Athena"How is she?" I heard Luciano ask the doctor. I was still in his room, in his bed, currently pretending to be asleep. It had been a solid twenty-four hours since I had been carted off by Luciano and frankly, I wasn't planning on going back anytime soon. "I don't understand," the doctor said, evidently perplexed. "Other than the bruises, she should be fine." 'Well, fucking understand!" Luciano spat angrily and I almost jumped in fear, blowing my cover. "She seems even weaker than yesterday!" I didn't have to look to know the doctor was trembling. His voice was as shaky as hell. I clenched the bedsheet tighter in my fist, restraining myself from getting up. It was all for a good cause. If I seemed weaker, I could spend more time in the mansion and find out how he ran the mafia despite heavy surveillance. I couldn't afford Luciano throwing me out the minute I could walk. "It could be something internal," The doctor wheezed, getting anxious by the minute. "It has just been a d
Athena"What do you mean No?" Luciano demanded, his eyes flashing with something akin to amusement. I wanted to smack him in the face. I wasn't a monkey tied up for his amusement! "What you heard," I mumbled, looking away. "We will not be showering together!" Luciano grinned maniacally as if I had just cracked a dumbass joke and he was finding me- not the joke- hilarious. He leaned closer, tilting my head upwards until his face was a mere inches away from mine. I could never get over how warm his breath was. "It's adorable," he said darkly, "that you think you have much of a choice, Raven. There's no need to be modest all of a sudden. This was what you wanted wasn't it?" Oh shit, I should have known all my weeks of seducing Luciano would end up with me knee-deep in shit. "I-" Whatever I wanted to say died down in my throat. The asshole hoisted me off the bed, heading towards the direction of the bathroom. "Luciano," I called, my voice shaking in both fear and excitement. I hadn't
Luciano"Where to, Boss?" Marcus asked as I stepped into the back seat of the Chevrolet. It wasn't my kind of taste- the Chevrolet I mean- I was more of a Mercedes or a much more rugged car. My enemies knew this too. I'll bet they kept their eyes peeled, watching every Benz on the road, hoping one of them had me inside. That fucker was relentless! Of course, I wasn't surprised. I knew the life I had signed up for when I had wandered into the mafia years ago. How many years has it been now? Eight? Ten? Whatever it was, it felt like a gazillion years ago. I couldn't remember how exactly I got in contact with the mafia, but I knew what I had always wanted. Power. Power got you whatever shit you wanted. Power protects you. Power made you feel fucking safe and you wouldn't see those you cared about die like sheep on the damned streets of Rome. That was fucking power! And I got it. I worked my ass off from scratch to get that fucking power! Now some pathetic flimsy excuse of a man thre
Athena I listened in for movement. Anything. A sound, a tip toe, a scratch on the ground heck even breathing sounds. I got nothing. That was weird. There was not a single soul in the entire penthouse. If that wasn't weird, then I was crazy. Okay perhaps both could be true when you viewed them from another angle. I was crazy. Crazy to be placing my ear against the door trying to search out for anyone before I stepped out of my room. By Luciano's orders, I shouldn't be stepping anywhere. But who really gave a farthing what that asshat thought? Not me, that's for sure. My hand gripped the door handle, tilting it quietly so I could take a peek. Well shit, I was right. There wasn't a soul at home. Where could they all have gone? Probably on some mafia affair. "Dammit Athena! How didn't you know this?!" I hissed at myself. I could have followed when they left. But considering the doctor had literally knocked me out with pills, I had been asleep. The few times I had visited Lucian
Athena When Luciano finally hauled his ass home, it was late at night. He returned quietly, a valiant warrior with the shadows of death haunting his feet. I rose to my feet partly in caution and partly in excitement. I didn’t know why I was so fucking excited by the way. Perhaps I was just thrilled. Thrilled at the prospect of getting down and dirty with my investigation. If I played my cards right, I could ferret out just the information I needed. Like who the hell was after Luciano and why they were hell-bent on killing him. I had seen the shootout. It was a bloody battle. Despite the fact that the media hadn’t been able to get too close to the scene or get a solid visual, the blur we could see was informative enough. It was madness. And sheer stupidity if you ask me! How could a group of men shoot squarely at each other without the fear of getting shot to death? They seemed to fear nothing, aiming fearlessly at the enemy. I watched Luciano walk into the living room, his gait pro
Athena"It was a fucking mistake!" I snapped, feeling irritated at his tone of voice. Luciano's eyes narrowed in an icy glare. "Do not talk to me in that tone, Raven."Hilarious. He had ignored my presence, walked into his room, and locked himself up like some self-condemned prisoner. And now he thought he could tell me what to do?! I scoffed and rolled my eyes, clearing the mess I had made. I was tired. I had a damned headache looming in my head, hanging over me like a fucking guillotine. The last thing I needed was a half-tempered man yelling at me. Luciano watched from the kitchen doors. I could feel his hard gaze on me as I tossed what was supposed to be our dinner- my dinner- into the trash can. My stomach grumbled, but hell it was just a little hunger and I had survived worse. No thanks to the brute behind me. I marched past him, tired of his looks. He could go to hell for I cared. I was so damn tired of it all. "Raven," he called when I was a few steps away. I stilled, ref
Athena "You!" I screamed, losing my mind for a second. The words flew out of my mouth in a loud shrill that rang and bounced off the walls of the living room, reverberating back to my ears and making my eyes wide in realization. "Shit!"What the hell had I just said? That I wanted him? Ah fuck! It had slipped! I hadn't been thinking, I'd just wanted to yell something back at him, there was no way I meant it at all. Yeah right, my mind taunted me. Luciano's eyes receded from the glare it had been a few seconds ago. Dark coffee eyes slowly took another turn and instead of a harsh angry breathing, he breathed slowly, as if coming down from a long long slope. For a minute we stood there, staring at each other, panting heavily like we'd both been in a wrestling match. The cords in his neck relaxed and he sighed, taking steps towards me. "Stay back!" I snapped, stepping away from him. "Fuck Raven!" He whispered, cradling my neck in his hands. He tilted my head up, cupping it, and lean
AthenaI woke up to the comforting warmth of the bed, realizing that Luciano must have just left not long ago. His side of the bed still had a huge ass dent. The sound of running water from the nearby bathroom indicated that he was taking a shower. As I blinked away the remnants of sleep, a wave of confusion washed over me. Why was I in his bed? What had transpired last night to lead me to this moment?As I lay there in the bed, the memories of the previous night flooded my mind, causing my face to burn with a mix of embarrassment and desire. Luciano and I had shared an intimate and passionate night, exploring each other's bodies and indulging in pleasures that were both thrilling and forbidden.A memory of a furious Luciano stomping towards me like some crazy man flashed in my head and I sat up quickly, clutching the bedsheet to my chest, a frown on my face. The hell?! I groaned, shook my head, and forced myself to go over what happened the night before. Pants and moans rang in my
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