AthenaThe sky was looking so damn pretty tonight. A deep blue, littered with silver dots that gleaned down at me. Too bad the only reason I could see it was because I was hanging off a cliff, hanging on to a branch, trying not to fall to my death. The fight with Damian had escalated. I had chased him through the entire forest, but somehow the bastard remained faster. He was too fucking sneaky. Even with his injured leg, he managed to outsmart me and dodge my attacks. But then we had gotten out of the forest into a clear open space and he couldn't run anymore. I had done the most obvious thing I could do, I attacked him. It had to be the fiercest brawl I had ever engaged in. I was fatigued and tired, but I couldn't let the bastard get the best of me. We fought for what seemed like hours. Struggling to breathe, struggling to survive. I would die. I was fine with that. With Frederick gone, there was nothing to fucking live for. But there was no way I could die without Damian going f
LucianoFear was such a shitty feeling. It had this way of clawing at your heart, nicking it so that it bled in the wrong places. Two whole fucking hours and I hadn't seen Raven yet. I hadn't heard a thing either. Not Ater that scream from earlier. Fuck! I didn't know what to think. I didn't even want to. It would be all morbid thoughts and I refused to think or imagine in the slightest that Raven was dead. But that gunshot. Fuck. And that Scream. She better not die. I would not allow it. I would never allow it. As if you could do anything about it, the nagging voice in my head, my only companion in the past two hours, nagged again and I wish it was a real human so I could smack the shit out of it. I was coiled with so much tension. The only way to ease it was to find Raven. "Cara!" I yelled through the forest. This was my fourth time going through the entire damned place and I was either walking in circles or this forest had malicious intent. Perhaps it was because I was faint
Athena"Clench your fist," Frederick instructed, holding my arm steady. His eyes filled with amusement. "Don't make a sissy fist, tighten your hands or you'll be down before You can blink twice."I was sixteen again, my hair was short, freshly chopped because the lower half was in tangles and it was a fucking mess. It was held back with a headband, revealing my fierce eyes. I was always that way wasn't I? Fierce. Angry. Mad at everyone and everything. Frederick was a few meters away from me, holding a board up in front of him, his lips were pulled in a stern line but his eyes twinkled at me. He had made a stupid bet with me that if punched the board hard enough to make him budge an inch, he would finally let me test out his Glock. It was almost impossible to do so. Frederick had looked so huge, like a fucking mountain, unmoving, never shaking and taking my hots like they were that of flies. We were in the training field, a place where agents, especially combat agents, trained and p
Luciano"Easy," I urged Raven as she chugged down the glass of water. With the way she looked, I feared she would break to pieces if she drank too much. Hell I feared she would break if she so much as batted an eyelash. Her eyes were swollen. One of them, the left, had a nasty bruise, huge and purple. It would take days to heal. A pity Damian fell to his death. I would prefer killing him myself. I'd shoot all his limbs off and then watch him scramble around, suffering, in pain and agony. Ah yes. That would be much better to see. He had the guts to lay hands on my woman, he had to be ready for the consequences. He'd battered her to bits! Her hair, her lustrous caramel hair was still soiled. I hadn't wanted anyone else touching her when she was unconscious, afraid that moving her would worsen her situation. Perhaps if by tomorrow she looked a lot less pale and bruised, I'd help her take a bath. But right now, right now, I was fine with her being okay. She sighed, removed the cup from
Luciano I sat at my table, staring out the window, a warm glow of satisfaction washing over me.For the first time in a while, it all felt right, but then of course, that wouldn't last for long.An urgent knock sounded on my door, and I immediately knew who it was. Only one person in the whole entire fucking world would dare bang on my door like that."Come in Georgia." I said calmly, I had been expecting her visit.She barged in, her eyes almost red with rage, "What the hell Luciano?"I smirked, unable to stop myself, "And a good afternoon to you too my dear.""Cut the crap." She snapped, "What the hell is going on?"I shrugged, "I don't know what you are talking about.""Luciano, tell me the truth! Did you turn our own men into the police? Did you betray us?"I paused, reluctant to admit it. More likely than not, she wouldn't understand my thought process.Ah fuck it, she could think whatever she wanted. "Yes, Georgia, I did." I replied calmly.Her eyes widened in shock, "You did it
LucianoI had just left the room, Raven gently asleep when my phone rang.Picking up and checking the caller ID, I answered. "Enzio, what is going on."His voice was strained and hushed, like he was panicking. "Trouble sir, at the headquarters.""What kind of trouble?" I asked, my heart rate increasing."Alfredo Tonali is leading a rebellion sir."* * *I had called for my driver immediately, speeding off to the headquarters.It was simple, I had only one reasonable choice. A show of strength so absolute those bastardo wouldn't have a chance to explain their treachery. After all, they would all be dead men, and dead men tell no tales.The powerful Chevrolet stopped just at the entrance of the mansion, and taking a deep breath, I got out, spotting Enzio outside as he hurried to meet me while strode up the stairs, trying to keep my face as cold and expressionless as possible.I reached the large, wooden doors and was just about to swing them open when I heard a familiar voice call out."
