"He's in danger. The business is in danger. The family is at stake. You bring him home, immediately," the man growls, coughing and holding his side. It was obvious the man was in pain, he could never conceal the pain from his blue eyes. Like father like son.

"He may be in less danger than you think, Sir. Perhaps it is better that his removal from this part of his family remains permanent than to bring him home in it all. After all, it's been far too long. He won't remember or be interested in such a trade," the other man, younger than the first and clearly a subordinate to him. He stood in his crisp suit and tie, hands behind his back, as he gave his full attention to the concerned father. Hah, concerned father… More like a man desperate to keep his business intact. Not have to resort to giving it someone outside of the family. Can't possibly have that…

"Don't patronize me, Claudio," the elder states firmly, narrowing his metallic blue eyes at him.

"Never, Sir," came the swift response.

"He was such a ridiculous little fool to leave… What, he thought moving across the nation somehow took him out? It erased everything he's done for this family? It made him innocent? I've never understood him…"

Claudio shifted his weight slightly as he listened to his words. Of course, the man didn't understand his son. He's never taken the time to understand his son, his mindset, his psyche, any of it. He's only lashed out with anger when he didn't understand, or believed the son was acting ridiculous, as he would say. Not everyone could understand the complexities of the human mind, just happened to be that the subordinate had more knowledge in the way of psychology. He had to in order to better understand the son he was meant to protect.

"He had a dream. This was not it. It was his choice to leave, is it truly our right to force him back in?" he asks calmly, already knowing all sense of reason and logic was out the window when dealing with his superior. He really didn't know why he bothered to try, most days. Maybe with a shred of hope that his words would be heard this time.

Today was not that day.

"It is my right as his father. I should have never let him leave, but no one here will allow me to find him. But now we have no choice. Someone needs to take my place… the time for a new leader is coming. And as my eldest son, it is to go to him."

"I… understand, Sir. What would you have me do?" Claudio asks finally.

"Go to him. Bring him home. It is your duty as his right-hand man, and personal bodyguard to keep him safe. Remember… his death means yours as well, Claudio. I refuse to be disappointed."

"Yes, Sir."

Alexa was clearly happy, and that was what Tyler was trying so hard to focus on. He tried to push out of his mind the idea of her with another guy, being hopeful this relationship may turn out how she wants, only to be hurt again. Not only that, but Antonio contacting him after two years of silence between them. It was understood they were not to talk to each other extensively the day that Tyler left. They couldn't out of the risk of him being caught. Caught… he wasn't sure who he was more scared of being caught by, his father ( who could probably actually find him easily if he put in the effort ), or by the enemies haunting and darkening his childhood. The blond couldn't decide which one was worst.

Either way, the more immediate issue that was staring him in the face was Alexa laughing, hugging onto the arm of the new man and possible love interest, which Tyler now recognized as the local gym owner, Seth Rollins. Honestly, if he had been paying more attention to the guy and less attention to his best friend as she danced and wrapped her arms around him, Tyler probably would have recognized him. Either way, the fashion designer was already a bit worried. He'd keep it to himself until he saw the two get closer. After checking the time, he decided to call it a night, going over to his best friend and smiling at her.

"Hey, Lexi, I'm probably going to be heading home," he tells her, giving her a tight hug. It always seemed like a contest to see who could squeeze the other person more, which he usually won after she would complain about the pain, and the both of them laugh. The petite woman gave a pout when she heard he was leaving, deciding to give him a stronger squeeze then.

"Aw, come on! You're leaving me already?" she asks him, their eyes meeting for a moment. If it were any other night, he would have already fallen into her trap and caved. But this wasn't a normal night.

"I was here early! Besides, I have a meeting tomorrow I have to prepare for," he explains to her, rubbing her back before giving it a few pats.

"Fine, I'll let you go home, I guess," she sighs, making the male laugh.

"You'll let me go home? Am I your prisoner here?" Tyler questions. She laughs next and winks.

"Forced you to stay my best friend two years. You might be," she remarks with her trademark smirk.

"Damn, I should have known," he huffs before smiling and shrugging. He then nods to her and turns. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? That's a promise."

"Never failed me yet. I'll see you tomorrow Breezy," Lexi then tells him with a smile. She then was heading back over towards Seth, getting him a drink. Tyler sighs softly and headed out to his car.

The ride back home was quiet enough. Maybe not the best idea for someone who was deep in thought, told someone from their past that they tried to escape from was returning soon. Tyler took a deep breath and waited a moment as he took the key out of his car. How much trouble was he truly in if Antonio had to re-enter his life and warn him. How serious was it that he broke the silence that stretched between them in order to tell him that he was coming in a few days? Totally fine. Nothing to be worried about.

The blond steps out of the car, ready to head inside when he stops. Something didn't feel right. An internal alarm was going off in his mind that he couldn't necessarily explain, but every instinct was telling him to look around before he went inside. The young man walks carefully around the perimeter of the house, eyes open to anything going on around him. Nothing on his left, nor his right… No clear movement inside the home. All the same, when he did reach the front door again, he unlocked it slowly. He then took the keys out, placing them between his fingers as a makeshift weapon. With his other hand, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

One thing was already strange and out of place without even having to look around. Kanga and Tigger didn't run up to greet him like they usually did when he returned home. He raises a brow and closes the door behind him. The blond fashion designer then begins to walk around, hoping to find some kind of reason as to why his favorite pups hadn't come to the door. He took to having the keys between his fingers once more as he wandered, whistling a bit.

