Hunched in front of the door of the Rassi mansion were two men.
"I thought you knew how to pick locks?" Hallow whispered.
The other man, Killian—Ian's personal man, glared at him from where he knelt at the door. "Do I look like a thief to you?"
"No."
"Then shut up."
Hallow bit his lip. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"
The lock clicked and Killian pushed the door open.
"Unless you want Sir Basti to snap our heads off, yes, we should be doing this."
Both men tiptoed into the house. They climbed the stairs in silence and stopped at a particular door on the second floor.
"You go in. I'll wait out here," Hallow said.
"You damned omega!" Killian hissed and shoved him forward. "You're doing this every step with me."
Inside, their gazes fell on the bed where Stefanos Rassi lay asleep, his bandaged head facing the ceiling. Killian reached out his hand.
"The handkerchief."
Hallow collected the clothing from his pocket and handed it over. He watched quietly as his partner grabbed Stefan's head and gently began lifting it.
"Shhhhhh, sleep well. This is just a dream," Killian muttered. "You're seeing nothing but the tooth fairy. Maybe you'll wake up to a few coins under your pillow come morning."
Before Stefan could blink his eyes open, the piece of clothing was over his nose and seconds later, he was completely out.
"Carry him."
"Me?" Hallow pointed at himself. "I'm an omega. He's heavy."
"Then why'd you follow me?"
"Mr. Basti asked me to. He's my boss too."
Killian pinched the bridge of his nose and with ease, slung Stefanos over his shoulder. They exited the way they came, making sure to wipe out any nearby CCTV footage as they left.
.....
Stefan's head pounded. But he could hear voices buzzing around him, distorted and distant.
"Sir, can I have chocolate?" one voice mumbled.
"Huh?"
"C-can I have just a bite?"
"Again?" This one was rather familiar. Deep and rough.
"Yes."
A pause. Then, "No."
"Why?"
"What makes you think you deserve one?"
Ian Basti…?
Stefan forced his eyes open and blinked several times. The figures in the room morphed into his view.
The first thing he saw was Ian Basti, seated calmly in a wooden chair opposite him, legs spread and silky strands of white combed with a few falling over his forehead, the clean undercut exposed.
"I just…wanted a bite." The smallest of the three men, Hallow, cleared his throat.
Ian eyed him with a scowl. "Well, you're not getting any. You're not putting your teeth into what I'm eat—"
"Sir, he's awake!" Killian interrupted.
Ian's gaze snapped to Stefan and he smirked, tossing the bar of half-eaten chocolate over to Hallow.
"What is the meaning of this?" Stefan questioned, panic quickly spreading across his features. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on his bed.
How did he get here? Where was he?
"Ian Basti!"
Ian cracked his knuckles, his smirk never quite reaching his eyes. "Do you know why you're here, Stefanos Rassi?"
Stefan freaked out in the chair that he was tied to. Killian who'd approached him punched him in the face, almost knocking him out. "He asked you a question?"
"No, no, I don't!"
He wheezed.
Ian leaned forward slightly. "Can you think of something terrible you did recently? Something worth tearing you apart for?"
"Nothing!" Stefan growled. "What could I have done? What is the meaning of this?"
The temperature within the room fell by a dozen degrees and no trace of the initial amusement could be found on Ian's face. "I hate liars, Stefan."
A visible shiver ran over Stefan's body.
"I'll ask you one more time. What terrible thing have you done recently? I want you to remember because if you don't, I'll blow your brains out."
"I didn't do anything, you psycho!" Stefan shook his head harder. "Coward. You sit there comfortably in your seat while you have your minions do these for you."
Ian cocked a brow. "Me? A coward?"
"Yes. I am Stefanos Rassi. My father is Adolpho Rassi and you can't hurt me. You wouldn't be seated there if you could."
Instead of anger as he'd anticipated, pure amusement splashed on Ian's face and he ordered, "Untie him, Killian."
"What?" Killian frowned. "Sir, he's—"
"I said, untie him."
Killian obeyed and the moment the rope fell away, Stefan immediately sprung to his feet. But so did Ian who began to approach him while fixing the black gloves on his hands, one finger at a time.
"I didn't touch you myself because you disgust me," he said. "I don't like thieves and you stole my mate from me."
He closed the distance between them and four inches taller, he towered above him. Stefan tried to take a step back, but Ian, however, grasped him by the collar of his shirt. "Oh, don't tell me you're scared. Didn't you want me to handle you myself?"
Stefan had no chance to retaliate, because he drove his fist into his face, sending him flying to slam into the wall. He spluttered to the floor, coughing and spitting blood, but Ian didn't give him a second to breathe. He yanked him up by the throat and slammed him back into the wall.
"W-why are you doing this?" Stefan choked out.
Ian punched him again. "You hurt what's mine. That is your crime."
"What—what are you talking about? I didn't—!"
"You made her cry. You crushed her and I don't think you realize how far you went."
That was when it suddenly dawned on Stefan. This was about Diana. His wife.
He froze.
"Diana?" he croaked. "S-she's my wife. What the hell do you mean by, yours? She doesn't belong to you and it's none of your business if I hurt her or no—"
Ian threw him to the floor and kicked him hard in the ribs.
"Your wife?" He was in a frenzy now. A craze. "Diana is mine. You stole her from me. But you don't get it, do you?"
Neither Hallow nor Killian dared interfere.
"She was made for me. And you think you had the right to touch her, to hurt her. She almost died and you left her there like some rag."
He grasped Stefan by the hair and yanked him onto his knee. He crouched so they were eye to eye.
"You're lucky today, because one more time, Stefanos Rassi." His voice dropped to a low, vicious, animalistic growl. "…If you hurt her one more time, I will find you and I will KILL YOU."