AthenaI was woken up by the sounds of protest coming from the Doctor, pleading with someone."Ma'am you can't she isn't-""Get the fuck out of my way you old worm!"Was that Georgia? I groaned, sitting up. I didn't want any of her bullshit now, I was way too exhausted to deal with it.She burst into the room, her eyes zeroing in on me. "You." She snarled.I took deep breaths, trying to remain calm, "Yes, me."The doctor followed after her, obviously agitated, "Madam, you cannot be inside here, the patient still needs re-""GET THE FUCK OUT!" She yelled, spit flying from her mouth.The doctor looked at me, seemingly lost, insure of what to do.I nodded at him, "It's okay Doc, leave her for me, I'll handle this.""But-""Just go."With a final glance of disdain at Georgia, who didn't even bother sparing him a glance as she was too busy glaring at me, he turned around and left, shutting the door behind him."Well Georgia," I started calmly, turning to face her. "It was very nice of you t
LucianoI had sent the driver home, in no mood to be driven as the events of the day had put a huge damper on my mood. The kid, a dark haired, heavily tattooed twenty two year old whose mother must have taught he was the prettiest kid in the world since she named him Romeo, was more than happy to let me drive, apparently scared shit of my anger."Romeo?" I called as he hurried out of the seat, trying and failing miserably to hide his delight at not having to share a car with me."Yes boss?" He answered, a brief look of panic crossing his face. Kid must be scared shitless I had changed my mind.I shook my head smirking, "You seem a little bit too happy not to be doing your job today Romeo?" I asked.He looked terrified, "What? Boss-""What?" I stared into his eyes, the smirk disappearing now and replaced by my most intimidating snarl, "You want me to drive home alone?"Poor Romeo looked like he was going to cry, "Boss, No!""Am I too grumpy for you?""I swear on my mother boss!" His voi
LucianoThe police man standing guard at the gate didn't even bother to check my face, I took it that the warden had done his job and informed them I was on my way, I drove quietly into the compound, packing in front of the administrative building and walking in slowly."Good Evening Signori Luciano" The officer standing at the table greeted as soon as he saw me, tipping his hat. His English was broken and heavily accented, but I could understand him enough."Good evening," I reached into my coat, fishing out my cigarette and lighting it. "How is it going?"He smiled appreciatively, apparently pleased I took any interest in his day to day activities. "It haz been quiet Signore." He smiled, revealing a row of tobacco stained brown teeth.I nodded, "Good, I am here for inmate 474.""Oh," he opened up the computer in front of him, "Would you be going out with him?" He asked, peeking at me from over the desktop, "Do you need an escort?"The look on his face told me he thought I was going
AthenaWe were on a plane back to Sicily the next morning. No need for disguises, we took of from a private airfield in New Jersey.As soon as we touched down, ten hours later, I saw a black limo by the tarmac. Luciano smiled as he saw it, "Our welcoming party is here."I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean welcoming party?""Don't get your hopes up," he said, "It's just Giuseppe."The old man was standing by the car, smiling widely as we walked towards him. He first greeted Luciano, pulling him into a giant hug, like he was his father, patting his back, pride in his eyes.He then turned to me, "Welcome back to Sicily, Raven," he said, extending his hand. "How was your flight? Was it good? Are you too tired?""I am good." I said as I shook his hand, feeling a surge of pride at the way he addressed me. It was clear that Luciano had already told him about me, and that I was already considered a member of the mafia."Thank you, Giuseppe," I said. "It's good to be back."Giuseppe smiled,
AthenaI was confused, totally. And for the second time that night, I had no idea how to react, "Luca? What? How?"Luciano hobbled over to the table at a dark corner in the room, pulling out a knuckle ring and putting it on his left hand. "I figured he would need a little bit more time." He said casually, like the man he was trying to beat up wasn't an assassin sent by his worst enemy and had damn near succeeded too.I turned to look at him, understanding dawning on me, why he wasn't panicked at all, why he was so calm. There was only one reasonable explanation. "You knew this was going to happen." I said quietly.He stopped his rummaging, turning to look at me, "Raven-""Did you?"He let out a deep breath, "Yeah, well, kinda. I only sus-""You did!" I said, my voice getting louder. The man had shot from my back, he had to be facing Luciano, and given how close the two buildings were, it was impossible Luciano hadn't seen him walk in and set up his little nest. "That's why you aren't
