Chapter 12
F or the past two days I’ve either been inside the house, attempting to occupy myself, or hanging out with Ace in the woods. I’ve offered to give the dog and some of the soldiers a cinnamon roll, but none of them wanted one—that just leaves more for me. I’ve been making them in the mornings for breakfast and snacking on the leftovers throughout the day. They will never stop tasting like a slice of heaven.
After I pull my cinnamon rolls out of the oven, I inhale the scent deeply, holding in my drool. Today, I’m also making a blueberry cheesecake in celebration—this will probably be the highlight of my day.
I hope I don’t see Kylo today. When I look into his eyes for too long, I become overwhelmed with emotions I can never put a name to. Pushing any thoughts of him away, my focus returns to the fresh cinnamon rolls that are practically begging me to take a bite while the cheesecake bakes. It smells like a bakery in here and it couldn’t be more perfect.
Three slices are all I eat of the cheesecake, for now. Some slices are in a container I found, hopefully the soldiers like cheesecake and accept it as some sort of peace offering.
I’m not surprised when they flat-out ignore me, again. At least Ace will sit by me in the woods while I do some training on my own. Yesterday, my body felt strong enough to try some more basic moves and the workout was exhilarating.
Any bruises I had are gone by now or so faded that they are hardly noticeable. No one has come back here to bother me and I trust Ace to alert me if someone does try, which is why when I hear a low growl, my body immediately halts and I pivot towards the unfamiliar face.
“I come in peace,” he says with his hands up in surrender, taking slow steps. Ace doesn’t back down, barking aggressively and I stand behind him with my arms crossed. The man is around my age. He’s robust with short chestnut hair that matches his eyes and light facial hair.
“Did you need to go into the woods?” I ask.
“Not really. I saw you trying to talk to the other guys earlier and how they dismissed you in the same way they did when I got transferred here last night. If you prefer to be alone I get that, but if you wouldn’t mind a partner to train with, I came over to offer.”
He sounds honest, but I won’t fully let my guard down. I learned my lesson the first time around. There’s an aura about him that gives me the impression he’s a good person, but lonely, too. Petting Ace and cooing in his ear to stand down, I walk around him and ask, “What’s your name?”
“Marco.”
“Well, Marco, I’m Amaris. Would you want to try a slice of blueberry cheesecake?”
I don’t expect him to say yes. My question seems to catch him off guard, but when he recovers there’s a wide, boyish grin on his face.
“Hell yeah, girl. You are speaking my language.”
We walk to the tree where I left the container of sweets by. I don’t realize I’m holding a breath until he takes a bite that makes his whole face light up with delight, allowing me to release it. Feeding people makes me feel warm inside. Knowing that they like what I made gives me a burst of happiness inside my body.
Marco bites back a groan on his second bite and doesn’t speak until he finishes the entire slice. “Where did you get that from? It was amazing.”
Glowing under the indirect compliment, I provide, “Baked it myself this morning, thank you. I was trying to share with some of the soldiers when they dismissed me, but it’s nothing new.”
Marco looks offended. “Alright, before we do any type of training, we’re going back and getting at least one of the guys to try this. They have no idea what they’re missing out on.”
Before I get a chance to protest, the container is in his hand and he’s already going in the direction of the open field. Following behind with Ace, we stay at a distance, watching.
He wasn’t lying; most of them are dismissing him like they did me, but two of them finally listen to him and take a slice each. Their reactions are enough to leave a satisfying smile on my face as they start talking amongst each other while Marco comes back.
“They can be stubborn, but I guarantee they won’t be turning down what you bake anymore,” he says on the walk back to the woods.
“That looked way easier when you did it. Where did you even come from?”
“I’ve always worked for the Kincaid syndicate, but they moved me over here to replace one of the soldiers that got taken out.”
As the words processed, my feet stopped moving. “Syndicate?”
He furrows his brows. “Yes. I don’t think I remember the last time I met someone who didn’t know about them, much less someone living on their property.”
While I try to dig into the blocked parts of my brain, I stare down into the grass and continue walking. “Maybe I did know. Kylo is letting me stay here while I get...better. I was in an accident and have some type of amnesia,” I say sheepishly.
Of course , everything makes much more sense—especially all the soldiers and security I’ve seen. Looking back on it, he does carry himself like a made man. I wonder what he actually does, though—I have a good idea, yet my curiosity still runs rampant.
When I don’t hear a response, I turn to a confused-looking Marco. “I have questions, but I don’t wanna pry,” he says. Luckily, he changes the subject when I shake my head. “Well, how about that training session? We can go easy or we can spar or shoot.”
“I don’t think I have ever shot a gun.”
This time it’s Marco who stops walking. Once I notice he catches up to me.
