Chapter Three

~ Luca ~

My nerves were strung as tight as a bow string. Waiting was frustrating, aggravating. I felt as if I had been waiting forever when it had actually only been ten years, almost to the day.

That seemed poignant.

The last time I had seen my love in person, the last time I held him in my arms, would be exactly ten years ago come tomorrow. That was a long time to be without him, but I was positive Nico remembered me.

He had to remember me.

It was the one thing keeping me alive and moving forward these last ten years. I had made Nico a promise as they dragged me away from him. I would be back for him, come hell or high water, and I always kept my promises, especially the ones I made to him.

I glanced down at my cell phone when it buzzed. It was a message from Vinnie. Gena was bringing Nico to me. My heart started beating a little faster, thundering in my chest.

It was time.

The second the lights went out in the entire house, I stepped out of the pantry and hurried to the hallway where Gena and Nico were supposed to be waiting for me.

As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I spotted the hulking figure standing in my way. I nodded to the others with me and watched as they quickly took him out before turning toward the treasure I had come here to steal.

My breath caught. Even with the lights off I could clearly see the fear on Nico's pale face as he looked around. He hadn't spotted me yet, and that was a good thing. I only had seconds to act.

I pulled a small black canister out of my pocket and moved up to Gena and Nico. As soon as he turned toward me, I sprayed him in the face. Nico's eyes rolled back in his head. I caught him in my arms before he could hit the floor, cradling him close to me.

Finally, I had him in my arms again.

"Go," Gena whispered. "You need to be out of here before the lights come back on."

I couldn't tear my eyes away from Nico. He had changed so much in the last ten years, and yet, I could still see the boy I had fallen in love with in his face.

"Luca!" Gena whispered harshly. "You need to go."

Right.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked her. If it wasn't for Gena, this plan never would have worked. I owed her everything.

Gena smiled. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to lock myself in the bathroom until this is over."

I glanced at the man my guys had taken out. "What about him?"

Gena stared at him for a moment before slipping her eyes heeled shoe off. She walked over and hit him on the head with it a couple of times. When a small trail of blood started to trickle from the cut on his head, she slid her finger through it and then wiped it on the corner of the wall.

"There, taken care of." Gena smiled up at me after putting her shoe back on. "Now, go. I'll see you at home after this has all blown over."

"Tell your dad and Vinnie thank you for me."

It had been a complicated plan that had taken the work of all of us, and it still wasn't over. I still had to get Nico out of here without anyone seeing us.

"Just stick to the plan, Luca."

I nodded as I swung Nico up into my arms. Without another word, I turned and started back the way I came. Only, this time, I bypassed the pantry and walked toward the backdoor.

One of my men was there to open the door for me. I hurried out the door and then took the path that led to the back of the property. The back gate was also held open for me as was the door to the SUV waiting in the alley behind the house.

I gently set Nico on the seat and then climbed in beside him. I secured him with the seatbelt and then did my own before wrapping my arms around him and pulling him to my side.

"Get us to the airport."

The lights in the house weren't supposed to go back on for another thirty minutes. I figured we didn't have long after that for people to discover that Nico was missing. I needed to have him in the air before that happened. Once in the air, I was taking him out of the country.

He was never coming back. Neither of us were.

Nico's head was resting against my chest. I reached down and lifted it so I could see his face. His beautiful face. I couldn't wait until he opened his eyes and I could really see him. I wanted to see his smile.

Unfortunately, the spray Vinnie had supplied me with would keep him knocked out for the next few hours. Just long enough to get him on the plane and in the air.

Even with Nico in my arms after all of these years, I was unsettled, my stomach in one large knot. I doubted I would feel better until we were firmly back on my home soil.

It would be a couple of days before that happened. We had one crucial stop to make before we flew home.

When we rolled up to the gate of the executive hangar, I waited for the guard to let us in. Once through the gate, he drove us right inside the hangar and up to the private jet that Vinnie had loaned to me.

I unbuckled both me and Nico, lifted him in my arms, and then carried him out of the SUV and directly up the stairs of the plane. I hated having to buckle him in again, but he had to be while we took off.

I turned to the man that had climbed onto the plane behind me."Please thank Vinnie for me. I'll return his plane as soon as I am done with it."

Marco smiled at me. "Vinnie said you can use it as long as you need to."

"Just need to get Nico home."

That was my fondest wish.

"We'll carry out the plan on our end," Marco assured me. "You should be hearing from Vinnie by the end of the week."

