31. Luciano
Chapter 31
Luciano
"You shouldn't have pissed her off." Leah sighed chidingly at Ares with a disappointed smirk and amusement in her eyes.
Then, Leah's eyes sharpened harshly as they landed on me. "You should have defended her." The snap from her felt like a direct slap to the face. "She may be young, but she is more than skilled enough, and you, out of everyone, should know that or, at the very least, believe in that and back her up against Ares when he threw those nasty words at her. Not only that, but she is also your girlfriend. You should back her up even if it seems foolish."
"What was I supposed to say in that situation? She…" Well, great, now I couldn't even defend myself without looking and feeling like an asshole.
Scowling, I scoffed and hissed a curse under my breath in Italian. "She is young. Yes, she has formidable skills for someone her age, but compared to those we hire, she probably pales in comparison." My stomach churned at my doubting words about Juliet, even if they might be true. I felt disgusted about myself for doubting her, though.
I shouldn't be doubting her. Leah was right. At the end of the day, Juliet was my girlfriend. My unsolicited support should always be with her, even if she was unreasonable.
Ugh, I fucked up, didn't I?
Groaning frustratedly with a hand down my face, I leaned back in my seat. "I'll give her a moment to cool off." I also needed a bit to get something good sorted. Otherwise, I might just piss her off more and end up with all my accounts being locked… and being locked out of my own damn house—again.
Shaking my thoughts away, I ignored the dull ache in my head as I recollected myself. "We need to go after the small fry first, slowly pick off the weak to get our names crawling up the ranks, and it'll weaken the main body at the end of the day." A long sigh exhausted my chest as I thought about the uproar our actions would cause. "We need to make it bloody and violent." More so for our entertainment, but mangled bodies always did wonders to make a statement impactful.
"We will need to block off any escape routes. No point in doing all of this if our main targets scurry off to regroup elsewhere in safety." Sebastian mentioned with a frustrated sigh of his own.
"That's going to be the tricky part in all of this. It's fucking New York. Good luck cutting off one exit without two more popping up. It doesn't help that we somehow don't have our foothold with law enforcement as we thought. What happened with Juliet revealed to us that our hold on the police departments has slipped into the sewers. Which is another issue we have to fucking deal with on top of everything else." Aidan complained with an exasperated groan of his own.
More and more shit kept on hitting the fan the more we dug into everything to formulate our plans.
"It's going to be a big shit show, but we've handled worse." Leah's light voice encouraged us with a heavy smile. "If we don't regain full control and lose it all, everything we have done will be for nothing, and the whole state is going to end up in literal hell again."
The sound of leather creaking scratched at the air as Leah's body slowly rose from the chair. "We all know how bad it was growing up. We took over and changed things for the better for a fucking reason. I don't care if we end up martyrs, but like hell am I going to let New York go back to how it was before and damn the future generations to come." Strengthening her voice, she gave us the infamous look of murderous determination that always got anyone to crumple upon its gaze. "I refuse to fail our people, let them suffer more than they already have. I do not want another case like Juliet's to emerge. I want to stop it all before it can even have a spark to begin. So, we are going to see this through, even if our bodies join the mass grave we will create."
Surge after surge of anger burned my veins with each pump of my heart as I thought about Leah's words. It was an unavoidable shit show, but it had to be done. To think that situations like Juliet's currently happened while we sat here talking away made me crave a good skull to bash in with my fists.
And the thing was, there were worse things out there happening than what Juliet went through. Things that went unnoticed by us and continued to happen because of our ignorance and naivety. Things that shouldn't have gone as far as they are had we been more diligent.
If we had been doing our jobs as we should, then my Juliet wouldn't have had to suffer as she did.
But if that had been the case, then I wouldn't have Juliet to call as mine.
I hated that she went through the hell she did, but if she didn't, she never would have fallen into my arms.
To meet The Devil, she had to go into Hell.
I felt like a bastard thinking of all of that, and I wish I could say I wished things had been different—but I can't.