Athena"Raven!"Somewhere, far away, someone was calling my name."Raven!!!"The room blurred into a burst of moving colors around me, a ringing in my ear as in the distance, I could only barely hear the sounds around the room, the people screaming, glasses shattering, tables and chairs toppling."RAVEN! GET DOWN!"A second loud bang, hitting the table and shattering it jerked me out of my trance, sending splinters of wood flying across my face, narrowly missing it.I threw myself to the ground immediately, taking cover and toppling the table to provide extra cover for me and Luciano.The shooter was obviously targeting us, for some reason I was not entirely sure of, and he had shit from behind me, hitting Luciano.I crawled over him, not caring about the broken glass tearing at my clothes or the floor, wet with wine and soggy pasta. He lay they, clutching his bleeding shoulder and grimacing."Luciano! Are you okay?"He nodded, "Yeah, I am fine," but as soon as I reached out to touch
AthenaThe meeting went without much of a hitch. I sat at one end, quietly watching the proceedings as they argued over everything. It was mind of amusing, seeing these grown, powerful men squabble like children.Curses flew across the table like missiles, mothers were cursed, fathers were cursed, wives were cursed, calling it a mad house would be a massive understatement. Luciano for the most part, looked like he was tired of their shit, as at some point he just leaned back on his chair and let them threaten all they wanted without trying to interfere or even mediate."Everything in Queens and the North of Brooklyn is mine, don't be a fool." Antonio spat, crossing his arms like a child who had just been refused candy and was planning to throw the biggest fit anyone had ever seen."Damn right it is," Francesco countered, slamming his fat, heavily ringed fingers on the table, "All of the best markets for our good stuff all go to you yeah? And what is there for the rest of us yeah? What
LucianoI didn't want to admit it to her, mostly because making her even more nervous than she was already was, wasn't exactly in my best interest, like throwing a gasoline soaked rag into an inferno.But I was a but nervous too.The Italian Mafia, wasn't very used to having a woman in it's ranks, no matter the level. There was this, almost patriarchal approach to treating our women. Usually seen, not heard, taking care of the kids at home while the husband did the dirty business and fucked his pretty mistresses. Nobody thought of it too much, it was just the way things were done.But not with Raven, never with Raven.I almost laughed out loud, thinking about her being a nice, quiet housewife who just kept my clothes clean and my belly full while I went after young girls half her age. It was so ridiculous, it didn't even come close to making sense to me, which of course meant the idea was going nowhere.The only other option was of course to try to convince them that she was worth it,
AthenaI sat up from the bed, still a bit groggy, but quite certain I heard him properly."My new associates?" I asked, surely he wasn't serious right?I followed him into the living room of the suite, dimly lit room, decorated with ornate furniture and dimly lit candles. Luciano sat on a velvet armchair, while I stared at him, unsure if he was serious or not. nervously paces the room.Luciano leaned back, observing me, "Raven, my dear," he started, "I don't see any reason why we don't go check it out today, okay? It's time for you to understand who we are and what we do."I appreciate your interest in making me feel at home," I couldn't help but lace my voice with some sarcasm, it was getting ridiculous, "But getting involved with your Mafia is not something I was comfortable with, I only just agreed with it, cam you let me digest it at the very least before plunging me head deep and showing me off like a trophy."He looked up at me, raising an eyebrow, "Do you think that is what I a
LucianoFunnily enough, I had never thought about that question until I heard it from her mouth. You'd think a mafia boss would be a little bit more suspicious of an undercover FBI agent who was sent to specifically bring him down and who had up till very recently, bad a specific agenda against him and was determined to destroy him by any means necessary.But I didn't. I consider myself a logical man, and logically I should be moving as far away from this wam as I possibly could, if not immediately killing her. But whenever I was around Raven Gonzalez, all logic flew out the window, and I wanted nothing more than to have her around me, to keep her by my side, to keep her happy so she would never leave me, matter how illogical that sounded."Oh, Luciano." She said quietly, tears brimming in her eyes. "You don't mean that, do you?""Every single word of it." I said calmly. It was true, there was no point hiding from it anymore."That's not enough Luciano, and you know it.""Raven, I jus
AthenaYou had to give it to Luciano, he had the entire "shock value" thing down well enough.To say I felt like I had been hit by a bus moving a thousand miles per hour would have been a massive understatement. I had spent all day thinking about escaping the world he offered, the world I had been forced to grow in, the world I had forcibly participated in for all my life, that had nearly killed me multiple times and had scarred me so much it was probably best not to even think about it.I had confided in him, hoping he would help me find a solution to my problem, to have something akin to normalcy in my life, even if it was for a little while.And instead, he had completely blindsided me with the offer to accept it all as my new reality.Like I said, he really knew what got a woman going."What?" I managed to drop, my only intelligible word yet.His lips twitched as he fought to not smile, "You look pretty surprised Raven.""I wonder fucking why Luciano," I spat, frustration rising in