“I mean, she makes a good point,” Mom said.
“You're just excited that you think you might get to plan a wedding. You’re not thinking about the fact that one of my men has touched our daughter! Laid hands on her!” my father roared.
“And what do you expect the man she’s in love with to do. Hmm?” Mom asked.
My father bit down onto the inside of his cheek as my mother came to my defense.
“You remember how we met? How our love began?” she asked.
“This is different. I knew I could provide for you. Your father was just an irritating little shit,” Dad glowered.
“And you don’t think you’re different?” Mom asked, giggling.
“Your father wanted me to have every date I took you out on at their dinner table. I’m nowhere near that bad,” he said.
“No, you’re just not allowing me to date at all because you won’t let me step out on my own,” I said.
“We’ve set you up on plenty of dates with men that are good for you,” Dad said.
“Well, they didn’t work. And I’ve found one I adore. Wholly and completely. And if you don’t like it, and you want me to make a choice, then you won’t like the choice I make,” I said.
“Sweetheart, don’t force her to do what we had to do. Remember our wedding? Running off? It wasn’t as romantic as we thought it would be. Come on, honey. Our daughter’s in love. And she’s in love with a boy you helped raise. You helped groom. It doesn’t get any safer than that,” she said.
My father sighed. “And what of this law school nonsense?”
“You already have my deal for that on the table. My compromise. The best of both worlds, and the best security blanket I can give you. I know you’re worried about me, Dad. I know that’s why you keep me close. But, I’m not eleven anymore. I don’t have pigtails, and I don’t wear braces, and I don’t have glasses that constantly need fixing by you,” I said.
He swallowed hard and shook his head. “You’re my princess, Alianna. And you deserve the best.”
“Which doesn’t mean I need someone handing everything to me on a silver platter. Sometimes, having the best means giving me the ability to strive for it myself,” I said.
“Listen to her for once, honey. Because she sounds more like you than you realize,” Mom said.
The table fell silent for a long time before my father growled.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he murmured.
I smiled. “Thank you so much, Daddy.”
“I want to speak with Luca, face to face. Before the two of you go on any other dates, or whatnot,” he said.
“I can make that happen,” I said.
“And I want to help you with the law school applications. As well as go with you to find a place for you to stay in. I have to sign off on it. Additional security required, if I feel it’s necessary,” he said.
“Fine by me,” I said.
“Oh, I can’t wait! When’s your next date? Can I help you get ready?” Mom asked.
I laughed. “Of course you can, Mom. I’ll even have him pick me up at the estate.”
“Yes!” she exclaimed.
And for the first time in my entire life, I felt things finally proceeding in an upward direction.
Even though I knew my father was still very unhappy about it at least he was letting it happen.
And that was enough.
19
Luca
My cell phone started ringing out and it woke me from a dead sleep. I bolted upright, finding the bed next to me empty. I reached for my phone as I slung my legs over the edge of the bed, my mind wondering where the hell Alianna had gotten off to.
I slid my hand over her side of the bed and found it cold. Very cold.
She’s been gone for a while.
Worry pooled in my gut as I looked at who was calling. I saw I had a series of texts as well as a voice message, but the number scrolling across my screen I didn’t recognize. I picked up the call, hoping and praying it wasn’t Alianna. That she wasn’t in trouble. That she hadn’t ventured out and gotten snatched up by someone in the process.
“This is Luca,” I said, my voice still gravelly from sleep.
“Ah, Mr. Bianchi. Your boss told me I could catch you on this line.”
I furrowed my brow at the sound of Mr. Akiko’s voice.
“What can I do for you?” I asked.
“There’s a raid being planned as we speak. My men have found a safehouse cache of weapons not imported by us or by Mr. Russo. Our agreement is that we equally participate in the raid, then split the cache of weapons we find. He told me you’d be available to help,” he said.
“Uh huh. And where is this raid going down?”
“I’ll send you the address once you agree to the proposition. It’s a quick in-and-out scheme.”
“Do we know who the cache belongs to?”
“We’re hoping what we find in the bar will help point us in the right direction. The weapons we can then turn around and sell are simply a reward for our efforts,” he said.
I cleared my throat. “All right. Shoot me the address and let me know when to be there.”
“Three o’clock. We’ll be going in through the back. You’ll be working alongside my men, and they have orders not to hurt you. Too badly, at least.”
“Comforting,” I said flatly.
“Expect the address within the hour. I’ll see you there, Mr. Bianchi.”
Then, the head of the Yellow Dragons hung up the phone on me.
I pulled my phone away from my ear and rubbed at my eyes. The first text message I saw was from Mr. Russo, telling me to take the job Akiko had for me to do. Then, there were a series of messages from him, telling me we needed to talk. That both him and his wife wanted to speak with me.
Shit, that can’t be good.