Resetting myself with a deep breath, I looked at everyone with a newfound energy and confidence. "Leah is right. We need to remember why we chose to conquer the old. We have to go back on our promise to make things right, to make this new empire fair and just." Maybe we have lost sight of ourselves with time, but now is better than ever to remember our sole reasons for taking the steps our parents didn't dare entertain. "We are better than those rats. We are the necessary evil the city needs, and it is time we reclaim it all."
"Back to our roots we go then." Sebastian agreed with a nostalgic smile. "Our ideals, not our fucking stupid selves getting wasted into alleyway fights for shits and giggles." He reminded us of our wild days with a hearty laugh.
"Those were the fun days, though." Ares's crazed grin probably rivaled as the two of us gave each other nostalgic looks.
"They were not fun," Leah grumbled with a scoffing sneer.
"Maybe not for you because you had to patch us up along with…" A silencing glare from Leah made Aidan shut his mouth before she-who-shall-not-be-named could be mentioned.
And that was one way to damper the whole room again with a heavy somber. All of us probably had the same thoughts going through our minds about the unfortunate situation years ago, but none of us dared speak up and risk Leah's wrath.
We liked our bodies intact and wanted the good doctor to stay good.
Slowly and awkwardly, I got up from my seat, fully intending to slip away to Juliet to avoid the very possible war path from Leah if one of the other idiots set her off.
"Oh fuck me, daddy! Yes! Daddy!"
Neither of us could keep a straight face the moment a phone went off with the most ridiculous ringtone we have ever heard. Nearly everyone burst out laughing in an instant as she watched a red-faced Ares fluster around to pull his phone out, cussing the whole time in Greek before snapping at the person on the other side after picking the call up. "What!? What do you mean all my money disappeared!? Billions don't just… No, I did not buy five new Bugattis! Why the fuck would I do that?!... I don't care, just fucking fix it!" I was surprised that Ares's teeth didn't shatter from how hard his jaw clenched as he growled at his phone menacingly after hanging up.
Clearing his throat in an attempt to cut his dying chuckle short, Sebastian popped the question bubbling between all of us. "What happened?" Poor Sebastian could barely keep a straight face as he curled his lips inward on each other, pressing them tightly together in a gummy smile.
"Interesting ringtone ya got there, bud. Didn't take ya for the Daddy Dom kind of fellow." Aidan's snickering turned into full-blown laughter that earned him a growling tackle from Ares after he shoved Sebastian aside.
"Ares, what is going on that's got you all fired up like that?" It didn't sound like a fun thing going off his brief phone call just now.
"Someone froze and drained all my bank accounts! And they think it's funny to fuck with my whole system that even our hackers can't get through them without tripping something new with whatever fix they patch in!" Ares seethed while choking out Aidan—playfully, of course.
"Who would…" Before I could finish my train of thought, a happy little Juliet humming to her heart's content as she came up to me with a smile that was much too innocent for her, distracting me.
"Can we go shopping?" Yeah, much too innocent for my Juliet.
Sighing, I rubbed my temples to ease the dull ache of my head before bending down to pick Juliet up and throw her over my shoulder. We needed to have a long talk away from everyone.
"Wha—hey! Luca, put me down!" Juliet's arms and legs flailed against me in protest as I took us to our room.
As gently as possible, I threw her down onto the bed and got on top of her with a knowing smirk as I trapped her between my arms and legs. "You know he's going to go after your throat when he figures out it was you." Trying to sound firm with Juliet failed because I felt much too amused at Ares's situation and proud of Juliet.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Juliet played innocent with an exaggerated smile and cheeky giggle. "I mean, after all, I am just a petulant and inexperienced teenage adult who doesn't know what she is doing." She mocked playfully with a few bats of her eyes.
Chuckling, I leaned down and kissed her deeply. "You didn't actually buy five Bugattis, did you?" Not like I would let her drive them. Also, if she did do that, then it meant I had to pay Ares back for the damage she did to his bank account.
