Episode 17

Alberto observed Carlos sleeping peacefully for a while. He got up and went to the balcony of the room, checked the time on his phone, closed the balcony door, and made a phone call.

"Hello, how are things over there?" Alberto called Bruno.

"Hi, we managed to intercept Andrey's shipment. He must be furious. He hasn't been going out lately, I believe he doesn't want to take risks with anything, since his shoulder is still not well. He has other enemies besides us," Bruno replied.

Alberto glanced inside to make sure Carlos was still asleep. "If all goes well, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Get my apartment ready, I have an important meeting in the morning and I want to save time," Alberto drank a sip of the drink he had in his hands. "Did you find Pablo?"

"Yes, he's in Marastrove Clinic, under surveillance. It wouldn't be wise to invade the place," Bruno reported.

"And what about the situation at the port? Did you kill the bastard?" Alberto continued to look at Carlos in bed through the glass door.

"Yes, sir, at this point, he's become shark food."

Bruno provided more information about the business affairs that Alberto left in his hands to resolve, and they ended the call. Alberto finished his drink and went back to the room, stopping by Carlos' bedside, watching him.

He was sleeping peacefully, unaware of the dangers around him, sleeping the sleep of innocence, a sleep Alberto could never enjoy. He lay next to Carlos, still pondering what his life would have been like if he hadn't been born into the Castelhano family. Would he have become a good man who could sleep innocently like Carlos? He would never know, but he would try to preserve Carlos' innocence as much as he could.

It was already around four in the morning, and Alberto couldn't sleep. He had slept little that night. He was used to this routine; it had been a long time since he had slept well, or through the night. He always woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep. Sometimes it was nightmares about his mother, other times it was some problem involving the organization.

Alberto got up without waking Carlos and went to the other part of the room where his laptop was. He was going to work since he couldn't sleep. Before that, he went to his briefcase and took out a small box, like a jewelry box. He opened the laptop and then the box, rummaged inside it, and then worked on the computer. He looked at the box, smiled, and put it back in his briefcase.

The light entering the room woke Carlos up. He was still adjusting to the time difference. He looked for Alberto in bed but didn't find him. He raised his head and didn't see him in the room or outside.

Carlos got up, freshened up, and went out to look for Alberto. He saw him in the living room, sleeping at the table in front of the computer. He figured Alberto must have lost sleep and started working. Carlos was still in his robe, and David watched him, approaching slowly and hugging him from behind.

Alberto's reaction was quick, scaring Carlos. Alberto got up quickly, pointing the gun that was in his robe pocket. Carlos couldn't help but be afraid of having a gun pointed at him again. As soon as Alberto realized it was him, he lowered the gun, locked it, and put it back in his pocket.

Alberto took a deep breath and approached Carlos, embracing him. "Forgive me, forgive me. I acted on instinct, I'm sorry, please forgive me." Alberto let go of Carlos and held his face. "Can you forgive me? I would never hurt you. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

Carlos remained silent, unable to help feeling afraid of him in that moment, but he understood that Alberto didn't do it with ill intent. "It's okay, Alberto. I just got scared. Why do you sleep with a gun in your pocket?"

Alberto led him to the couch, sat him down, and faced him, holding his hand. "In my world, we're always armed, Carlos. We never know when we might be attacked by someone, so we always have a weapon within reach." Carlos simply nodded.

"I'm not used to sleeping at that time, it was just a reflex - Alberto had to explain to him how things worked with him, if they were entering a relationship Carlos had to know certain things about him, even to avoid getting hurt.

"I don't want you to be upset with what I'm going to ask you now, this is for your own safety, okay?" Carlos raised an eyebrow and continued listening.

"If I'm sleeping, don't wake me up by hugging me from behind. If you snuggle up against my chest, I won't be scared. If you touch my arm or even kiss me, it's fine. But hugging me from behind while I'm sleeping is a bit complicated for me."