I found a slew of messages from Alianna as well. Telling me she was headed to the family restaurant. That she needed to speak with her father. That things were okay, and to not fear what was happening. I stood up on my feet and checked the time. Holy shit, it was well after one in the afternoon. Fucking hell, that woman really wore me out sometimes.
And the thought of it all made me smile.
I didn’t know what Alianna nor her father were talking about, but I didn’t have time to ask. I had to get a shower and get ready for this possible raid. I found my way into the ensuite bathroom and took a hot shower, slowly drawing myself out of sleep. I scrubbed myself down twice, hoping and praying I wouldn't smell like her during this damn raid. I hopped out of the shower and dried myself off, looking at myself in the mirror.
I smiled at the soft scratch marks on my chest from one of our many encounters last night.
“You little minx,” I murmured.
I got myself dressed while I waited for the text message. I didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything until I knew where this was all going down. I didn’t want to stay at Giana’s without Alianna too much longer, though. I didn’t want to put her in trouble, nor did I want to risk Alianna coming back her and being in the line of fire. If people were tracking me or something. When turf wars were ignited, the basic assumption was that we were all being watched. Always. I knew that was why Mr. Russo tasked me with keeping an eye on Alianna twenty-four-seven.
I just hadn’t planned on her leaving me in bed by myself.
A text message rolled through on my phone and it was encrypted. It took me a while to figure out the fucking password for it, but once I did the address was revealed to me. I recognized the place, too. An Irish pub-turned-biker dive bar on the outskirts of SoHo. The part of the town the hippies and millennials never wanted to venture into. I packed up my things and quietly made my way out of Giana’s apartment. I heard her softly snoring in her bedroom, so I crept over and closed her door before heading out. I locked the handle of her front door, making sure no one could get in.
Then, I headed straight down for my SUV.
As I drove through to
wn, I kept pondering over Alianna’s text messages. What did she mean by, ‘everything would be all right’? What did she have to explain to me later? Did it have something to do with Mr. and Mrs. Russo wanting to see me?
Holy shit, did she tell them about us?
Fucking hell, I’m a dead man.
I pushed the thoughts and worries from my mind. The second I breached the limits of SoHo, I was on the lookout. I couldn't think about that right now. I had to compartmentalize it and deal with it at a later time. Preferably, when Alianna was in front of me to give me answers. I followed the GPS directions on my dashboard as it talked me through how to get to this place. But eventually, my autopilot took over. I’d grown up in this city. I knew most of it like the back of my hand. Especially with being one of Mr. Russo’s foot soldiers.
I was familiar with the skeevier parts of this place.
I was worried about my involvement in all this endangering Alianna. I mean, if this shadowed crew or mob family or group caught wind of the two of us together, she was an automatic target. Well, technically double, since she was her father’s daughter as well. That didn’t sit well with me. And it made me wonder about stopping what was happening between us.
That’s a face to face conversation. That’s not for now.
Bless the fucking voice in my head for keeping me on track.
Even still, I couldn't ignore orders. I couldn't back out of this raid just because I didn’t think it was safe for Alianna’s sake. I started weaving my way through alleyways, trying to navigate to the bar as best as I could. But, eventually, one of Akiko’s men stopped me a block and a half from the place. Just stepped out in front of my car, hoping I’d slam on the brakes and not flatten him on the ground.
Then, he motioned for me to get out of the car.
I parked my SUV right where it was and hopped out. I walked around, throwing open the side door before reaching underneath the seat. I grabbed the other holstered handgun I had concealed in the car, then slipped it to my hip. Two guns on either side of me, and extra magazines for them in my back pockets.
“Follow me,” the man said.
And I did as I was asked.
We walked another block before Mr. Akiko came out of the shadows. I saw the back entrance to the bar. I saw his men already poised, waiting to go in. He came up to me, his eyes assessing me as he ran them up and down y body.
Then, he grinned.
“You’ll bring up the rear. Make sure no one puts a bullet in our backs. My men will push us through into the back room, we’ll split whatever’s there evenly, then we’ll be on our way,” he said.
I nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Wonderful. Now, fall in line.”
I walked behind him, keeping my head on a swivel. And when we approached the back entrance, one of his men used their silenced gun to blow the fucking lock off the door. The bar opened up for us as his men pushed through, their guns pointing at everything they thought might move as I pulled out my own handgun. I turned around, backing my way into the bar as I kept my eyes peeled for anyone who might be following us. Or watching.
I heard silenced bullets whizzing about before crunched metal and circuitry fell to the floor.
So, there’s a security system set up in here.
I caught a couple cameras they missed and aimed my gun. I shot out the cameras, but my gun wasn’t silenced like theirs were. Mr. Akiko shot me a deadly glare, and I shrugged before turning around.
I took out a camera leering over his shoulder, my eyes not once leaving his.
“I figured Mr. Russo’s men would’ve had more tact,” Akiko said.
“And I figured your men would’ve flipped the circuit breaker to shut down the security in this place before we breached,” I said.
