CHAPTER THIRTEEN

LUCAS

Lucas feels a little guilty that he did not go and see Alonso when he woke up, but he was busy banging on crystal's door forcing her to talk to him. Then, he had a four hour conversation over the phone with Ilya regarding some business.

Lucas enters Alonso's room a little after four in the morning. He is expecting his Italian friend to be pale as a lemon, unable to sleep, or even whimper in pain. What he doesn't foresee is for Crystal to be sleeping in the bed beside Alonso. Lucas takes light steps toward the bed until he is hovering over the two people sleeping the two people snoring on the bed.

"Time for some payback." Lucas murmurs with an evil smirk on his face as he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

"Don't even think about it." Alonso's tired voice warns him. Lucas only gives him a satisfied smile before he snaps the picture.

"So you come to visit me about a day after I wake up and it isn't even to check up on me?" Alonso raises his eyebrow. Lucas can tell that despite the pain killer the mafia boss is in a lot of pain.

"I came to check up on you asshole. I was busy with some stuff since Nicholas is too emotional to deal with anything right now."

"This whole thing with his sister messed his up a little, didn't it?" Alonso looks at Crystal's hand as it holds his. Lucas smiles at that.

"It has nothing to do with you Alonso. He just doesn't know how to explain everything to her. You know that he trusts you even if it comes to his sister." Lucas scratches the back of his head. He is as guilty as Nicholas; he also has been lying to Crystal for years. Despite what he wants, Lucas knows that the chances of his best friend forgiving them are very slim. Crystal is many things, forgiving is not one of them.

Lucas' attention returns back to Alonso to see his muscles tense as he watches Crystal sleep.

"What is it?" Lucas asks with his heart threatening to explode inside his chest.

"It is not my place to tell you."

"Alonso please, tell me what is it?"

"Lucas, I think you already know. From the look on your face, I think that you have been suspecting it for a while." Alonso's voice holds pity.

Lucas takes a sharp breath as he goes back in his memories to recall enough memories that support his doubt.

Crystal never questioned her parents' involvement in illegal activities.

She didn't ask questions about the night she and Lucas flew to Italy.

She didn't lose it over seeing him hold a gun. She freaked out, but she didn't seem surprised.

She didn't question the secret tunnel in the library.

She never asked Nicholas about his business.

She didn't ask any questions about Ignazio when he first introduced him to her.

The list is endless, but Lucas forces himself to stop listing it. He feels an unpleasant shiver run down his spine when he imagines the way she felt every time she was around him or Nicholas.

"Lucas?" Alonso forces his body to leave the bed and stand up. Therefore, Lucas immediately goes to his side.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't do anything that will open your stitches." Lucas scolds his friend.

"I know, but I am sick of this bed, and if we are going to talk about this, then we shouldn't do it near her." He gestures at Crystal with his head.

"Let's sit by the window." Alonso sits on the couch that offers a view to the garden surrounding the house through the long window. Lucas sits beside him.

"What did she tell you?" Nicholas'' voice startles both men he stands by the door next to Alberto and Ignazio. Lucas can tell that his boss fears the answer, but he still feels the need to know.

"She didn't say she hates you if that is what you are asking." Alonso answers as Ignazio sits on the floor with his back leaning on the wall next to the window, Alberto sits on the hand of the couch Lucas and Alonso are sitting on, and Nicholas stands on the other side of the window.

"Did she tell you how she found out?"

"No, but the way she spoke, I think she have known for a long time. I mean, she wasn't even angry."

"Did you two suspect it?" Alberto asks.

"I did, but I didn't know Lucas did as well." Nicholas' expression screams lost.

"We definitely don't need this mess while dealing with the Russians." Lucas mumbles as he rubs his eyes with his fingers.

"Does she know about the Russian mafia, about Ivan?"

"I don't know Nazi; we didn't talk long last night. She pretty much gave me a hint that she knew we are all involved in the mafia and then she fell asleep." Alonso makes a wave towards the bed behind them.

"Look, contrary to everyone's assumptions, I don't know Crystal that well. I only met her once before the day I got shot, and I learned her name less than twenty four hours ago. I barely know her." Alonso gives the explanation that Nicholas had demanded earlier when Alonso first woke up.

"Why are you telling us this now?" Lucas looks at Nicholas to see if he is angry. His boss is strangely calm.

"I don't know. I guess I have been yearning to talk about her for four months, and I feel like I owe you an explanation and you are the only ones who would give me the advice that I should hear, not the one that I want to hear."