Carlos found it strange but understood. If this was some kind of boundary for Alberto, he would have to respect it. "Does this apply when you're awake too, or is the problem not knowing who is doing it?"

"If I see you coming and I'm not distracted, you can do it without any problem. Like you said, not knowing exactly who is hugging me from behind makes me instinctively act to protect myself."

Carlos nodded, indicating that he understood. He knew there was something more behind Alberto's strong defense, but he wouldn't ask. If Alberto felt safe enough to tell him, he would.

Alberto held his face again and kissed him. "Are you hungry? Should I order breakfast for us?" Carlos confirmed, saying he would take a shower while they waited for breakfast. He got up and went to the bedroom.

Alberto watched him until he closed the bedroom door. "Damn it," Alberto cursed. This shouldn't have happened. He didn't want Carlos to be afraid of him, he didn't want him to see him in that way. He didn't want to let Carlos see his worst side.

Alberto ordered breakfast and called Paulo to inform him that he would be working in the room in the morning and to reserve a table at a restaurant. He started working again until someone knocked on the door. He looked through the peephole and saw it was room service.

Alberto looked at the bedroom door and saw no sign of Carlos yet. He took the gun out of his pocket, unlocked and armed it, and put it back in his robe pocket before opening the door.

Alberto indicated where they could place the food, observing the man to see if there was anything suspicious about him. Carlos appeared as the man was setting the table. Alberto noticed a change in the man's breathing and that he glanced at Carlos several times.

Carlos didn't notice anything, he sat down and smiled at the table. He was hungry. Alberto, however, observed everything. He was trained for this. Alberto noticed a certain tattoo on the man's neck.

Carlos thanked the man and he looked at Carlos once again before leaving. Alberto went to the door and locked it as soon as the man passed through. Alberto took out his cellphone and sent a message to Paulo.

He sat down with Carlos and they started eating. Alberto remembered something and got up, grabbing a small box from his belongings.

"This is for you. I bought it in case you accepted my proposal. They are couple's chains, I didn't want a promise ring." Carlos opened the box, but there was only one inside. "Where's yours?" Alberto already had his on his neck and pulled it out to show. "Come here, let me put it on you."

Carlos turned around, allowing Alberto to put the chain around his neck. Alberto placed it and kissed Carlos' neck. "Let's eat, I need to work this morning. I'll do it in the room, let's go out for lunch, and after that, I have a meeting. If everything goes well, we'll leave in the afternoon," Alberto said. Carlos agreed, knowing that this trip was not a vacation and deep down, he knew that Alberto had only brought him here to keep him away from Andrey.

"If you want to enjoy the hotel pool, Paulo will accompany you," Alberto said, mentioning Paulo. Carlos frowned. "Is there something wrong with Paulo? Don't you like him?"

"Actually, I think he's the one who doesn't really like me," Alberto smiled and tried to explain. "Paulo is just like that, he's more reserved and keeps to himself, unlike Bruno. When you get to know him better, you'll see that he's not what you think." Carlos simply nodded in response. "I'll let you work. I'll watch a movie while you finish."

Carlos went to the room, and Alberto continued his work. He made some calls to the partners in Brazil and also to Bruno. Alberto tried to finish his work as quickly as possible. He hadn't gone on vacation but wanted Carlos to enjoy as much as possible since he wanted to experience Brazil.

Meanwhile, far away, Andrey was dealing with his father's anger. "Incompetent, do you really think I'll believe that you can lead the organization? You haven't been able to get rid of Alberto until now." His father had slapped him in the face before leaving. Andrey seethed with anger.

Andrey called for Douglas, who entered hurriedly. "Is the girl being watched?" Andrey turned to Douglas, his anger apparent. "Yes, sir, everything is ready. Now we just have to wait for the right moment." Andrey gave a half smile. "I'll have to do it myself." Andrey wouldn't stop until he destroyed Alberto and got Carlos.

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