“That’s what we’re doing today, come with me.” He leads us deeper into the woods where some of the trees have targets painted on. “You are the only female I’ve seen here who isn’t a worker and most of these men are God awful. Now, are you left-handed or right-handed?”
After directing me on where to stand, he pulls out a gun from a holster on his calf—that I didn’t notice until now—he says it’ll be easier for me to learn with a Glock 9.
“Right hand on the grip. Keep your last three fingers on the front strap with a tight grip, not so tight that you’re shaking, though. Keep your finger off the trigger unless you’re going to shoot so we avoid you getting trigger-happy and causing an accident.” He gives me a side-eye. “The magazine is fully loaded, so pop it in there and give it a firm pat on the bottom. Just like that, perfect. Now, since you’re starting out, keep your other hand on the gun, too.”
“Like this?”
“Yeah, but make sure to keep your thumbs down so it doesn’t cut you when it cocks back.”
He shows me how to line up the gun with my line of sight and how to aim. I won’t be the next John Wick, but I did way better than I expected to do. The whole time he was easy-going and actually listened to what I said without judgment or frustration.
This is the first time I have gone deeper into the woods. I’m surprised to find out that they aren’t too deep, but they lead to a high cliff with a breathtaking view. Marco, Ace, and I sit near the ledge and I ask him how he ended up being a soldier. His body goes rigid for a split second then he visibly relaxes and speaks.
“I witnessed a man murder both of my parents right in front of me when I was ten.”
That was not what I was expecting, but I let him continue.
“He didn’t know I was there, but I saw everything. My dad kept a gun in his bedside drawer so I grabbed it and shot the man. I missed the first shot so I closed my eyes and kept shooting until there were no more bullets left. When I opened them,” he grimaces, “it looked like a bloodbath. I could already hear the sirens coming. I ran with the gun until my legs gave out. That’s when Luciano found me, sitting near a dumpster. He took me in that night and trained me under him. He was only twenty at the time, but he gave me food, a home, a purpose. Ever since then, I have been loyal to him. I owe him my life.”
Despite his eyes having a faraway look, he told the story impassively as if it wasn’t something important, or traumatizing at that.
“You were just a boy,” I whisper, but he holds a hand up.
“I won’t downplay it, but that’s in the past. All I have control over now is the present.”
Sensing he doesn’t want to go down that route, I veer the conversation in a different direction. “So Luciano was twenty and what? Boss of the mafia?”
He chuckles. “He was already settled into his role as capo, which he still is now. Renato is the don.”
“How old would that make you guys now?”
“I’m twenty-two but Luc is turning thirty-three soon. It’s a good thing he isn’t the don or else he would need to start looking for a wife.” At my puzzled expression, he adds, “They have weird rules here, but basically, he would need an heir and he doesn’t really believe in marriage.”
“I’m surprised he doesn’t drown himself in different girls every night,” I think out loud with a snort.
“Now that , I don’t know about. But since we’re on the topic, how old are you, missy?”
“Actually, as of today, I’m twenty-one.”
I’m quickly growing used to Marco’s dramatic tendencies, so when he gasps, I roll my eyes with a small smile on my face. “And you are only just now mentioning this? Did you plan on spending your whole day with the dog?”
Glancing at Ace when he perks up, I run my hand down his back. “Pretty much. What else am I going to do? It’s not like I have my bike to go out.”
“We are going to Sinful Sanctuary tonight. It’s Luc’s club and they switch up the DJs corresponding to the night's theme. It’s mandatory we get you drunk tonight and you have a good time. You do drink, right?”
The idea doesn’t sound too bad and I did just go shopping. Might as well break in the new clothes.
“Of course, I do. What’s the club like? Do you know what tonight's theme is?”
“You’ll see. You won’t regret it, I promise. I’ll be your wingman all night. It’s Latin night tonight, I have a feeling that’s right up your alley.”
Turning fully with wide eyes and my mouth slightly agape, he sees the excitement before I feel it hit me. “No way. You should have led with that. When do we leave?”
“It’s just past three now, how long does it take you to get ready?”
“Shouldn’t take me too long, just a couple of hours.”
He mumbles something about women take too long , but I deliberately ignore it. “Start getting ready, we’ll leave around nine-thirty.”
Standing, he helps me up and walks with us back to where I’m staying and shows me where he’ll be waiting when it’s time to leave.
Excitement rushes through my whole body, making me run all over the house multitasking. I cook lunch while I figure out what outfits to try on then eat while setting everything out that I think I’ll need for tonight in between bites.
The sun went down a while ago and my reflection in the mirror is still me but a sexier, more confident version. On a good day, my curls just barely coil up. Tonight, they are on their very best behavior, pulled out of the way in order to not get too hot when I’m dancing.
With one last glance at the time, I strap up my heels, spray more vanilla perfume, and tuck my knife inside my purse. I’m ready to have the time of my life.