Drama

Drama
Serena
“Nico…”
I didn’t even think. I just ran into him and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could. He held me back like he was scared I would disappear if he loosened his grip even a little. I could feel the tremble in his hands, the uneven breaths he tried to hide against my hair.
When we finally pulled back, his hands never left my arms, like he needed to check twice that I was really there.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice tight. “Did you get injured?”
I shook my head.
“You sure?” he repeated, searching my face like he didn’t believe me.
I nodded again, slowly.
But my voice cracked when I asked, “Why did you come here?”
His jaw clenched. “Some stupid officer brought you here. This is the most unsafe place I have ever seen.”
I blinked. For a second, I actually imagined Agent Black’s offended face.
“She kept me safe,” I said quickly. “She brought me here because she was following orders. Because she saved me.”
“Nonsense,” he muttered, his eyes burning with anger. I know he was worried about me, but I also understood Agent Black, who, despite being terrified acted swiftly and kept me safe. I was a criminal in her eyes, yet she did not hesitate to put her life in danger to save mine. 
“Nico,” I said softly, touching his arm. “Don’t be so harsh on Agent Black. She was doing her duty. I am grateful to her.”
He didn’t like hearing that I felt it in the way his jaw hardened but he didn’t argue again. I exhaled and turned toward the couple standing awkwardly a few steps away.
“Nico, meet Agent Alicia Black, the person who literally saved my life today. And this is Jackson Black, my state-appointed prosecutor… and her husband.”
The moment those names left my mouth, something shifted in the room.
Nico and Alicia stared at each other.
Like, there was a whole secret world behind their eyes.
Like they had history—good or bad, I couldn’t tell.
Nico’s face went cold, stone-like. Alicia, on the other hand, looked at him with this cool, dangerous amusement. Like she was waiting for him to make the first wrong move.
“Agent Black,” I said awkwardly, “it’s Nico.”
“If you weren’t a criminal,” she said, casually flipping her hair, “I would have shaken your hand.”
Nico didn’t reply. His hand just slid around my waist and pulled me even closer, his grip iron-tight.
Great. Just great. This room was one second away from exploding.
Before I could say anything else, a tiny voice piped up from the desk.
“Mommy, is uncle police as well?” little Ava asked, staring at Nico with big, curious eyes. “He is carrying a weapon like you.”
Nico looked down at her, clearly confused.
“No, baby, he is not the police,” Alicia said. “Quite the opposite. If you were not so tiny, I would have explained you in details.”
“Is he a thief?” Ava gasped dramatically. “Is he going to hurt us like in movies? Should we hide?”
“No, baby,” Alicia said quickly. “No one is hiding.”
Jackson cleared his throat. “I will take Ava inside. Alicia, come with me. Until your department comes to take Serena, better let her stay with her husband. Let’s avoid… extra casualties.”
Alicia groaned. “No one is going to die, Jackson. Calm down.”
I could feel a strange tension in the room. Something unspoken. Something I didn’t understand.
I finally whispered, “Do you both… know each other?”
No one answered.
Literally. No one.
Alicia stared at the floor. Nico stared at the wall. Both were suddenly deaf and mute.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “What is this? What is happening? Did you guys date or what? Why are you staring so intensely, like you want to kill each other?”
Alicia snorted. “Dating? You wish.”
That stung Nico’s pride. I could see it. He looked like he wanted to throw her out the window.
My gaze drifted to Dante, who stood behind Nico like a statue. He hadn’t spoken a single word since we arrived. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t blinking. He was just staring at Alicia.
I frowned at Dante, genuinely confused. “What’s wrong with your best friend? Why is he acting like he saw a ghost?”
“Nothing,” Nico muttered under his breath. “He’s just a creep.”
“Wow,” I said. “That was the least convincing answer ever.”
My gaze bounced between Nico, Dante, and Alicia. “Are you guys hiding something from me?”
Before Nico could deny it again, Dante finally spoke—softly, almost disbelieving.
“Alicia…?”
His voice cracked a little. “Is it you?”
Alicia didn’t even blink. She just looked at Nico and said, “Keep your lap dog on a leash.”
Dante’s face transformed instantly. He actually smiled.
“Oh my god. It is you,” he breathed out. “Only you can insult me like that. Damn. If it was anyone else, I would’ve ripped their tongue out but—”
He glanced at Ava and his murderous tone evaporated—
“…but you know what? Let’s keep things child-friendly. I’m just—wow—I’m happy you’re alive.”
Alicia crossed her arms. “I see you’re still a masochist. You always did enjoy being humiliated. You should get that checked, you know?”
Dante actually laughed. “Spitfire. Like always.”
Then he looked at Jackson. He squinted. Tilted his head.
“You look familiar… wait—”
Dante snapped his fingers. “You look like that puppy Alicia rescued years ago—from your uncle, right? Tell me I’m wrong.”
“Dante.”
Nico’s voice cut through the air like a blade.
“Enough.”
Dante did not listen. His eyes went wide as if he had solved a world-ending mystery.
“I should call Gino and Luca—”
Nico shot up from his chair so fast it screeched against the floor.
“No,” he growled. The room dropped several degrees. “Not. One. Word. Not one hint leaves this room. Do you understand me?”
Dante’s smile faded. “Nico—”
“I said not a single one.”
A heavy silence slammed onto the room.