"Advice about what Alonso?"

"I don't even know." The Italian mafia boss roughly runs his hand through his messy brown hair.

"Before you start talking, I just want to remind you that it is my sister we are talking about here." Nicholas says when he sees Alonso opens his mouth. The other three men laugh at that.

"Four months ago, I went out for a walk to clear my head and I ended up in a small café where I pumped into Crystal. Let's just say I have never met a woman as crazy as her, she had this fire that you would yearn to touch even though you know it could burn you."

"Is that why you called my sister 'beautiful fire'?" Nicholas asks while Lucas raises his eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asks.

"I will tell you later." Ignazio tells him.

"My point is, for the past four months I hoped that I would see her again, wondered if she is the one. Now, here she is, and I don't know what to do."

"Okay, this is getting a little awkward, so I am going to leave and go figure out how to justify myself to my sister." Nicholas says.

"Alonso whatever you do, if you hurt my sister, I will hunt you down and I will cut off your ears." The Brazilian mafia boss threatens before he leaves the room.

"You have to figure this out on your own. We cannot tell you what to do." Ignazio follows Nicholas. Alonso looks at the two remaining men.

"I am screwed aren't I?"

"I suggest you shut out these thoughts and go back to bed." Alberto offers his hand to Alonso. He helps him up and leads his to the bed.

"Yeah, if I know my best friend, she is not going to make it easy for you or herself. Thus, this will be the closest you will get to her in a while; enjoy it while you can."

Lucas has been avoiding Crystal like his life depends on it; he just is not ready to look her I the eye knowing that he deceived her for a really long time. He knows that Crystal doesn't deserve to be betrayed like that. Looking back, Lucas realizes that all these years he was convincing himself that he was doing the best for her. Now he finally sees that it was not his choice to make, neither was it Nicholas', it was Crystal's. Alas, it is too late for such thoughts.

"Lucas, focus!" Alberto snaps at Lucas for the sixth time in the last hour. Alberto has been explaining to Lucas every move the Russian mafia has made that he was able to track. For some reason, Lucas cannot focus on anything Alberto says. He keeps watching the door afraid Crystal will spring them open and demand for answers as she points a gun to his balls. He has no doubt in his mind that she would pull the trigger.

"I am trying, but it feels like you are speaking Japanese." He finds a lame excuse.

"So basically, I have been talking to myself for the past hour, fantastic." Alberto mumbles as he places his tablet on the desk. Lucas wonders why Alberto would need the tablet when he has a wall of screens, but he refrains from asking.

"Alberto just tell me the things my brain can understand. Do we know where the Russians are?"

"no."

"Then what moves did you track?"

"That is the thing; I think they are trying to distract us. All the camera systems that I hacked don't show more than three to four men at a time. And every time they are at regular places like a restaurant, the park, even the mall. It is like they are using the men who appear in the cameras as distractions while they prepare for their next move."

"Do we know what their next move is?"

"Unfortunately, Ivan has grown a little smarter since the last time we had a disagreement with him. Whatever he is planning, he is hiding it very well. According to Nazi, every Russian man they capture and interrogate dies before giving any vital information. Therefore, our suspicion is correct; he is keeping his plans even from his own men."

"Did you check all the locations we know they own?"

"They have been abandoned." Lucas huffs in frustration as he walks back and forth. Then, he turns to the nerd who sits on a chair before the countless screens.

"What about the spies? Ever since Alonso got shot, we lost all contact with ours, but maybe you had better luck."

"No we didn't, it's like we are bind. For all we know our men our dead." Alberto's voice turns cold at the thought. Lucas closes his eyes trying to block the images that appear in his head.

"Don't say that man. These men are my family, my friends." If it isn't for his pride, Lucas would have let his tears fall.

"I know man, but we need to prepare for the worst case…" Alberto starts talking but his attention drifts off to one of the screens.

"What? What is that?" Lucas points to the red moving dots.

"These are the Russian mafia's men."

"Where are they?" Lucas asks a little too excited. After four months, they finally have a lead.

"They are here." Alberto presses on the alarm button causing the sirens to be activated all over the building. Lucas can hear the men screaming and guns being triggered.

"You go and check on the others, I am going to go and get Leora and Mila." Alberto runs out of the room as Lucas does the same.

As Lucas runs, the only thought he has in mind is 'Ivan cannot get Crystal.' He doesn't know if his sister hates him for the lies he hid from her, but he knows that he cannot allow any harm to come her way.