anything just call for me." He cups my face in his hands and gives me a meaningful gaze. "I know I have a fucked up way of showing you, but I love you Kaz. With every fiber in my body, I love you so much." He places a soft kiss on the top of my head then leaves the room.
"Goddamn you Ricardo..."
***
"Nice to see you all again." I take my seat at the head of the table, ignoring all the salty glares I'm receiving from a certain brother. "Today has been somewhat stressful, so I'm allowing Lina to take over for now."
She thanks me and starts talking, the entire time she's looking right at me. Not once breaking eye contact. "So basically what I need is your help."
"I see...But what exactly do you need me to do? Last time I checked the two of us weren't necessarily on good terms."
She smirks, "This has nothing to do with either of us. I want my best friend back and you're the only one that maniac will listen to."
She's oddly confident today, strange. "You need me to find his location and talk him down? Feels like I'm back to stage one." I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "Very well then, what is that you need me to do and how soon?"
"Exactly what I just said. Find him and get Kazzie back." She gives me a look, as if she were challenging me.
"Or do you need someone to dumb it down for you?" Stefano asks while still shooting daggers at me.
"Hm, nice to hear from you Stefano but I need clear instructions. 'Find him and get Kazzie back' wasn't really an answer I was looking for." I stand up and straighten my shirt, "Now if you all would excuse me, I have a few important matters to attend to."
"Carlos wait a minute." I stop in my tracks and peek over my shoulder. "This isn't some kinda game y' know! She could be in real danger and we have no way of protecting her, she needs to come back. She needs me."
I stifle a laugh and shake my head. "You must not know Ricardo...He might have lost what little bit of his mind he had before, but beneath all that crazy is still the same man that loves that woman. He'd never harm her especially considering the state she's in now."
"You don't know that! He could already-"
"Forget about it. I'll handle everything Catalina. Feel free to make yourself at home but just know that I'm stepping out and I won't be back for a bit. Nando, lets go. Adiós ustedes dos."