"If anything changes or he has any problems, have him give me a call."

Marco nodded before disembarking the plane.

When the rest of my men boarded, I had one of them close the door and then ordered the pilot to take off. I took my seat next to Nico and seat belted myself in.

The flight time from the airport in New York City to the one in Niagara Falls, Canada was just over an hour. We were headed there because if someone wanted to get married on the spur of the moment, and couldn't get to Las Vegas, that was the place to do it. Ontario allowed gay marriage and there was no waiting period.

I planned to have us wedded and bedded before we reached Italy. No one was ever going to take him away from me again.

I blew out a breath of relief when the wheels lifted and we took off, leaving the ground. We still weren't out of the woods yet, but we were one step closer.

I unbuckled myself and stood, going forward to where the stewardess was stationed. "Can I use the satellite phone?"

I wanted to check in with Vinnie and make sure that his end of the plan was still in motion. I was also kind of curious what had happened after the lights went back on and if Gena was okay. My sister would kill me if anything happened to her best friend.

The stewardess smiled at me when she handed me the phone. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

I knew flirting when I heard it.

"No, thank you. I'll wait until my fiancé wakes up."

The smile instantly fell from her face. "Fiancé?"

I pointed back to our seats. "That pretty man back there."

She let out a little laugh. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

At least she took my rejection well.

"How about some coffee instead?"

"I'm good, thanks," I replied. I dialed Vinnie's number as I walked back into the main cabin and then held it to my ear. "Hey, it's me. How are things going?"

"Are you in the air?"

"I am," I replied.

"Good," Vinnie said. "Get him home as fast as you can. Currently, his parents are still freaking out that he's disappeared. They think he's run off. We're pushing that idea at the moment, especially Gena, who should get an award for her acting skills. She's in tears, crying all over Mrs. Rossi as if her heart was really broken."

"Have they called the police?" That was one of my biggest worries.

"They're too embarrassed. Like I said, everyone assumes Nico got cold feet and ran off."

I hoped it stayed that way.

"We should be landing in about forty-five minutes. Call me if anything changes."

"Has he woken up yet?"

I glanced at Nico. "No, not yet." I was equally frightened and elated at the prospect of Nico waking up. I had no idea what his reaction would be to me kidnapping him.

Again, I didn't know if Nico even remembered me.

I had never forgotten him. His memory was the only thing I had to keep me alive during those four years in prison and the following years where I became the man I am today.

"Oh, got to go," Vinnie said. "Mr. Rossi is headed in my direction."

"Yeah, okay." I hung up and then carried the phone back to the stewardess. "Thank you," I told her as I handed it back.

"If you or your fiancé need anything, just let me know."

"We will."

I walked back and sat down next to Nico. I hated the fact that he was still unconscious, but I'd had no other choice. I couldn't have him fighting me when I was trying to kidnapping him.

I reached over and brushed the hair back from his face. Even unconscious he looked like a dream. In the soft glow of the overhead lights, he actually looked kind of tired, making me wonder when the last time was that he had gotten any sleep. He was sleeping so hard.

I'd be changing that. Nico would be treated like the treasure he was from here on out. I'd had people watching him so I knew his life up until now had been dismal. I wasn't going to allow that to happen anymore.

When the pilot announced that we were coming in for a landing, I made sure Nico was secured and then buckled myself in. I wrapped an arm around Nico had held him close as we landed, making sure his head didn't flop around.

The one thing I couldn't get around was immigration and customs, which was why I had a fake ID and passport for Nico, naming him as Nico Sabatino, my husband. Another thing I had to thank Vinnie for.

That man had some mad skills and serious connections.

Once the plane landed and we taxied into the executive hangar, I told one of my men go and register us. I had more important things to deal with.

I unbuckled Nico and then lifted him up into my arms. There was another SUV waiting for us when I carried him off the plane. I settled Nico in the backseat and then climbed in, shutting the door so the cooler air wouldn't bother him.

We were headed to the Niagara Falls Marriott Fallsview Hotel & Spa, which had been recommended to me by Vinnie. I guess this was where he stayed when he was in the area.

The upside to staying there above and beyond the fact that it was a five star hotel was that they also provided wedding services, complete with a chapel and a justice of the peace.

We had a wedding appointment in at noon, which was less than twelve hours from now. As soon as we were married and I had the marriage certificate in hand, we were headed straight back to the airport.

I just had to get Nico to agree to be mine.