Athena "No!" I glared at the overlord who sat behind his desk matching the look on my face with a similar one. The evening sun could be seen through the window on the side of the office and I resisted the urge to look at my watch. I had done so all day ever since the call with Frederick. A few minutes more and it would be five o'clock. "What do you mean no?" Luciano narrowed his eyes until they were nothing more than slits. "Exactly what it means. No, you cannot get off work by five.". I looked around in disbelief. Who the hell was the guy bullshitting? Okay, calm down Athena. You won't gain anything if you lose your shit now. "Luciano," I said in the most patronizing voice I could muster. "Work closes by five normally. I can get off by five," "You're my assistant," he replied stubbornly. I watched him lean his back against his chair and fold his arms. "My assistant closes from work whenever I close from work." "Come on!" I groaned, "Don't be a jerk." "A jerk?! Woman, d
Athena Max pulled up before Luciano's building and I dashed out before he tried to talk to me. He had done so all through the entire trip and I had kept mute like my lips were sewn together. I had to hand it to him though, he was resilient. Too damned resilient. He kept chattering the whole drive home despite my ignoring him. Stepping into the elevator, I wondered what to say to Luciano so I could go into my room early. Wouldn't that be even suspicious? He would want to know why. Ah, shit. Hiding things from him now that he was being all affectionate and clingy was going to be way harder. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I had spent way more than the thirty minutes I had promised to at the cafe. He was probably already pissed about that. Wonderful. I wanted his attention, but not like this. Not so much that the work I had to do would be affected. The elevator doors opened and taking a deep breath I walked to the door of the penthouse and had barely knocked when th
Luciano The whiskey burned down my throat in a familiar sting and I sighed, relishing the taste. This was good stuff. Closing my eyes I took another sip and nodded in appreciation. I had just obtained the bottle and man, my dealer did not disappoint. Might as well give the man a tip or two. I dropped my glass cup on the table and glanced at Luca who simply glared at his glass of whiskey. "You're not drinking that?" I asked, cocking my head to assess him. Luca's blue eyes flashed at me angrily, a frown on his face. "Drink? How can you drink at a time like this?!" I chuckled and poured myself another glass. Luca always did have a temperament. Growing up everyone naturally assumed I was the hot-headed one of the trio. But it was Luca all along. Fucking mad man. I had seen him take down someone three times his size with the sheer force of his anger alone. He was quite difficult to reason with especially when he was angry. "Luciano!" He yelled again when I raised another glass
Athena "You're kidding right?" I said, my eyes wide as I stared at Luciano in disbelief. He gave me a bored look but there was that mysterious twinkle in his eyes that told me he was thoroughly enjoying my surprise. "Do I look like a clown, Cara?" He asked. I swept him down with my eyes and almost purred at the sight. He wasn't wearing a suit this time. In place of the suit was a black long coat unbuttoned and a black tee and trousers underneath. His hair was gelled back as usual but he had left a strand like he did at the ball and that shit made me almost melt to the fucking ground. "No, you look beautiful," I whispered, stepping closer to him. It was eight in the morning and we stood in the living room. He was all dressed up and looking as spicy as ever, me in a ratty t-shirt, my hair had to look like a bird's nest and I probably stank since I hadn't had a bath yet. Which was entirely his fault by the way. I had been about to step into the bathroom when he'd called me ou
Athena Sicily was beautiful. I had to look at a kid staring wide-eyed as if all he could see around him were candy shops. The air was warm, a bit similar to New York but it had a much more crisp feel. My eyes tried to adjust to the vibrant display of colors as we alighted from the car. Luciano placed his hand on the small of my back, making my stomach tremble rather foolishly. The street we were in was rather bustling with people. From the pictures I had googled, I had expected quiet streets and old buildings but they paled in comparison with what I saw. "Come on Cara," he urged, tugging me towards a huge ass resort on one side of the road. The name of the resort? Moretti. It was simple, plain and so fucking obvious, I wanted to facepalm. Might as well wave a red flag and dance it around announcing to everyone that he was the owner of the building. "You couldn't name the building something else?" I asked, arching a brow at him. "Seriously?" Luciano shrugged. "Why is it muc
Luciano I watched Raven run to the window, her eyes wide in wonder as she took in the view. "No way. Is that... Is that a fucking Volcano?" I chuckled at the wonder in her voice and walked to her side. The windows were floor-to-ceiling length, showing us a view of the mountain Etna. Crazy Volcano that I feared would wipe the entire Island if we weren't careful. We weren't too close to it of course, but hell, that shit was unpredictable. "Si," I replied, weaving my hands around her waist. "That's the only thing I fear right there. Stares back in my eyes every fucking time I look at it." "Oh shush," she mumbled, sagging against me as my thumbs played with the undersides of her breasts through her dress. She wore a blue short gown that billowed around her gently. I hated and loved the dress at the same time. I was used to her tight seductive outfits that tend to do my head in. Seeing her in an outfit that barely revealed the shape of her body was fucking teasing. I wanted to pul
Athena When I opened my eyes, floral designs in the shape of a dragon stared back at me. It was quite beautiful and I'd give kudos to whoever designed the interior of the suite. The suite was quite large. It had a smaller room that led directly outside and the larger room contained the giant bed I currently slept in. The two rooms were separated by two pillars. I didn't want to rise. The bed was too damn comfortable and I wanted to remain that way, swaddled in soft white sheets that threatened to envelop me forever. It felt wonderful. I closed my eyes lazily, reflecting on what should have happened in the past few hours. My eyes caught the clock on the wall. It was seven in the evening and the sun had set. That meant I had been asleep for about four hours. Groaning, I tried to rise. I had to. Before Luciano came in, I needed to sort out my thoughts and make sense of what exactly was happening. I doubted Luciano had brought me here because he wanted me to sleep and laze aroun
Athena "Rise and shine, Gonzalez," Luciano's voice pierced into the fog of sleep that clouded my senses. "It's a beautiful morning in Sicily. The sky looks like a painting of our dear Leonardo Da Vinci. And that volcano's looking as vicious as ever." Good lord, he was a different man in Sicily! At home, he barely said words to me. Here he was as chatty as a lunatic. "Mr. Moretti, some of us are trying to sleep," I grumbled, burying my face deeper into my pillow. I would start working on why I came to Sicily soon, I wanted all the rest I could get. "Why sleep when you could be with me?" He grumbled. His footsteps grew louder as he approached the bed and yanked the covers away from me. "What the hell is your problem?!" I yelled, sitting up. I still felt sleepy and I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was being a fucking nuisance. "What... Did you just say to me?" He demanded, a cold expression quickly replacing the warm one he had earlier. I watched him lean closer,
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