15. Luka #2
"You guys are all going to fucking die." I hear Tony's voice echo through the warehouse as gunfire erupts.
I slowly open the side door and peek inside.
Tony is at the back of the warehouse near the room where we take people we need information from.
One of our guys is lying on the floor next to him.
I follow his line of sight and see four guys at the front of the building.
Another round of shots ring out and one of the guys hits Tony in the shoulder.
"Fuck, not again." I hear Tony cry and then he starts shooting back.
I lift my gun and aim at the closest fucker to me and pull the trigger.
His head snaps back and blood sprays on the wall behind him.
The guy next to him spins my way and I aim, hitting him in his chest. Tony takes out one of the other guys.
Only one fucker left. He ducks behind a set of crates.
"Luka! Cover me." Tony yells as he makes his way to the crates. I scan each side of the crates. Waiting for the fucker to stick his head out. Instead, the fucker raises his hands above the crates with his weapon hanging by his finger.
"Don't shoot." He yells as I pull the trigger. The bullet goes through his hand, holding the weapon.
"Nice shot, baby Rizzoli." Tony looks at me and laughs. Liam and Cross run through the side door with their guns drawn.
"What the fuck!" Liam screams and comes up, grabbing me by my shirt. "What the fuck are you doing here? You could have got yourself killed."
"I am lucky he showed up when he did. We all are." Tony bends down and, with Cross's help, lifts our man off the floor. "We need to go to Doc's."
"Put him in my car; I will take him." I shake myself out of Liam's grasp.
"The fuck you will. You go home right now, Luka. I will be by to talk to you later." Liam shoves me toward the door.
"No need. I don't need to be talked to about helping my family." I step up to him.
"Luka, you don't need to ever be part of this. You have too much going for you. We need you to focus on hockey and staying clean. I don't need this part touching you, making you dirty." Liam grabs my arm and pulls me toward the door.
I shake him off again and step up so my face is inches away from his. "This is my family. Don't ever tell me not to focus on that. It is the most important thing in my life. If you think for one minute, I wouldn't choose my family over hockey." I shove him, "You don't know me at all."
Liam stands there with a shocked look on his face. "Do you want me to take him to Doc's?" I look around Liam to Cross.
"Nah, Man. I got it." He gives me a concerned look. "Weren't you hanging out with Adrianna this morning?"
"Yeah, I left her with Augie."
"Does she know what you were coming to do?" Cross raises an eyebrow at me.
"She isn't going to say shit. You can trust her." I stare at him. I know Adrianna isn't going to go to the cops.
"It's not about that, Luka. She doesn't know this side of you—" He lets his sentence trail off.
Fuck I didn't think of that.
"Go before the fucking cops show up." Liam pushes me, and this time I let him. I walk out the door to my car and pull out my phone.
Me:
I am sorry I had to leave you. Are you okay?
My Gattina:
I am fine. Are you okay? Everyone okay?
Me:
Everyone is good. Can I see you later?
My Gattina:
Okay.
She doesn't message me again. I put the car in drive, hoping I didn't mess up the only good thing I had before it even started...
Practice is brutal. I am sitting in the net, having four guys shoot at me at once. It's hard to watch them and the pucks, but it keeps my reflexes good. Coach is a hella good coach, so I will do whatever he says so we win. Practice is almost over and I feel sore as hell.
"Zio!" I hear my favorite little dude bellow through the arena.
I forgot he was coming in today for a skate lesson from Jake.
For some reason, he doesn't want me to teach him to skate.
I lift my head and step out of the net, waving to him as he runs down the stairs.
I can only imagine CeCe is yelling at him to slow down as her arms wave over her head.
Suddenly, I am hit from behind and crash into the ice. All the sounds around me stop.
"What the fuck was that?" I hear Grady yell as I get myself to my feet. I see Gio's wide eyes on the other side of the glass as Jake's hand grips my arm and pulls me the rest of the way up. I turn to see Grady pushing against Tucker, screaming in his face.
"I didn't mean to. He skated into my line, and I couldn't stop in time." He pushes Grady back, and I don't believe a word he says.
"That's enough!" Coach barks out at us. "Shower up. No more hitting your own teammates, Tucker!" The guys all skate off the ice while I go and skate to the glass where Gio is standing.
"Are you okay, Zio? Why did he knock you down like that?" Gio talks through the glass as we maneuver to where he can come on the ice.
"Because he is a fucker." CeCe says behind him and I cut my eyes to her. "What? He is."
"She isn't wrong." Jake skates up and fist-bumps Gio. "Are you ready, Little Man?" Gio nods and starts to put on his skates.
"I don't like that guy." CeCe steps closer to me and I throw my arm around her. "You smell gross." She pushes my arm off of her and I laugh.
"Are you going to my parents' after this?" I ask her, totally ignoring what she said about Tucker. I don't like him either, but he is my teammate, and you never know who is listening.
"Yeah, you going?" She watches Gio jump onto the ice and skate toward Jake. "He is getting good, huh?"
I turn to watch Gio and Jake do some stretches. "He is. He's going to be a great Goalie someday."
"He told me he wants to be a captain. Just like you." CeCe bumps her shoulder against me.
"I am no Captain." I bump her back. "See you at the house." I turn and skate away from her before she can say anything else. Giving Gio a fist bump, I take off for the showers. I would typically hang out with them, but I want to see my girl.
"I don't know why he thinks he is God's gift to the world.
Just because he is a fucking Rizzoli? If he didn't have that last name, he wouldn't even be on the team, let alone Alt-Captain.
He doesn't deserve the fucking title. I won't treat him like he does.
" I walk into the locker room and hear Tucker running his mouth to a couple of the other guys.
They haven't seen me yet. They don't say anything to encourage him, but they don't defend me either.
I clear my throat and head to my cubby, pulling off my gear and hanging it for the crew to come get for cleaning.
"Gentleman." I nod to them and make my way to the showers.
Hopefully, they will be gone when I get out.
I run my head under the water. Maybe I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for my name.
I know I am damn good at my job, but I know I got the best training as a kid because of my family.
I should talk to Coach and tell him I don't want the Alt position next year. He needs to give it to someone else.