We stared at one another for a long time. Before one if his men started yelling in a language I didn’t understand. Akiko whipped around, and I leveled my gun at the shadows. I followed behind him, bringing up the rear as we walked through a mag-locked metal door one of the guys had hacked their way into.
And the stash of guns we found made my eyes bulge.
“Holy shit,” I murmured.
“How many?” Mr. Akiko asked.
One of his men started rattling off in that language again, but Akiko interjected.
“English, please. It’s rude for our friend here who’s helping us,” he said.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He nodded in response, then the man spoke up again.
“I mean, if each crate in here has the standard nine guns, then the crates alone have ninety-nine guns,” the goon said.
“And there’s at least thirty strapped to each of these walls,” I said.
“I found more crates,” another one said.
“Got more over here, too. Small handguns, so there’s easily twenty to a crate.”
“There’s hundreds of guns in here,” Akiko said.
“Well, let’s get to divvying them up, then,” I said.
One by one, I hauled the crates of guns back to my SUV. Along with the help of one of Akiko’s men. We really had to play Tetris to get all the guns in that fucking vehicle, too. By the time it was all said and done, it took me four fucking trips to get those crates of guns from the bar to the safehouse Mr. Russo had on the other side of SoHo. All in all, each side walked away with over three hundred guns.
And our raid ended with a handshake and a genuine word of thanks.
I sat in my SUV, watching as Mr. Akiko and his men piled into their van. They drove off, leaving me to be the only one left to abandon the scene. I drew in a deep breath before I cranked up my vehicle, then slowly wound my way through the alleyways. I wanted to get a few blocks away before I hit the main road. I wanted to cover my tracks, just in case this thing was about to backfire on me.
But, something told me this deal had been amicable from the start.
Partnerships between rivals don’t stay that way for long, though.
And even though I wondered when this shit was going to blow up in our faces, I had to get back to my next task at hand.
Which was figuring out where the hell Alianna was so I could take up my station next to her.
20
Alianna
“Hey there, handsome,” I said as I picked up my ringing phone.
“Where are you? Can we talk for a second?” Luca asked.
“I was actually hoping we could. I’m at the estate. I swung back by Giana’s, but you weren’t there. I figured my father sent you out for some reason or another.”
“He did. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Stay there, okay?”
“Are we about to talk about something bad? Because I don’t have anything bad to talk about.”
“Wait, you don’t?” he asked.
“No. I don’t. What are you about to talk about?” I asked.
He sighed. “Let me get to the estate first. My mind’s been going a thousand miles a second since I woke up without you there and your cryptic texts. I figured you had something bad to talk about.”
“I’m sorry. I was hoping my texts would bring you some sort of relief. Please, drive safely. I promise, nothing’s wrong,” I said.
I felt terrible as I hung up the phone. Mostly because I knew that working for my father in a distracted state was dangerous. I walked outside, taking up a perch on the front porch in one of the chairs my mother put out there. I wanted to meet him before he came inside. I wanted him to know what I’d talked about with Dad before he got blindsided with ‘the talk’. And as every minute ticked by, I grew more nervous about Luca’s arrival.
Mostly, because I hadn’t run it past him yet to bring this topic up with my father.
The second his SUV came into view, I leapt out of my chair. I rushed down the porch stairs, greeting his car as it came to a grinding halt. Luca climbed out of his vehicle and I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him closely as he stood stark still.
“Alianna, your father might--.”
/> “He’s okay with it,” I whispered.
He paused. “Okay. It sounds like we really do have a lot to talk about.”
I settled down onto my feet. “Walk with me?”
“Lead the way.”
I wrapped my arm underneath his and leaned my head against his arm. I walked him around back, winding us down the small cobblestone path. My mother kept this backyard painstakingly groomed. With trees and bushes and roses and tulips. Any type of flora she wanted that attracted everything from bees to butterflies and back again. We walked the hand-laden cobblestone path silently. I felt Luca tensing, waiting for me to start the conversation. And once the gazebo my mother had constructed came into view, I led us off the beaten path. Following a trimmed grass line that led straight for it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been back here,” he said.
“Come on. Sit with me,” I said.
We walked up the couple steps into the shade, then sat on a porch swing that hung directly in the middle of it from the roof. The cushions comforted our fall, and my hand rested softly against Luca’s knee. He wrapped his arm around me, his legs pushing against the ground softly. Swinging us in the summer breeze as we gazed out over the rest of the magical garden my mother paid thousands of dollars a year to have.
“I’m really glad you’re safe,” I said softly.
Luca kissed the top of my head. “I’ll always come home safely.”
“Can you tell me anything about what happened? What my father had you do?”
“I mean, I can tell you the job went swimmingly. That this new threat won’t be a threat for at least a little while now, since we raided their cache.”
“Guns, or drugs?”
“I’m not sure I should tell you that,” I said.
“Probably guns, if my father took a split of it,” she said.
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