"Tigger? Kanga?" he called in hopes of hearing the pattering of paws rushing about to find their owner. He thought he heard something upstairs, almost like a dog's whimper, alarming him immediately. He runs up the steps and first finds a paper taped to his bedroom door.

"We found you."

A cold chill runs through him as fear pierces his heart. He pushes open his door to find Tigger laying down motionlessly, crimson blood matting his brown fur. A bullet wound was able to be seen in his chest where the blood had flown from. The blood pooled around him and the younger dog's paws. The hardwood floors seemed to glimmer with the crimson liquid in the soft artificial lighting. Small pawprints marked in blood trailed around the room, across a once spotless white comforter. Kanga looked up at him with puppy eyes that begged for help, whimpering. Her right paw was bleeding, which he could only tell from the continuous trickle from the wound around her injured paw, separating itself from the blood on the bottom of her paws. Tyler felt tears run down his cheeks as he threw down his keys and went over to his two dogs, one injured, one who wouldn't take another breath. He was careful with Kanga, gently petting her head and shushing her.

"It's okay, it's okay… I'm right here," he tries to comfort her, noticing how she flinches away for just a moment before relaxing once more. She was in pain. She had to watch her adopted dog brother die in the house. If he had to guess, Tigger was trying to protect her, which is why she only had a hurt paw. He wasted no time in first taking pictures of the scene, then moving to get what he needed to pick up his dog and take her outside to his car ( including the keys he dropped earlier ). While in the car, he called the police, explaining to them that there had been a break in, a strange note, one of his dogs dead, and another injured. He informed them that he was safe, taking his dog to the emergency animal hospital but needed someone to check out the house. One's thing for sure, not only did he feel unsafe in his own home at the moment, there was a clear reason why Antonio wanted to talk.

After getting Kanga in a place where she was starting to feel better, the vet suggested letting her stay the night. He agreed, signing the paperwork and giving his hurt pup a few kisses and hugs. Her injury wasn't too serious but it clearly made it difficult for her to walk comfortably, kinda like walking when you have blisters on one foot. Never comfortable, and you always have to compensate and find a new way to get around, unless you're a terrified pup who witnessed another dog get murdered.

There was security footage of Tyler's home, but someone sabotaged the videos. Before they went in they found a way to hack in and interfere with the footage, keep it from recording while they were inside, before returning it to normal once the deed was done. Not exactly helpful in a police investigation, that much was obvious. That call didn't necessarily help his nerves in the slightest. There was someone in his home. They had little regard for his privacy, safety, hell, they didn't give a shit about taking the life of one of his dogs. He told the police he wasn't sure what they meant by the note, but deep down he had a feeling he knew what it truly entailed. This was a warning. They killed in cold blood for any reason, including the reason of "You existed". If he wasn't prepared, it wasn't going to be a dog next. Compared to what could have happened, who could have been the target…

Tyler went back to his car, his heart still hammering in his chest as he tried to take another deep breath. He didn't want to wait for answers. He wanted them now. Pulling out his phone, he dialed the number of one of the only people he trusted to give him honest answers. He remained in park, the car turned on to keep himself warm on a particularly cool night. It took two rings before someone answered on the other line.

"Tyler?" came an all too familiar voice. And it was just hearing from him again that started to make him tear up all over again.

"Antonio. What's going on? Someone was in my house. They killed one of my dogs, what the fuck is going on?!" the blond went off. He started to grip his phone tighter, his whole body shaking. He had a feeling on who it could be, or at least why they were coming after him. But he just wanted to be wrong. For once, just let him be wrong.

"In your home?" Antonio asked, slight confusion tinging his voice. But Tyler knew better than to think he was only confused. If he was right, then he also knew.

"Yes, god damn it! I just had to call police, get my other dog to the vet, and now find another place to stay considering I sure as hell am not staying there tonight, not like I could. Antonio tell me what the absolute fuck is going on right now!" he snaps at him. He was angry, worried and fearful at the same time. Dangerous combination.

"Tyler, calm down," the other male tried to say.

"Don't you fucking tell me to "calm down"! Do you fucking think this is easy to just "calm down" from?! This is not a "calm down" situation, someone is after me!"

"Tyler, stop," Antonio stated once more, not only more firmly, but in French. But it was when he transitioned into French that the younger male finally stopped and listened. It wasn't often that they talked in French, but it was important when they did.

"I-I'm sorry…" Tyler murmurs quietly in French in response, biting his bottom lip. "I… I'm scared, okay? The last time I got involved… It was a good few years ago, Antonio, I'm out. I'm not involved anymore. Why are they involving me now?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Tyler. Just… keep safe. I'll leave tonight. I'll be there soon, okay? And I'll tell you everything."