Loving the Bodyguard [Complete]

XVII

"Pain is the distraction that kept me alive all those years."

______________________

Ace

The fright night air stung my sweaty skin. My heart raced inside my chest, singing the melancholy of pain. The night sky was as dark as that haunting dream. The sight of my mother's lifeless form sent shivers down my spine. It ignited the memory of that horrific night when everything changed.

Hailey heard every word that I whispered in sleep. That poor girl came to offer me comfort, and I pulled her away. I don't deserve comfort, maybe, that's why my mother's memory haunts me.

Sleep is the poison that I don't want to swallow, yet I have to. It triggered those dreams of death and loss.

I walked through the dingy alley, finding a place to let the brewing emotions out.

A devilish grin crept across my lips at the sight of the alley's dead end. The brick wall stood tall and rigid. I curled my calloused hands into fists and punched the wall. A rush of pain raced through my knuckles. I ignored the soaring pain and hit again and again and again.

A strange numbness spread through my blood knuckles. I pulled back and observed the marks and cuts that bled. Scarlet-blood oozed, pain spread through my arms. The stinging joy was enough to distract my mind.

I laughed in place of the tears that refused to shed through my eyes.

Each joint in my hands cried with agony. The punches would have broken my fingers, or the wrist had I not know the fighter's trick. Years of training had made my stupid hands like a stone.

I wiped my bloody knuckles against my shirt. The pain was a salve that fixed my broken soul. It reminded me I was still alive.

My phone rang; I took it out. A private number flashed on the screen. I pressed the receive button.

"Ace, Are you alright?" Antonio De Luca, the Consigliere asked, in his thick Italian accent.

"I'm okay," I said, trying to sound calm.

De Luca sighed. "It's the same dream again, right?"

I did not respond. De Luca had been a father figure in my useless life. He took care of my entire training process across various countries.

"Figlio, I know whatever you are going through is tough, but don't let your past affect your life," De Luca said in a fatherly tone.

"I know."

"Dominic will pay for everything he did to you and her. Plus, I have a score to settle as well."

I sighed. "The score regarding your leg?"

"Hmm. I found out a strange thing. My informer in the police found out that the cars that chased you belong to the Serrano Mafia."

"Seriously? That's weird. The Serrano Mafia and the Hernandez Mafia are on good terms. We never interfered with their business," I said, trying to process the details.