Snickering, Juliet grinned up at me and shook her head. "Psh, no, it was just a fake statement and spam email I created for fun. I mean, one Bugatti, maybe, the idea was really tempting, but come on, five? That's a bit excessive, even if he could afford it."
"Did you actually drain his accounts?" Because that was a shit ton of money that would be a bitch to recover if she did do anything with it or didn't distribute it properly.
"No. I made carbon copy accounts, set those at zero balance, and swapped his real accounts with the copies. His real ones are still there but are locked, and only I have the key." Juliet grinned proudly at me, happily kicking her little feet under me.
Smiling proudly, I admired her momentarily before letting out an amused chuckle and kissing her softly. "You are such a troublesome brat." Taking her bottom lip between my teeth, I pulled at it with a soft growl. "I fucking love it." Or at least, I loved seeing the trouble she could cause as long as it wasn't me on the receiving end.
Sighing a soft, sad exhale, she smiled flatly while picking at the collar of my t-shirt. "You should probably head back there before Aidan loses his head." If she didn't sound so torn and sad, then I would listen, but an ache clawed under my chest at the thought of leaving her right now.
Rejecting her suggestion with a firm shake of my head, I leaned down and attacked her neck with some kisses. "What is wrong, amorina ? Are you still upset about what Ares said out there?" Or was she upset at me for not being a better boyfriend to stand up for her?
Hesitantly, she strained out a small 'yes' with her nod as she tightened her arms around my neck. "It's stupid, though. I shouldn't let his words get to me so much like that, but it just… Ugh! He just reminded me how useless, broken, and pathetic I am. But I also hate how everyone underestimates me because I am so young. Yeah, I am still learning, but I'm learning from the best of the best. I mean, who better to learn from than another top mafia hacker?"
Slipping down next to her, I let her rant as I held her close, nodding and humming in agreeance with her as she vented about—what felt like—everything. I didn't utter a single word until she came to a full stop with an angry huff. "Juliet, sweetheart, you are not useless or broken or pathetic. You are young, yes, but there is nothing wrong with being passionate and excited about something. You have such a drive for what you want to do, and I really love that about you."
A wave of nostalgia warms my lips into a smile as I peered down at Juliet. "Reminds me of myself when I was younger, and it's a good reminder now for me to bring that side of me out to play again. I might be motivated, but I definitely am not as tenacious as I should be like you." Threading my fingers through her silk locks, I smiled appreciatively at her. "You are bringing back a lively side of me that I have locked away with this life of mine."
It was clear to me now, after seeing how much Juliet has impacted my life, that I haven't changed for the better. Yes, I garnered fear and respect, but I also became stagnant. Life was… good… on the best days. Mostly, I lived each day almost robotically on my set schedule, not really enjoying life as I should. The only thing I ever really found joy in was my fights, but even then, the spark in me was short-lived. Surging adrenaline only gave me a needed high for so long, and there were only so many people to beat bloody before even they became dull.
Resting my forehead against hers, I deeply breathed in her citrusy and berry-like scent, letting it clear up my system and mind. "Sometimes, I wonder who saved who in our relationship." I mused my thoughts aloud. "Thank you, Juliet, for being mine," I whispered against her lips as my hand held the back of her head delicately.
Applying the smallest amount of pressure possible, I guided her into a heartfelt kiss, letting my very soul shudder out of my body the deeper I pressed on. With a hand on the back of her head, I wrapped the other around her waist and pressed her into my feverish body with a soft groan.
My Juliet, the light to my hellish domain, the surface air, the fire to my soul, the reason I looked forward to the next day. Eagerness to gaze in awe upon the sheer perfection of her beauty compelled me to open my eyes each and every morning. Her beautiful eyes lit my path towards a greater—gray—good.
More importantly, the air my lungs craved with each breath, and she was the electricity that pulsed through my heart, keeping its rhythm steady and alive.
She had truly become my everything.
"I love you, Juliet."